February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Both clubs were new to the Junior A division and on this day’s display they are destined to occupy different ends of the division table. Stamford, the Senior A champions only two years ago, were dominant from the start, steamrolling a badly overmatched Rockland team.
Stamford opened with a Tom William’s free and Aiden Sweeney’s goal on the four-minute mark got the route in motion. Several of Stamford’s former Senior team have made the drop and with players like Eric Bradley, Keith Hennessey, Peter Coyne, and Justin O’Halloran, the Connecticut side could be heard from come autumn.
The halftime score of 3-8 to 0-0 would have been far worse if not for the stellar performance of Tom Furlong in the Rockland goals. Two huge Furlong saves could do no more than delay the inevitable and this match was over long before referee Tom Darby blew the short whistle.
The only suspense in the second half involved the potential shutout. It took 9 minutes, but John McGuiness erased the goose eggs from the Rockland side of the scoreboard with a well-taken point.
Jimmy Flynn added a 50 for a final score of 3-10 to 0-2. Stamford won’t have gained a lot from this encounter, while Rockland will have to hang in there. The upstate side has a lot of young players who have come through the minor ranks and with the playoffs a long shot, look for youth to be served in future Rockland lineouts.
Man of the Match: Aiden Sweeney
Stamford: Pat Coyne, John Kearney, Pat Coyne, Phil Wickham, Justin O’Halloran, Keith Hennessey, Derek Williams, Ted Steed, Niall Duggan (0-1), Sean Collins (0-1), Eric Bradley (1-1), Tommy Williams (0-3), Spike Martin (0-2), Aiden Sweeney (1-1), Niall Faughan (1-1). Subs: Sean Coyle, Paul Coyle, Mick Hanley, Tom Ruddy.
Rockland: Tom Furlong, Kevin Spellman, Garret McCuskon, John White, Ray Lennon, Jimmy Flynn (0-1, 50), Sean Roche, Chris Butler, Steven Spellman, Dave Fitzgerald, Tom Fennell, Ciaran McMahon. Subs: Emmit Woods Jr., John McGuiness (0-1).