Fenagh make more of the wind to secure vital win over Mohill that leaves champions in trouble

At times it wasn’t pretty but Fenagh St Caillins did enough in the first half against the wind to ensure they kept champions Mohill in touch before turning on the style in the second half of Saturday’s Connacht Gold SFC clash in Pairc Sean O’Laodain, sealing a place in the knockout stages into the bargain.

Fenagh, who suffered a heartbreaking loss to Mohill in last year’s semi-final, outscored the champions 15 points to seven in the second half as they made far better use of the strong wind than their opponents who were incredibly reliant on the kicking skills of Keith Beirne who landed 13 points on the evening.

With the sides level going into the final quarter, Fenagh finally stamped their authority on proceedings as they outscored the Mohill side eight points to three down the stretch, their apparent caution and maybe even nervousness banished as they found their feet in the difficult conditions.

It wasn’t easy - Mohill put huge pressure on the home side in the closing stages, cutting the gap back to three points as the game ticked into added time and Keith Beirne dropping a free short, but Fenagh, on the overall balance of play, were deserving winners.

Bobby O’Rourke’s side ensured the win not so much by their second half scoring but by the fact that they only trailed by three points at the break. It had started to look ominous when Mohill led by six points with seven minutes left in the half but three crucial points from play, all from the same right hand corner of the pitch, proved critical in the long run.

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Fenagh had early possession against the wind but Mohill had two wides before Keith Beirne opened his account with a two point free, although to this Observer, the Mohill man was clearly inside the arch when kicking the ball. Fenagh responded with a fine Riordan O’Rourke point from the corner, the strength of the wind already very apparent.

Beirne then hit an unanswered five points, all from placed balls and two of them two pointers after 23 minutes, as Fenagh were unable to make any real headway against a disciplined Mohill defence and the swirling wind that dragged efforts from Ryan O’Rourke and Fergal McLoughlin wide while Conor Dwyer left an effort short.

However, just as Fenagh supporters were getting worried by the size of the Mohill lead, the home side saw Tom Gilheany strike a fine point from the right hand side, the least affected by the wind and they took note, Daniel McLoughlin and Ryan O’Rourke free cutting the lead to 0-7 to 0-4 at the break.

It might have been much closer as the O’Rourke free came after Domhnaill Flynn lost the ball in a hefty collision, the ball going long to the Fenagh man but his shot was brilliantly saved by Peter O’Neill.

Fenagh had the wind behind them in the second half and almost broke through for a goal, Ryan O’Rourke shot deflected wide for a fifty converted by Donal Wrynn. Colm McLoughlin added a well worked point from the corner but Keith Beirne left two in it when he converted another free.

James Gilheany, on as a first half sub, hit a huge two pointer to tie the scores but Fiachra McGuinness hit back with a good point, set up by a Keith Keegan intercept. Ryan O’Rourke then twisted and turned his way to scoring a good point before he landed a two pointer, answered by a two point Beirne free after 44 minutes.

But Fenagh were building momentum and two Ryan O’Rourke frees were followed by a monster Fergal McLoughlin two pointer with ten minutes to go. Keith Beirne cut the Fenagh lead in half with two frees in a minute but Fergal McLoughlin restored the four point gap with another huge two pointer.

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Beirne landed another free with less than two minutes left on the clock. Beirne left a free, from the wrong side wind wise, short and Fenagh were not to be denied, Riordan O’Rourke scoring an excellent point while Fergal McLoughlin turned provider for Ryan O’Rourke to score the final point.

There was still time for one final goal chance, an instinctive kick at a loose ball from Aaron McLoughlin drawing a fine save from Peter O’Neill as Fenagh booked their place in the knockout stages.

FENAGH ST CAILLINS

Scorers: Ryan O’Rourke 0-7, 5f; Fergal McLoughlinn 0-4, 2 tp; James Gilheany (tp) & Riordan O’Rourke 0-2 each; Tom Gilheany, Daniel McLoughlin, Donal Wrynn (50) & Colm McLoughlin 0-1 each

Team: Shane Doonan, Eoin McLoughlin, Mark Keegan, Conal McGovern, Aaron McLoughlin, Donal Wrynn, Caillin O’Rourke, Conor Dwyer, Colm McLoughlin, Fergal McLoughlin, Riordan O’Rourke, Tom Gilheany, Daniel McLoughlin, Ryan O’Rourke, Jack Gilheany. Subs: Subs: James Gilheany for Dwyer (24); Killian Mulvey for Keegan (60)

MOHILL

Scorers: Keith Beirne 0-13, 1 tp, 11f; Fiachra McGuinness 0-1

Team: Peter O’Neill, Ryan Bohan, Adam McGuinness David Mitchell, Eoghan Duignan, Alan Armstrong, Alan Tuthill, Johnny Boyle, Conor Quinn, Domhnaill Flynn, Keith Keegan, Sean Harkin, Matthew Murphy, Ronan Kennedy, Evan Harkin. Subs: Ronan Gordon for Kennedy (6); Oscar Reynolds & Keith Beirne for Tuthill & Boyle (HT)

Referee: Martin Feeney