Nolan stars as Roanmore ease past Stradbally
Roanmore's Eddie Nolan starred again for his side in their win over Stradbally. Photos: Noel Browne
Roanmore picked up their first victory of this year's JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Football Championship when they proved far too strong for a depleted Stradbally side at Azzurri Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon.
The city outfit emerged convincing winners in a contest they largely controlled from start to finish, but the success came at a cost as injuries to Seamus Byrnes, Steven Cooke and Adam Dobbyn cast a shadow over an otherwise impressive display.
These sides have developed a fierce rivalry in recent seasons, having met in a number of promotion and relegation encounters, and once again it was Roanmore who came out on top.
The Sky Blues settled quickly and opened the scoring through Eddie Nolan from a free after just two minutes. Dean Reidy added another point before Billy Nolan converted a two-point free to leave Roanmore 0-4 to 0-0 ahead inside the opening nine minutes.
Stradbally responded through Michael Mullaney's two-point free but found themselves further behind moments later. A slick move involving brothers Billy and Eddie Nolan ended with Eddie firing low beyond Nicky Power for the first goal of the game.
Points from John Bruton and Daniel Weldon helped Stradbally stay in touch, while Weldon added another after capitalising on a misplaced restart. That reduced the gap to just two points, but Roanmore finished the half in dominant fashion.
Eddie Nolan landed scores in the 26th and 28th minutes before Rory Furlong burst through the heart of the Stradbally defence and rattled the net. That goal sent Roanmore into the interval with a commanding 2-7 to 0-5 lead.
The second half became a more physical and fragmented affair with injuries disrupting play. Roanmore had already lost Seamus Byrnes early on and matters worsened when Steven Cooke was forced off shortly after the restart. His replacement, Adam Dobbyn, also suffered an injury and was unable to finish the game.
Despite the interruptions, Roanmore maintained control. Billy Nolan and Dobbyn added points during a low-scoring third quarter before Eddie Nolan stretched the lead further from a free with 11 minutes remaining.
Daniel Weldon briefly answered for Stradbally, but any hopes of a comeback disappeared on 55 minutes when Eddie Nolan struck his second goal, finishing clinically into the corner of the net after another incisive attack.
Stradbally continued to battle and picked off scores through Paul Connors and a two-point free from Darragh Fennell, while Tommy Fennell spent time in the sin-bin following a black-card offence. However, the outcome was already beyond doubt.
Johnny Walsh completed the scoring in stoppage time as Roanmore sealed a deserved victory that boosts their championship hopes while leaving Stradbally facing a difficult path in the rounds ahead.
Eddie Nolan 2-4 (0-3f), Billy Nolan 1-2 (1 two-point free), Rory Furlong 1-0, Dean Reidy, Ethan Flynn, Adam Dobbyn, Jonny Walsh 0-1 each.
Daniel Weldon 0-3, Darragh Fennell (two-point free), Michael Mullaney (two-point free) 0-2 each, John Bruton, Paul Connors 0-1 each.
Josh Sheridan; Darragh Hearne, Dean Walsh, Seamus Byrnes; Chris Dempsey, Ethan Hayes, Lee Hearne; Rory Furlong, Frank McGrath; Dean Reidy, Billy Nolan, Brian Nolan; Eamon Power, Eddie Nolan, Ethan Flynn.
Steven Cooke for Seamus Byrnes (2), Adam Dobbyn for Steven Cooke (34), Shane Nolan for Adam Dobbyn (48), Conor Fanning for Ethan Flynn (55), Johnny Walsh for Lee Hearne (62).
Nicky Power; Brendan Gough, Seathrún Kiersey, Donncha Dunphy; Paul Connors, Liam Fennell, Barry O'Brien; Michael Mullaney, Conor Fennell; Jack Mullaney, Cormac McGrath, Daniel Weldon; John Bruton, Paul Tobin, Cian Weldon.
Liam Kiersey for Barry O'Brien (HT), Aaron Curran for Cian Weldon (HT), Tommy Fennell for Seathrún Kiersey (43), Darragh Fennell for Paul Tobin (47), Cian Weldon for Michael Mullaney (55).
Anthony Fitzgerald (Gaultier).
