With five o f six ties wo n by a single po int

final whistle in securing a 3-10 to 0-11 success for the hosts over the St Brendans outfit.

Listry were another team to score three goals but it wasn’t good enough for them to win as they went down by the narrowest of margins to Glenflesk in a 2-12 to 3-8 defeat on home turf.

The meeting of relegated sides Kilcummin and Kenmare Shamrocks was also a dramatic one as it was decided with the last kick of the game with Kenmare’s Shane O’Sullivan beating Kilcummin goalkeeper Kieran Fleming for a 1-10 to 0-11 win. The hosts had led by 0-6 to 0-5 at half-time with the upright denying Noel Duggan a goal in the first period. Some poor wides in the third quarter came against Kilcummin in the end as Dara Crowley and Mike Randles were influential in the visitors’ dramatic win.

Listowel Emmets meanwhile overcame the concession of a soft first-half goal in a 1-11 to 1-9 success over Waterville. Stephen O’Dwyer’s effort gave the South Kerry side parity in the first-half in going in level at 1-3 to 0-6. Bryan Sweeney set up David Sheehy for Emmets’ goal not long after the restart however in giving them the lead as David Keane managed to put enough daylight between the sides to make two late frees by Waterville’s Seamus O’Sullivan mere consolation in a two point loss.

The other game saw promoted sides Currow and St Pats/ Blennerville square off with two first-half goals for the hosts crucial in an eventual one point win. Both goals came in the run-up to half-time, a bad blow for the visitors after contending well in the first period. Timmy O’Leary and Padraig O’Shea were the scorers for the hosts in giving their side a 2-5 to 0-8 interval lead. St Pats did use the breeze to their advantage in the second period, Kieran Hurley scoring 1-2 but a combination of Ian Somers John Buckley and Luke Fitzgerald scores saw Currow see out a 2-11 to 1-13 victory, Willie Hurley scoring a consolation point for the visitors before the final whistle. STALEMATE was the order of the running on the first weekend in the middle division as no less than four of the Round One encounters ended in draws. The only sides to win in Ballydonoghue and Brosna had contrasting victories, Ballydonoghue with seven points to spare away to Gneeveguilla while Brosna squeezed past St Senans on home turf. The former encounter was played on St Patricks Day with a Darragh Sheehy penalty giving the North Kerry side control of the game at half-time in leading by 1-6 to 0-3.

The post had denied Fergus McAuliffe the opportunity to get a goal for Gneeveguilla in the first period but a Padraig Lyons goal in the 37th minute effectively killed off the game as a contest despite scores for Gneeveguilla’s Padraig O’Sullivan and Shane Crowley in a 2-10 to 0-9 defeat. Brosna on the other hand needed to overcome a five point deficit in the 58th minute to secure a dramatic 1-12 to 1-11 win over Senans. The hosts had goal chances in the first period but it was Senans who went in leading by 0-6 to 0-4 after Jason Browne and Padraig Quille points. Brosna went in front after half-time but the Mountcoal side retook the iniative through a David Foran goal and at 1-11 to 0-9 ahead looked set for victory. A goal from substitute Patrick Moriarty on his senior debut turned the game on its head however as Shane Fitzmaurice set up Adam Barry for an unlikely Brosna winner before the final whistle.

In terms of the four draws, three of them ended up being 13 points apiece encounters albeit through different means as the meeting of promoted sides Na Gaeil and Fossa was the only one to produce goals. The visitors to Killeen got the only one in the first-half as Domhnaill O’Sullivan gave Fossa a 1-7 to 0-5 advantage at half-time with the aid of the breeze. Stefan Okunbar got Na Gaeil’s first in the second period with 12 minutes left but points from Mike O’Shea and Darragh Rice appeared to be enough for Fossa in gaining a three point lead coming towards the conclusion. The Tralee side were awarded a penalty however which Ian McCarthy converted to ensure a draw at 2-7 to 1-10.

The meeting of Laune Rangers and Finuge in Killorglin saw both sides level at the short and final whistles but both finished with 14 men after Shane McSweeney and Ricky Heffernan were both sent off for an incident prior to the restart.

Level at 0-7 apiece at the break Pat Corridan had been kicking some fine points for the visitors but Conor Clarke appeared to have given the hosts the win until Maurice Corridan equalised for Finuge in a game where both goalkeepers, Tony Lyons for the hosts and Gary Hogan for the visitors were tested throughout.

The meeting of Ballymacelligott and Dromid Pearses was the third 0-13 apiece encounter meanwhile and it saw the visitors have to come back from a seven point deficit at one stage in the second-half to earn a share of the spoils going back home. Ballymac led by 0-11 to 0-5 at the break and added a further score after the restart but only one more point was accrued by them in the South Kerry side rallying to make amends.

St Michaels/Foilmore and Annascaul finished level at 0-9 to 1-6, the visitors looking good in leading by 0-5 to 0-2 at half-time and adding a goal from James Crean in the second-half but Sean O’Sullivan and Padraig King points rescued matters for the hosts in a second-half comeback.