Lewis boasts sweet left foot!
Kilmore ace kicks five points from play to seal crown
KILMORE 2-12 TAGHMON-CAMROSS 2-7
WING-FORWARD Lewis Cosgrave kicked five quality second-half points with his deadly-accurate left peg as Kilmore recovered from a slow start to see off Taghmon-Camross in the Gorey Guardian Under-15 football Roinn 2 shield final in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, recently.
His fine finishing was a major factor in the seasiders battling back from an eight-point deficit at one stage, while influential midfielder Cian Murphy-Reddy had a key impact too with an equally important contribution of 2-2 from play.
It had been an entirely different story in the first quarter as Taghmon-Camross stormed into a 1-3 to nil lead, with their goal arriving in the fourth minute.
Dan Ruane supplied the pass for Conor Mernagh to finish calmly to the net, and this score immediately settled the Ross District side as wing-forward Jack Murphy added three points, two from frees.
Kilmore got off the mark in the 16th minute with a Cian Murphy-Reddy point but, after Murphy and Josh Berry swapped scores from frees, Taghmon-Camross pounced for another goal midway through the second quarter.
Conor Foley’s delivery was flicked on by captain Killian Gondard into the path of Dan Ruane, and the full-forward made no mistake to extend the gap to eight points (2-4 to 0-2).
Kilmore seemed to be in serious trouble, but they played out of their skins in the period before and directly after half-time, scoring 1-7 on the bounce to claim the initiative.
Even though Cosgrave fired one chance across goal and wide, and Jack Whitty made a super save to deny Conor O’Reilly, the pattern of the game started to noticeably change as Cian Murphy-Reddy, O’Reilly and James Cousins all picked off points.
And a foul on centre-back Dillon Crowley led to a vital goal in the 29th minute, with Noah Culleton’s kick off the ground flicked to the net by Murphy-Reddy.
That made it 2-4 to 1-5 at the break, and the Kilmore momentum continued on the re-start when Cosgrave claimed the first two from that five-point haul to equalise inside three minutes.
The Wexford District lads were never headed after Josh Berry gave them the lead for the first time from a free, with Cosgrave then making it 1-9 to 2-4 as his fine form continued.
Jack Murphy stopped the rot for Taghmon-Camross, getting their first score in 18 minutes from a free, and the title was still up for grabs entering the last quarter after an exchange of points between Noah Culleton and Dan Ruane.
A fourth point by Cosgrave was followed by the clinching second Kilmore goal, and it was created and finished by Cian Murphy-Reddy in the 49th minute.
After making an interception in the middle third, he couldn’t believe his luck as the Taghmon-Camross defenders had all pushed forward, leaving him with a clear run at the posts.
It was all about composure then as he gave netminder Jack Whitty no chance with a powerful finish, and there was no way back for the losers as their last point from Conor Foley was matched by Lewis Cosgrave.
Kilmore: Luca Raftery; James Cloney, Conor Rossiter (capt.), Niall O’Flaherty; Davy O’Reilly, Dillon Crowley, Stephen McDonnell; Cian Murphy-Reddy (2-2), Max Power; Lewis Cosgrave (0-5), Noah Culleton (0-1), Leo Sinnott; Josh Berry (0-2 frees), Conor O’Reilly (0-1), James Cousins (0-1). Subs. - Ross O’Flaherty for C. O’Reilly (60), also Dylan Hore, Daniel Foley, Joseph Healy, Mark Kelly, Eoin Cheevers, Sam Fortune.
Taghmon-Camross: Jack Whitty; Jack Cullen, Bobby Doyle, Luke Murphy; Killian Gondard (capt.). Peter Whitty, Patrick Monaghan; Conor Foley (0-1), James Whitty; Jack Murphy (0-5, 4 frees), Conor Mernagh (1-0), Jonathan Banville; Laurence Banville, Dan Ruane (1-1), Cathal Breen. Subs. - Ben O’Toole for Cullen (HT), David Foley for L. Banville (HT), Morgan Colfer for Breen (40), Conor Doyle for J. Banville (53).
Referee: Ian Plunkett (Marshalstown-Castledockrell).