Premier 2 Minor Football Championship
Charleville          7-06
Passage West    2-14
Charleville’s minor footballers put on a show in front of goal last night and booked a spot in the quarter final of this year’s P2MFC.
The Avondhu side proved that goals really do win games as they rattled the net on no fewer than seven occasions in their backdoor clash with Passage West in Mallow.
A hat-trick of net busters from full forward Jamie Maloney set the tone in this tie with fellow forwards, Dean Foley (two) and Dillan Lee (one) also raising the green flag.
The goal rush wasn’t just for the strikers however as left half back James Fitzgerald also helped himself to a three pointer.
The most surprising thing in this seven point victory was that Charleville were not even the better side on the night.
Passage West looked good in open play and had a dominant midfield for the opening period. Unfortunately for the Seandhún side the major turning point for them was the loss of their number eight Jack Summers. The midfield general was having a terrific game before he fell awkwardly and severely damaged his ankle.
The loss affected Passage West’s chances almost immediately and they went from a position of being up by five points at the break (2-11 to 3-3) to being down five (6-5 to 2-12), 15 minutes later.
The loss of Summers may have dramatically altered the course of this game but that should in no way take from the effort put in by Charleville. The boys in red came into this tie as underdogs but showed they are more than capable of putting up a good show when things go their way.
Maloney’s shift was crucial to the outcome. Apart from his three goals he added four points and led the line superbly. Foley was also influential in the full forward line with centre forward Gavin Mullins putting in a good display at centre forward. Other notable shows came from Jack Barry and Tim Keane in the midfield with centre back Jack Buckley also showing why is of interest to the county set up.
Passage West will be bitterly disappointed with the way this game turned out after a really good performance early on.
It’s rare a side bag 2-11 in the first half of a football match and lose, but that’s what happened here.
Centre forward Ryan Carroll was their major threat with eight points along with full forward Anto Kidney, who claimed an impressive 2-1.
Passage West may feel that on the balance of play they deserved the win, and to be fair, maybe they are right, but great credit must go to a Charleville side that showed not only are they capable of creating goal chances, but they are also not afraid to take them.
Scorers for Charleville: J Maloney 3-4 (0-2f); D Foley 2-0; J Fitzgerald, D Lee 1-0 each, G Mullins, J Barry 0-1 each.
Passage West: A Kidney 2-1; R Carroll 0-8 (0-3f); D Murphy 0-2, J Summers, S Keogh (1.45), M Horan 0-1 each.
CHARLEVILLE: D O’Connell, M; C Kiely, M Roche, A McCourt; B O’Connell, J Buckley, J Fitzgerald; T Keane, J Barry; D Lee, G Mullins, D Casey; MD O’Brien, J Maloney, D Foley. Subs: E Ryan for D Lee (58), C Carney for D Foley (58)
PASSAGE WEST: D Power; C Stokes, C Power, A Horan; D Byrne, D O’Driscoll, N O’Connor; J Summers, S Keogh; D Murphy, R Carroll, S Burke; E Fahy, A Kidney, M Horan. Subs: S O’Sullivan for J Summers (35), R Cooney for E Fahy (50).
Referee: G Moran (Banteer)