GAA | St. Fechins beat Naomh Moinne to line up fourth Championship in a row
Serial winners St. Fechins have more silverware in their sights after they booked their place in another Louth Senior Hurling Championship Final following a convincing triumph over Naomh Moinne in Dowdallshill.
St. Fechins thoroughly outclassed their opponents by 3-19 to 2-14 on Friday to secure their 10th appearance in a row in the final and having won each of the last three editions of the Senior Hurling Championship in the Wee County, more success could be in the offing.
The Termonfeckin outfit will meet Knockbridge in the climatic fixture itself on Sunday, August 11th and the title holders are certain to dominate the markets on online betting sites and at local bookmakers in Louth in the lead-up to the big occasion.
Dundalk’s Naomh Moinne were always likely to be up against it when facing the defending county champions and they found themselves behind after just 60 seconds on Friday, when Sean Hodgins clipped a shot over the bar.
It took Naomh Moinne six minutes to impact the scoresheet via at Dylan Carey free before a further point from David Stephenson and a goal from Paul Matthews put St. Fechins in command.
To their credit, Naomh Moinne didn’t let their heads drop and they reduced the deficit to just a single point thanks to a kicked goal from that man Carey again. Shortly after, the underdogs were on level pegging following a well-taken Kyle Rafferty point.
Naomh Moinne even got their noses in front through Darren O’Hanrahan, though St. Fechins responded in typical style and almost immediately plundered a second goal through the lethal Paul Matthews.
The Fechins came within a whisker of adding a third first-half goal to their tally, though they did boost their haul through a series of smartly-taken points and led 2-6 to 1-7 at the interval.
Scores were swapped by the teams in the early exchanges of the second half, however, St. Fechins stepped up a gear and settled their nerves with a streak of four unanswered points inside a defining three-minute spell.
By the 48-minute of the contest, Matthews had completed his hattrick, allowing St. Fechins to lead by 3-14 to 2-10 and the champions’ seven-point advantage was extended to eight by Sean Hodgins well-directed clip.
Naomh Moinne did well to trade blows with their conquerors and even scored three times without reply in the game’s dying embers, however, the damage had already been done and St. Fechins were more than worthy winners in in Dowdallshill.
Attention will now turn swiftly to the final for St. Fechins on August 11th when Knockbridge are expected provide a stiffer challenge on August 11th. Knockbridge won the most recent of their 12 Hurling Championship titles in 2020, however, despite their proud record in the competition, they are likely to be priced as outsiders to triumph on sports betting apps ahead of the tournament’s finale.
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