Round Tower Senior Footballers have pushed themselves back into promotion contention after Skerries Harps unbeaten run in AFL2 was ended Saturday evening in Monastery Road, writes Mick McGlynn. It was Towers who held their nerve in the final quarter to take the full points and the result, coupled with others in the division, leaves us fifth placed in the league, within a play-off position. O’Tooles (away) and St Pat’s of Palmerstown (home) remain.
During the opening half it was Skerries Harps who had the edge. But they had the backing of a strong wind and went into the break 0-7 v 1-2 clear. Towers goal came in the opening minutes when a high ball was flicked beyond the Skerries keeper by Micheál Walsh. Thomas Galvin and Ian Ward, kicking a trademark long-range point, registered Towers points. Towers often struggled to gain a foothold in the final quarter of the pitch, with disciplined Skerries tackling and strong running from the middle forcing Towers on the retreat. But Towers pressure and discipline in defence restricted the damage.
We started the second half the brighter, but failed to initially eat into the deficit, registering three wides within the opening four minutes. A score did arrive. Ward and James Kelly combined to release Walsh on the 40 and a push on his back led to Niall Lanigan kicking the subsequent free from long-range. On 12 minutes former Dublin footballer Bryan Cullen kicked a point following on from an excellent Skerries move. A foul on Thomas Galvin off the ball should have led to another Towers point but the free dropped short. However they registered the second goal of the game moments later. Mick Hallows did well to win a sideline and quickly kicked up line to Galvin. In slippery conditions he retained his balance and cut inside for goal. The strike was deflected beyond the keeper by a retreating Skerries defender. The point advantage was wiped out in the next attack with an excellent Skerries score from the right. But Towers edged clear with nine minutes remaining. Mick Hallows intercepted and Derek Murray found Walsh in space. He carried at pace and kicked an excellent score from the right. The point advantage became four from the next attack. From the Skerries kick-out Lanigan batted to Walsh and he played an superb pass to Hallows who’d broke from the middle. He rounded the keeper and finished to the net. Eight minutes remained and the advantage was four points. The newly introduced Trevor Clendenning stretched the advantage to five with a great point from an acute angle. The clock was against Skerries and they kicked one in reply before being reduced to 14 men following a late challenge. Galvin provided further insurance when he turned to strike a terrific point from long-range, from the left. It effectively secured the two points but there was another moment of drama when a mix-up in Towers full back-line, when comfortable in possession, led to a Skerries goal. But the whistle blew moments later for a very valuable Towers win.
Round Tower: Gary Cleary, Niall Byrne, Mark Gahan, Daniel Gregg, Jason Murphy, Ian Ward, Barry Keane, Jason Joyce, Liam Connolly, Micheál Walsh, Mick Hallows, James Kelly, Thomas Galvin, Derek Murray, Niall Lanigan. Used subs: Mark Taylor, Eoin Moran, Trevor Clendenning
