GAA Leinster Club SFC: Moorefield beat St Patrick’s (Wicklow)

AT this stage of the provincial club championships it's all about getting over the first hurdle. Moorefield did that a couple of Friday's back when they finally cleared Neeson's and hit the training ground again.

On Sunday, the Newbridge men made for the hills to face the second obstacle. Aughrim. The place where Sunday drives and football dreams finish.

It's a funny kind of setting. Picturesque and, despite it's proximity to the pale, as remote as any county ground in the 32 GAA jurisdictions.

With the autumn sun splashed high across the heather hued mountains and the little hamlets of the Garden County looking postcard perfect it seems a heavenly venue for a game.

But still. There's something disconcerting about the place, in a deliverance sort of way. Anywhere the car radio's signal begins to muffle and the mobile signal sinks to below two bars is eerie to the townie. In olden times it was considered insanity to venture into the forest or the mountains. You never came out the way you went in.

Funny things happened there. Malevolent spirits lurked there. Locals lurked there. In this particular detached abode, Wicklow footballers are the locals and thus provided hurdle number three for Moorefield.

Fortunately for the Kildare champions, their opponents hailed from the seaside county town and not the scenic, sinister hills.

But at half-time it looked as if the Moors were going to come unstuck to a home opposition of lesser talent, as has happened so many before them in Aughrim.

It wasn't that they were being pushed around. That doesn't generally happen to lads from the top of Newbridge. No. They were being outmanoeuvred by a slicker set of forwards. Centre forward David Smullen and talismanic full forward Paul Earls were making full use of whatever ball came their way.

Not even the early switching of Kevin O'Neill onto Earls and Ger Naughton onto Smullen stemmed the flow.

Earls and Smullen were the fulcrum that levered St Pat's to a two-point lead at the interval.

Earls converted two frees and added a score from play in the opening 30 minutes. He also played a supporting role in his side's other trio of points: On 11 minutes he feed Smullen; he did the same after 29 and in first half injury time he created the opening for John Slattery to leave daylight between the sides.

At this point Moorefield had a right to feel frustrated with themselves. They had won the greater share of the ball but had failed to convert possession to goals and points.

Ross Glavin and Daryl Flynn, while not bossing midfield, were certainly in the ascendancy. Glavin worked tire-lessly throughout while Flynn's brief was to drop deep whenever the opponents had the football.

He manned his task admirably. Indeed, judging by his one foray forward, which came in the second half and ended with a rallying long point, it is not a task that fully utilises his range of skills.

Still, that is what has Moorefield as county champions: An ethos of team before individual. That and an admirable fighting spirit.

And it was that spirit which dragged them out of arrears shortly after half time. The urgency of purpose which was absent before the mid-point showed when Patrick Murray clipped over an early free and Flynn levelled the battle on 37 minutes after his aforementioned one and only raid into the up-field exclusion zone.

A minute later Moorefield were ahead after Ronan Sweeney set Patrick Murray up for a fine long-range point.

Again, Earls was on target shortly afterwards to tie things up again despite a game attempt at a block by Kevin O'Neill.

At this stage it looked as if O'Neill had been handed the impossible job. However, the county full back eventually got a handle on his man and with Earls quelled, St Patricks' scores dried up.

Ronan Sweeney restored Moorefield's advantage from the restart. A minute later Patrick Murray converted a free after Phillie Woulfe was fouled.

With six minutes remaining Ronan Sweeney had the chance to finish it. Advancing on goal, he was one-on-one with a defender with Woulfe free inside. It was one of those moments when the attacker thinks goal, pass and point all at once.

The indecision ended, as it frequently does, with the ball being driven high and wide. Nevertheless, Roly immediately atoned by grabbing the kick-out from the sky before laying off to Michael Treacy who showed character by putting a number of mistakes to the back of his mind and kicking a fine score from over 30 metres out.

Sub David Whyte added another point with the game almost up, yet all was not finished. There was still time for Ger Naughton to get sent off for a second yellow card and for Earls to send over the resulting free.

But Moorefield were not to be denied. With the last kick of the game, Patrick Murray secured a four-point win and happy, relieved drive back down the hill for green flagged cars of Kildare.

With the day over, we learned nothing about Moorefield that we don't already know. From one to nine they are solid. As a unit, their forwards are not overly threatening. And the quality of ball that is supplied, to the inside line in particular, isn't of the highest quality.

That, however, is not massively important right now. It's a rare enough winter game that can't be won by 10 to 12 points. The Moors are always good for at least that. If their back nine continue to maintain their meanness then there is no reason why Kildare's representatives cannot make good progress in this competition.

Moorefield: Thomas Corley, Ian Lonergan, Ger Naughton, Padraig O'Flynn, Kenny Duane (0-1), Kevin O'Neill, James Lonergan, Ross Glavin (0-1), Darryl Flynn (0-1), Michael Treacy (0-1), Ronan Sweeney (0-1), Robbie Delaney, Patrick Murray (0-5, 0-3f), Jason Phillips, Phillie Woulfe (0-1). Subs: Keith Duane for Robbie Delaney, David Whyte for Jason Phillips, Pa Behan for Keith Duane

St Patrick’s: Robert Hollingsworth, Ronan Connolly, Gary Jameson, David Byrne, Brian Cornyn, Andy Jameson, Wayne Farrell, Mark Donohue, Gary Duffy, Richard Murphy, David Smullen (0-2), John Slattery (0-1), Darragh O'Sullivan, Paul Earls (0-5, 0-4f), Sean O'Brien. Subs: Christopher Kavanagh for Richard Murphy, Joe Quinn for Mark Donohue, Stephen Duffy for Darragh O'Sullivan