Kirk makes a point for Mary’s

GERALDINES ST MARYS 0-14 1-11

ALAN Kirk rescued a point for St Marys with the only goal of the game deep into injury time at Haggardstown.

It was a hammer blow for the Gers as, boosted by the dismissal of Ardee’s Dean Matthews in the first half, they looked to be on course for a first victory of the season.

After a nip-and-tuck opening quarter the hosts moved up a gear and a brace from Glen Trainor along with efforts from Michael Rogers and Conor Rafferty helped them to a 0-8 to 0-5 lead at the interval.

The Marys suffered a further setback in that half when Dean Matthews was shown a red card in the 24th minute.

With confidence up and the aid of a numerical advantage, the Gers remained in control throughout the second half. Points from Cillian Dempsey, Paddy Geoghegan and Rafferty helped them maintain their advantage as the Marys worked hard to keep in touch with points from Clarke, Fay and Liam Jackson.

Entering injury-time the Gers were three clear but the Marys refused to concede defeat and Kirk got in to score a dramatic late equaliser. GERALDINES: Darrin Kearney; Kevin Pepper, Sean Watters, Paul Clarke; Cillian Dempsey 0-1, Stephen Reidy, Gareth Neacy; Paddy Hoey, Matthew Corcoran; Shane Rogers, Glen Trainor 0-2, Shaun Callan; Conor Rafferty 0-6, Shane O’Hanlon, Paddy Geoghegan 0-1. Subs: Michael Rogers 0-4 for S O’Hanlon, James Craven for S Watters, Des Reenan for P Geoghegan, Sean Thornton for S Rogers, Dylan Kresa for G Neacy.

ST MARYS: Alan McGauley; Brendan Matthews, Philip Trainor, Donal McKenny; Liam Jackson 0-1, Eimhin Keenan, Kian Moran; Joe Mulholland, Robert Leavy; Dean Matthews, Ronan Carroll 0-2, Darragh McConnon; Mark Fay 0-2, Jamie Rooney 0-1, Darren Clarke 0-4. Subs: RJ Callaghan, Alan Kirk 1-1.