Oranmore 4
Dynamo Blues 0
BY Grace Uhr
Hot-footed striker Brian Mannion continued his purple patch as his Oranmore side grabbed a comprehensive 4-0 win in an ill-tempered clash with Dynamo Blues on Sunday.
The one-sided affair threatened to be called off early by referee Tony Geasley, who was forced to pull captains and managers aside for stern words late in the first half after fights began breaking out in the box during an Oranmore corner.
Oranmore already led 2-0 at that stage and added a further two in the second half after Geasley allowed the game to run its full course.
The result was never really in doubt, from the opening seconds when Mannion’s first of many opportunities did not quite have the power and provided Blues ‘keeper Cathal Hynes with a regulation save.
But Hynes faced a barrage throughout the first half as the home side played a dominant style which belied their seventh position on the table, just behind Blues on goal difference with both teams holding 10 points.
A further three Mannion efforts in the opening 10 minutes went close, the striker currently enjoying a heady time following on from a two-goal effort in his representative debut for Galway’s Oscar Traynor the week previously.
It was eventually a mistake by the Tuam-based team in the 18th minute which handed Oranmore their opening point when Kevin Stankard hand-balled inside the box, handing the home side a penalty which Mannion stepped up and took with ease.
Six minutes on and they were in again, this time from a corner which was taken by Lonan Farrell and headed in at the far post by Dermot Noone after ricocheting off several others.
A great through ball by Colin Burke could have seen Mannion in again, before the Blues had their first real chance of the half when Tom Kavanagh shot from long range and ‘keeper Conor Leydon managed to just parry it over the bar.
It was just after this that tensions began to fizzle on field, forcing Geasley’s mid-pitch warning to team hierarchies with seven minutes left in the half, and two yellow cards handed out to a player from each team amid the drama.
Burke had a late effort for Oranmore which just drifted left, and Leydon made a save on a shot from Jamie Murphy, but the score remained 2-0 at the break.
The momentum stayed with the home team at the resumption and Burke’s overhead swipe forced a tough save by Hynes on two minutes.
Blues made a wealth of changes to try to recoup some of the losses they had suffered so far, including a decision to substitute their ‘keeper, with Shane Stankard taking over in goals in place of Hynes.
He faced his first major test seven minutes after entering the fray, but could do nothing to prevent Noone from grabbing his second goal of the game, a strong strike from the far post after another corner 15 minutes into the half.
A strong head-wind had played havoc for both sides in alternating halves, but almost aided a goal by the unlikely source of Oranmore ‘keeper Leydon, whose wind-assisted kick-out just skimmed the right post at the opposite end of the ground.
It was then Oranmore’s turn to go looking for fresh legs and they made three substitutions almost simultaneously, including that of Noone in the 74th minute, the defender already handed one yellow card in the first half and management taking the safe option to take him off with the result basically confirmed.
Not that Oranmore needed any more assistance, but with 11 minutes left the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Kavanagh received his second yellow card for a tackle.
Leydon made a save on a shot by Paul Kavanagh, before Oranmore returned to rule the closing stages and Dave Devlin landed a strike just inside added time as a late bonus for the home team.
He had skirted around the last defender on the edge of the box and took a shot from a severe angle, but managed to guide it in to affirm the 4-0 result.
Oranmore: Conor Leydon, Dave Devlin, Brian Crowe, Dermot Noone (Sean O’Brien, 74 ), Ollie Neary, Alan Barnett, Dave Eignor (Willie Carr, 68 ), Dave Sheehan, Brian Mannion, Colin Burke (Joe Jennings, 60 ), Lonan O’Farrell
Dynamo Blues: Cathal Hynes (Shane Stankard, 53 ), Keith Fleming, Ger Kelly, Franny Fallon, Kevin Stankard, Tom Kavanagh, Jamie Murphy, Paul Kavanagh, Mark Shallow (Colin Quinn, 53 ), Mark Sweeney, John Farragher (Dean Fallon, 75 )
Referee: Tony Geasley.
