St Francis held to a draw as goalposts are blown over

As the entire country suffered from the effects of the weekend"s stormy weather, there was no respite in Iona Park where the ferocity of the gale-force winds dominated proceedings. Such was the ferocity of the wind that, with ten minutes remaining in the game, Tullamore net-minder Dean Molloy bizarrely found himself without a net to mind as his goal was ripped from the ground and blown over. Luckily the goalposts tumbled away from the pitch rather than into play - had they done so, it could have proved to be a highly dangerous situation. As for the action, it took a late goal by Jack English to salvage a deserved draw for Tullamore after Alex Gardiner had given St. Francis the lead as early as the ninth minute. Aided by the wind, although it was so strong it was really of no use to either team, Tullamore made a lively start to the game. After just 5 minutes, Adam Smyth drilled a ball across the face of Cathal Tighe"s goal. But although Derek Coolihan and Gary Buckley had both made runs into the box, neither of them could reach the ball in time and the chance was gone. Sean Henchey then went close a few minutes later with a long range effort that just missed the target. Eventually St. Francis began to get the ball down on play and, in the 9th minute, they had their reward. A strong tackle in the midfield by Brian Gill saw him regain possession and feed Niall Boland down the left wing. Boland then swung in a cross right across the face of the goal. And although Dylan Jinks failed to make contact with it, Alex Gardiner arrived just in time to tap home at the far post. It was 1-0 to St. Francis but slightly against the run of play. Tullamore responded with a curling effort from Gary Buckley that, again, just failed to hit the target. David Ward hit back for St Francis through an effort of his own, but found his shot to be a wayward one. On 21 minutes, the home side had a fantastic opportunity to double their lead when a threaded ball in behind the Tullamore defence put Dylan Jinks through on goal. The St Francis striker cleverly skipped around the advancing "keeper but his weak shot allowed the Tullamore defenders to get back and clear the ball off the line. Five minutes later, Tullamore were again caught napping when a short corner to Niall Boland saw the winger hit a curling effort that rattled the crossbar and fell away to safety. Tullamore were living dangerously. A wayward shot from Gary Buckley was the last significant action of the half as players, referee and those brave enough to turn up and watch ran for the shelter of the clubhouse where some hot tea was greatly appreciated. The weather didn"t let up for the second half with conditions making good football almost an impossibility. But, just as in the first half, Tullamore started the stronger of the two teams, a dominance that they would enjoy for the majority of the half. Nine minutes in, a solo run from Stephen Keogh saw him lay off to Gary Buckley, who brought the best out of Cathal Tighe with his shot from distance. With the wind playing havoc, not a lot happened until the 62nd minute when Dylan Jinks found himself in a bit of space on the edge of the box. Jinks hit a shot but saw it saved by "keeper Dean Molloy. Jinks was in the thick of the action again minutes later when he beat two defenders in along the end-line, but hit the side-netting with a shot from a tight angle when perhaps it would have been wiser to pull the ball back to a team-mate. But despite those two Jinks efforts, it was Tullamore who were controlling possession and pushing hard for the equalising goal. Striker Sean Henchey went close with a long-range effort on 69 minutes but, after the goalposts had been re-erected, the visiting team finally got the goal they deserved. And, almost inevitably, the elements would play its part. It came about as a result of another solo run from Stephen Keogh. This time Keogh laid the ball out right to Jack English. And from the edge of the area, English hit a looping shot that got caught up in the wind before dropping over Cathal Tighe and into the net. Tullamore were buoyed by the equaliser, but time was against them and failed to find a winner. The final whistle was probably the most welcoming sound of the day. Football can be a beautiful game but this match was one that had to be endured rather than enjoyed. ST. FRANCIS: Cathal Tighe, David Jinks, Ian Dempsey, Brian Gill, Joe Woods, Eoin Monaghan, Niall Boland, Ollie Milton, David Ward, Alex Gardiner, Dylan Jinks. SUBS USED: Sean Moran for N Boland (45 mins). TULLAMORE: Dean Molloy, Declan Hogan, Stephen Keogh, Leon Dunne, Mark Hughes, Adam Smyth, Gary Buckley, Mickey Rooney, Sean Henchey, Derek Coolihan, Jack English. SUBS USED: Mark Keyes for D Coolihan (HT), Derek Corcoran for M Rooney (HT).