Corcoran's penalty decisive as St Malachy's guarantee survival

St Malachy's 1-10 Shandonagh 0-8

The main target of any intermediate champions is to retain senior status the following season, and St Malachy’s deservedly ticked this very important box in TEG Cusack Park last Saturday afternoon, albeit by a somewhat flattering five-point margin against a Shandonagh side who are now in real danger themselves of relegation.

A defensive mix-up when the sides were tied seven minutes from the end of normal time led to a converted St Malachy’s penalty and a black card for sub Aaron Craig, the combination of which all but copper-fastened a precious two points for Tom Browne’s troops.

Conditions were far from ideal for football, with intermittent showers making for slippery underfoot conditions, and in truth, the first half in particular was often a ‘hard watch’. St Malachy’s opened well and they had two unanswered points on the board by the third minute, courtesy of veteran goalkeeper Alan Mangan (a 30-metre free) and Johnny Bermingham (from the subsequent misdirected kick-out).

In the fifth minute, Daragh Conway’s angled point for the losers was belatedly awarded after the referee consulted his fellow-officials. Some five minutes later, Gareth Carr equalised when a goal briefly looked possible.

The impressive Jack Murphy, ironically in the presence of the newly-appointed manager of his native Carlow, Shane Curran (who was part of the winners’ backroom team), dissected the posts from a terrific 40-metre mark. Opening wides at either end preceded a fabulous solo equaliser (0-3 each) from Daniel Scahill on the quarter-mark.

Brian Kavanagh’s semi-ambitious goal attempt was off-target in the 17th minute, and Morgan Gavigan nudged the men in black and red ahead from the resultant kick-out. The lively Adam Treanor levelled the contest in fine style in the 19th minute. Ten scoreless minutes ensued, during which turnovers abounded and the fare was pedestrian. Ryan Donnelly edged Kevin Hickey’s charges ahead for the first time from a 29th-minute free, and it remained 0-5 to 0-4 in Shandonagh’s favour at the interval.

The second half opened with poor wides from both sides. Treanor then doubled his tally in fine style, and when Cormac Coyne rounded off a fine move with a 37th-minute point, the men in sky blue and navy looked in a solid position to win a crucial contest in their fight to avoid Peter Geraghty Cup football in 2025.

However, their three-point advantage was wiped out by the 46th minute, via St Malachy’s scores from the boots of Jack Gallagher (at the end of a labored move) and a great brace from Jack Murphy. Prior to the second of these, Conor Craig did very well to keep out a goalbound shot from sub Shane Corcoran.

The game turned in the 53rd minute when an attempted quick free went wrong close to the Shandonagh goalmouth. Aaron Craig fouled Conor Murphy and was black-carded, with Corcoran converting the resultant penalty with aplomb.

Points followed from Mangan (a free), Corcoran (a classy score), and Peter Murphy (with the outside of his boot). Kevin Boyle’s successful free in added-time was his side’s first score in all of 25 minutes and was merely a consolation effort.

Scorers – St Malachy’s: S Corcoran 1-1 (1-0pen), J Murphy 0-3 (1m), A Mangan 0-2 (2f), P Murphy, M Gavigan, J Bermingham, J Gallagher 0-1 each. Shandonagh: A Treanor 0-2, D Scahill, G Carr, K Boyle (f), D Conway, R Donnelly (f), C Coyne 0-1 each.

St Malachy’s: Alan Mangan; Aaron Glennon, Naoise McKenna, Eoin Kiernan; Peter Murphy, Liam Varley, Shane Clavin; Morgan Gavigan, Johnny Bermingham; Conor Murphy, Jack Murphy, David Maloney; Darren Ruane, Fergal O’Brien, Jack Gallagher. Subs used: Cian Gavigan for O’Brien (38), Shane Corcoran for Ruane (42), Odhran Gavigan for C Murphy (59), Neal Kirby for Gallagher (60+1), Ryan Boyne for P Murphy (60+1).

Shandonagh: Conor Craig; Ben Treanor, Jack O’Brien, Cathal Craig; Daniel Scahill, Adam Treanor, Gareth Carr; Darren McWade. Cormac Gordon; Luke Tynan, Kevin Boyle, Daragh Conway; Ryan Donnelly, Cormac Coyne, Brian Kavanagh. Subs used: Tom Molloy for Donnelly (42), Aaron Craig for Gordon (45), Zayn Carroll for Kavanagh (51), Jake Costello for Tynan (55), Mickey Boyle for Coyne (inj., 56).

Ref: Barry Nea (Killucan).