Pat’s drive on

Up stepped Jeffrey Bermingham but his effort was tame and O’Mahony was more than capable of pulling off the save. This was a bitter blow for Kiltegan. Prior to the penalty miss, Kiltegan had another three efforts on goal saved and this lack of conviction in front of goal would prove costly when all was said and done.

One man with no lack of composure in front of goal was Andy O’Brien, the county star finding the net on two occasions in the first half.

His second goal in particular was an exceptional effort. Plucking a high, diagonal ball out of the sky at the edge of the square, O’Brien twisted and swung across his body in one quick movement, finding the corner of the net with the most clinical of finishes.

Kiltegan should have been much closer but they went in at the break seven points down.

In the second period, Kiltegan moved Padraig O’Toole into the full-forward line and this switch threatened to spark a comeback when O’Toole beat his man before shooting across goal into the net.

In the end, it was too little too late as St. Pat’s always did enough to maintain their lead.

Kiltegan will rue their penalty miss in the first half on top of their failure to convert several other goal opportunities.

St. Pat’s were clinical in attack and brave in defence, with Michael Connors in particular putting in some sensational blocks in the closing stages as Kiltegan pushed on desperately in search of a second goal.

Scorers – St Patrick’s: Andy O’ Brien 2-06(0-04f), Christy Moore- house 0-01, George O’ Brien 0-01, James O’ Brien 0-01, George O’ Connor 0-01.

Kiltegan: Padraig O’ Toole 1-00, Seanie Germaine 0-04(0-02f, 0-01 65), Kevin Byrne 0-01, Jeffrey Bermingham 0-01, Aaron Byrne 0-01.

Eoghan O’Mahony; Tomas Kehoe, John Connors, George O’Brien; Michael Connors, Gerry Connors, Dale Quinn; George O’Brien, Eddie Kelly; Christy Moorehouse, Shane Doyle, John O’Brien; George O’Connor, Andy O’Brien, James O’Brien.

Luke Byrne; Eoin O’Neill, Bryan Kearney, Colm O’Connor; Mikey Mangan, Ronan Byrne, Dan Kearney; Rory Finn, Padraig Byrne; Padraig O’Toole, Jeffrey Bermingham, Cathal Fitzgerald; Seanie Germaine, Kevin Byrne, Aaron Byrne. Subs: Ciaran Doyle, Christy O’Toole, John O’Keeffe, Mark Murphy, Stephen Coogan.

Jimmy Kelly

BRAY EMMETS AVONDALE 1-23 0-07

COUNTY champions Bray Emmets took another step towards clinching one of the semi-finals berths in the Dacia Senior hurling Championship when they made the short trip to Greystones to face Avondale on Sunday morning last.

Following their only defeat so far, to arch rivals Glenealy, the three-in-a-row champions bounced back to defeat Kiltegan in the last round and on this occasion the north Wicklow side proved to strong for a weak Avondale side in what was an excellent performance despite being so many short players from last year’s winning side which must have pleased their new manager, Tipperary native Tommy Carroll and his selectors.

Bray Emmets entered the contest firm favourites while Emmet Suillvan’s side were aiming to collect their first points in what has being a disappointing campaign for the Rathdrum men.

The end result saw Bray Emmets go through the motions before emerging victorious with a 19-point winning margin.

Bray centre-half forward Padraig Doyle opened the scoring with a point from play after five minutes and the winners continued to keep the pressure on with Diarmuid Materson falling short with a 65 and Cian O’Byrne lashing the breaking ball side but the Bray attacker made up for that miss when he landed a point after seven minutes.

With the midfield pairing of Enda Forde and Diarmuid Materson controlling the middle third the men from the banks of the Dargle pushed further ahead with county players Padraig Doyle and top scorer Masterson adding a point each before Ray Nolan replied with a point from a free to leave Bray ahead by 0-04 to 0-01 at the end of the first quarter.

The winners continued to dominate in most sectors but were unable to break down a solid goalkeeper in Tom Finn which saw him produce a double save from Mikey Lee who has made a welcome return to the Bray Emmets squad after a lay off.

The winners responded after Finn’s double save and went on to score at will during the rest of the half which saw the Bray men outscore their opponents by 1-06 to no score.

The Avondale defence came under fierce pressure which forced them to foul and this was to prove costly with ace free taker Diarmuid Masterson in excellent form which saw the midfielder score five points from frees and play and a 65, while dual star Marc Lennon scored the only goal of the game and went on to add a point from play.

A brief rally by the men from the Parnell country saw them launch two attacks but they failed to convert both of their chances.

Avondale received a free in and Ray Nolan went for a goal which was impossible with a crowded goalmouth and Eugene Dunne went wide from the resulting 65.

From the puck out, Mikey Lee, who had moved out the field, won possession which saw his shot sail between the posts while one last effort from the Dales saw Ray Nolan shoot wide.

Whatever hope Avondale had of a comeback faded when wing back Conor Sheehan was shown a red card after being involved in a clash with his direct opponent Eoin McCormack who failed to return after the break which saw the winners with commanding lead of 1-11 to 0-0l.

The Bray team back room team took the opportunity to empty the bench at the break which saw them introduce four subs and one player, Tom Cash, really took the chance to impress the selectors as he was involved in the first three scorers after the break.

Better known for his free taking, Tom Cash landed two points for play and was involved in a passing movement when he set up Mikey Lee for a point from play to stretch the lead even further.

Another half-time substitute, Conor McNally, was not so lucky. He was forced to leave the field of play with a bad injury which saw him removed to hospitial and no doubt the Gaels of Wicklow wish him a speedy recovery.

A rare Avondale rally saw them land two points in a row through Ray Nolan and Eugene Dunne but with a man down and trailing by 1-14 to 0-03 they were faced with an impossible task.

With time almost up, a melee took place which involved a number of players pushing and shoving which saw two Avondale players receive second yellow cards.

However, one of the players sent off was not happy to have received the card and he re-entered the fray and on this occasion was shown a straight red card which leaves a depleted Avondale side with a mighty task to reach the knockout stages of the campaign, while a player from each side can count themselves lucky to have stayed on the field of play following their antics.

Scorers - Bray Emmets: Marc Lennon 1-01, Diarmuid Masterson 0-08 (5f, one 65), Mikey Lee 0-07, Padraig Doyle 0-03, Tom Cash 0-02, Cian O’Byrne 0-02.

Avondale: Ray Nolan 0-04 (3f), Eugene Dunne 0-01, Paul Gahan 0-01, Niall Heffernan 0-01.