Ryan shows his class to lead impressive Nire to seven-point win
The Nire made it two wins from two in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Football Championship when they overcame Gaultier by seven points under the lights at Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field on Saturday evening.
Despite trailing by a point at the interval, the West Waterford outfit always looked the more composed side and produced a dominant second-half display to secure a deserved victory and maintain their impressive start to the campaign.
While a remarkable three-goal burst in the space of just three minutes during the opening half threatened to turn the contest into a thrilling shoot-out, the game never truly reached those heights. Instead, The Nire gradually took control and finished the stronger of the two teams.
Aaron Ryan opened the scoring after just two minutes for The Nire before Sean White replied with a pointed free. Dermot Ryan restored The Nire's advantage on nine minutes, but the game was then ignited by a dramatic spell of goalmouth action.
Gaultier struck first when Gary Cullinane's speculative effort from distance dipped late and deceived Nire goalkeeper Stephen Ryan, the ball finding the net despite the goalkeeper getting fingertips to it.
The City side quickly doubled their advantage. Mark Fitzgerald supplied the pass and Sean White finished clinically to the net, leaving Gaultier 2-1 to 0-2 in front.
The response from The Nire was immediate. Straight from the restart, Liam O'Brien sent Aaron Ryan through and the forward buried his finish to the net, reducing the deficit and breathing fresh life into his side.
That goal proved a turning point as The Nire began to dominate possession and territory. Aaron Ryan, Sean Walsh and Jamie Barron all pointed, while Ryan added two further scores to help his side move 1-7 to 2-1 ahead approaching half-time.
However, Gaultier rallied before the break. Tommy Martin finished an incisive move with his side's third goal and Callum O'Neill added a point to give Gaultier a narrow 3-2 to 1-7 lead at the interval.
Any momentum Gaultier had built was quickly erased after the restart. Just two minutes into the second half, The Nire launched another attack and, after referee Paddy Smith allowed play continue under advantage, Aaron Ryan crashed home his second goal of the evening to edge his side back in front.
Ryan and Jamie Barron followed up with further points as The Nire tightened their grip on proceedings.
Niall McSweeney finally opened Gaultier's second-half account on 39 minutes, but Aaron Ryan immediately replied and The Nire continued to dictate matters around the middle third.
The decisive score arrived on 48 minutes. Liam O'Brien, who had worked tirelessly throughout, finished a well-crafted move to the net and extended the gap to a commanding margin.
McSweeney and Ryan exchanged points in the closing stages before Tommy Martin completed the scoring on 54 minutes.
Gaultier's difficult evening was compounded late on when David Jones received a black card and, deep into added time, Niall McSweeney was shown a second yellow card, leaving the City side with 13 players by the final whistle.
For The Nire, Aaron Ryan was outstanding throughout and finished with a superb tally of 2-7, while Liam O'Brien and Jamie Barron also made important contributions. The victory leaves them well placed after back-to-back championship wins.
Aaron Ryan 2-7 (3f), Liam O’Brien 1-0, Jamie Barron 0-2, Pat Walsh, Dermot Ryan, Sean Walsh 0-1 each.
Sean White 1-1 (1f), Tommy Martin 1-1, Gary Cullinane 1-0, Niall McSweeney 0-2 (1f), Callum O’Neill 0-1.
Stephen Ryan; Fionn Hallinan, Tadhg Walsh, Paddy Spelman; Tholom Guiry, Conor Gleeson, Dermot Ryan; Tom Barron, Sean Walsh; Jamie Barron, Liam O’Brien, Evan Spellman, Chris Ryan, Pat Walsh, Aaron Ryan
Michael Morrissey for Chris Ryan (47), Michael O’Sullivan for Pat Walsh (47), Oisin Walsh for Tholom Guiry (57), Gearoid Hearn for Conor Gleeson (59), Larry Walsh for Aaron Ryan (59).
Gavin Buckley; Daniel Kiely, Sean Byrne, David Jones; Tommy Martin, Gary Cullinane, Fergal O’Brien; Mark Fitzgerald, Dale Cullinane; Dessie Hutchinson, Tom Dalton, Callum O’Neill; JJ Hutchinson, Kyle Flynn, Kyle Flynn.
Rory Jacob for Dale Cullinane (HT), Niall McSweeny for Sean White (37), Eoin McSweeney for JJ Hutchinson (40), Billy O’Keeffe for Tom Dalton (49),
Paddy Smith (Shamrocks).
