Martin goal crucial as Moate CS clinch knockout place
Moate CS 2-9 Ardscoil na Tríonóide 0-12
By Daragh Nolan
Moate Community School progressed to the knockout stages of the Br. Bosco Cup with a three-point win over 2024-2025 Leinster finalists Ardscoil na Tríonóide, Athy.
This fixture, played at Athy GAA last Thursday, was a straight shootout for knockout football. A draw would have been enough for the Westmeath side but their Athy opponents needed to win.
Moate CS will now meet Section 2 winners Ardee CS in the preliminary knockout round, with the winners advancing to the Br Bosco Cup quarter-finals.
There were three minutes of Moate possession from the throw-in to the first green flag as they got off to the perfect start when Billy Stenson broke down the side of the Athy defence and took aim at the posts. The centre-back’s effort dropped short but this worked out all the better from a Moate perspective, as the ball dipped beneath the crossbar and into the far corner of the net.
The wind-assisted Athy side – who lost to Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar in the 2024-2025 final earlier this year - then rattled off three points without reply between the 10th and 16th minutes.
Calum Keaveny’s opener came off of a turnover and another point quickly followed after a kickout infringement by Moate. The resulting free was tapped over by Ronan Kelly, who started for Athy ago in their Leinster senior championship win over Summerhill five days previously. Wing-forward Cian Murphy then levelled things with a superb point from range.
Darragh Madden was the Moate man to buck the trend of sidewards passes when he injected some pace into things with a sharp one-two and a fine point to follow as he edged his side back in front.
Cian Murphy was back on the scoresheet for Athy less than a minute later, cutting inside to beautifully curl over a score off his left, this time doing so from outside the arc as Ardscoil took an 0-5 to 1-1 lead after 24 minutes.
Ronan Kelly doubled his side’s lead when he latched onto a loose ball in the forward line but Moate got back to within one again with a fisted effort from Darragh Deegan that bounced over off the top of the bar.
It was the home side that finished the half strongest and Ronan Kelly added two to his tally late on to leave the Kildare outfit with an 0-8 to 1-2 advantage at the break.
Moate full-forward Sean Mackey was first on the scoresheet after the restart as they were let off the leash. His point was quickly followed by a Brian Doyle score that made this a one-point game.
A sensational point from Ardscoil’s Niall Hickey in the 40th minute pushed them two clear again at 0-9 to 1-4, but Hickey’s superb point from a tight angle would be the home side’s last for 18 minutes.
Moate CS, managed by Peter Tormey and Niall Daly, then hit a quickfire 1-2 in a Brian Doyle-inspired spell. Firstly, the midfielder raised a white flag and he also slipped in Maryland's Ben Martin to raise a green one with a fine finish after he rounded the ‘keeper.
Madden pushed Moate further ahead before a brilliant two-point free from goalkeeper Jack Ryan sent the visitors five points clear at 2-8 to 0-9 with seven minutes to go.
Ardscoil began to push late but could only find a route to score through Ronan Kelly frees with the centre-forward dispatching three-in-a-row before the hour mark.
The Athy school needed a goal but were thwarted at every opportunity and their fate was sealed with the last play of this game when Moate broke out of defence.
After bursting forward at pace, Darragh Deegan fired over a superb score to send Moate Community School into the Br. Bosco Cup knockout stages with a 2-9 to 0-12 win.
Player of the match: Brian Doyle (Moate CS). The Moate CS midfielder was instrumental in his side taking over in the second half. As well as creating their second goal and registering a couple of points himself, the Caulry player’s overall contribution was stellar as he drove his team over the line from the middle.
Talking point: One notable aspect of this game was the insistence from the Moate CS mentors that their team not commit to attack in the first half. Athy were playing with an unremarkable, albeit freezing cold, breeze at their backs, but the game made for bizarre viewing as Moate players carried possession forward while their coaches shouted at them ad nauseam to “come back”.
Scorers - Moate CS: B Stenson, B Martin 1-0 each; B Doyle, D Deegan, D Madden and J Ryan (tpf) 0-2 each; S Mackey 0-1. Ardscoil Na Tríonóide: R Kelly 0-7 (5f); C Murphy 0-3 (1tp); C Keaveny, N Hickey 0-1 each.
Moate Community School - Jack Ryan; Mark Loddick, Anthony King Carroll, Lee Corcoran; Ben Martin, Billy Stenson, Alex Mullen Adamson; Brian Doyle, Conor Daly; Aaron Claffey, Kevin Boland, Darragh Deegan; Eoin McCormack, Sean Mackey, Darragh Madden. Subs: John Paul for E McCormack (42 mins).
Ardscoil na Tríonóide - Rory Chanders; Hugh Kennedy, Daniel Henry, Glenn Doyle; Mark Grufferty, Cameron Pedreschi, Calum Keaveny; Robert Murphy, Padraig Grufferty; Cian Murphy, Ronan Kelly, Fionn Whelan; Harry Grainger, Niall Hickey, Sean Rowan. Subs: Conor Byrne for H Kennedy (52 mins).
Referee - Lar Murphy (Carlow).