“Sheridan’s Spark Turns the Tide as Glyde Rangers Defeat St Nicholas”

DKIT Sport Louth GAA Junior Football Championship – Group 4, Round 2

Glyde Rangers 0-11 St Nicholas 0-6
Venue: Shawport Páirc Seán McDiarmada
Referee: Paul Burke (Naomh Máirtín)

Glyde Rangers produced a powerful second-half turnaround in Shawport Páirc Seán McDiarmada to defeat St Nicholas by five points and move into a strong position in Group 4 of the DKIT Sport Louth Junior Football Championship. Despite trailing by three at the interval, the Mid-Louth men showed composure and patience to wrestle control of the game, with the outstanding Ciarán Sheridan proving unmarkable in the final quarter.

Bright Start for the Nicks

The Drogheda side opened in blistering fashion. Inside the first two minutes, Hayden Quinn and Con Sheehan both raised white flags from play, signalling their intent. Although Tadhg Kellet responded for Glyde with a neat point on four minutes, Roy Kierans restored the two-point cushion almost immediately.

When Sheehan added his second and Quinn kicked another superb effort by the 11th minute, St Nicholas led 0-5 to 0-1 and looked the sharper, hungrier outfit.

However, the Nicks’ momentum was rocked in a chaotic spell midway through the half. First, Fionn Meagher was shown a black card on 14 minutes. Then, scarcely a minute later, midfielder Philip Kirwan was issued a straight red card, leaving his side a man down for the remainder.

Still, the Nicks battled gamely, and when Pádraic Downey split the posts on 19 minutes, they had six points on the board. Glyde, though, began to stir, with Seán Devaney and Adam Sweeney narrowing the deficit before half-time.

At the break, St Nicholas held a 0-6 to 0-3 lead but faced the daunting challenge of protecting it with 14 men.

Glyde Take Control

After a sluggish opening half, the home side used their numerical advantage wisely upon the restart. Managerial switches proved crucial, with Olan Crosbie and Gerard Bourton making instant impacts off the bench.

Kellet opened the second-half scoring before Sheridan lit up the contest. The midfielder struck a spectacular two-point effort in the 44th minute, lifting both his teammates and the home support. Glyde were suddenly level, and the momentum was firmly with them.

Further substitutions shored up their energy levels, and Crosbie’s fisted score edged Glyde ahead for the first time in the 51st minute. From there, Sheridan took centre stage.

The rangy midfielder added another point from play before producing a second sublime two-pointer in the 57th minute, a finish that underlined his class and control of proceedings. He wasn’t done yet, adding a further score a minute later to complete a devastating individual display.

St Nicholas Fade

With their numerical disadvantage and heavy defensive workload, the Nicks struggled to mount a response. The early fluency of Quinn and Sheehan was stifled as Glyde packed the middle third and forced turnovers, while Kierans was left feeding on scraps in the full-forward line.

Despite brave efforts from Shane Downey and Alex Finegan in defence, the Nicks were simply overpowered in the closing stages as Glyde ran out deserved winners, holding their opponents scoreless in the second half.

Man of the Match

There could be no disputing the star performer. Ciarán Sheridan dominated the second half, kicking 2 superb two-pointers and 2 points from play, turning the game on its head almost single-handedly. His blend of power, athleticism, and finishing quality made him the clear Man of the Match.

Scorers

• Glyde Rangers: C. Sheridan (0-6, incl. 2×two-pointers), T. Kellet (0-2), S. Devaney (0-1), A. Sweeney (0-1), O. Crosbie (0-1).
• St Nicholas: H. Quinn (0-2), C. Sheehan (0-2), R. Kierans (0-1), P. Downey (0-1).

Teams

Glyde Rangers:
David Brennan; Darren McKeever, Mark McKeever, Shane Byrne; Jack McKeever, Seán Devaney, Adam Sweeney; Ciarán Sheridan, Killian Scott; Aaron Devlin, Leigh Byrne, Tadhg Kellet; Brian Duffy, Liam Gallagher, Cormac Lundon.
Subs: Olan Crosbie for Leigh Byrne (39), Gerard Bourton for Killian Scott (42), Conor MacCauley for Aaron Devlin (49), Aaron Myles for Tadhg Kellet (49), Conor McCullagh for Jack McKeever (55).

St Nicholas:
Shane Finegan; Stephen Finegan, Ruairí Hanlon, Cebhan Houshidari; Aaron Flanagan, Alex Finegan, Dylan Brogan; Philip Kirwan, Brian Carter; Shane Downey, Roy Kierans, Hayden Quinn; Fionn Meagher, Pádraic Downey, Con Sheehan.
Subs: Lee Kavanagh for Pádraic Downey (49), Cian Flynn for Brian Carter (49).