The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
County SFL: Every game, every division
THE only unbeaten record in the division is gone as Dr Crokes suffered their first loss of the campaign to a Glenbeigh / Glencar side desperately in needed of the points with Gavan O’Grady’s free right at the end giving them a hard earned 0-11 to 0-10 victory over the home side.
The Mid Kerry side’s full-back line of Sean Roche, Jeremiah Hoare and Kieran Doyle mounted a strong defence of their goalmouth as Kieran O’Leary and Tony Brosnan were the visitors main threat on the night.
The first goal chance came to the hosts, however, the crossbar denying Daniel Griffin with Tommy Cahill on hand to put over the rebound as the hosts led by 0-8 to 0-5 at half-time.
Glenbeigh / Glencar needed a big goal line clearance from Stephen O’Sullivan to stop Crokes getting a goal themselves, but O’Leary and Brosnan brought Crokes level at nine points each before Cahill put the hosts again once more.
Shane Murphy came forward to put over a ‘45 for the Killarney side to level the game late on but O’Grady got the winning free on the stroke of 70. The hosts had to stay on their toes for four additional minutes before their win was confirmed, a massive one that lifts them out of the relegation zone on six points with Dingle to visit the Mid Kerry venue this weekend.
Crokes’ loss meant that Templenoe had the chance to recover from their first loss of the campaign and draw level on points with them at the top of the table. They duly obliged in the Kenmare District derby with Kenmare Shamrocks with goals in each half major factors in their win.
They got their first one early on as a free from Killian Spillane dropped short with Teddy Doyle able to palm the ball into the net and they looked to be in a strong position coming towards half-time in leading by 1-5 to 0-3.
The visitors would come back within three points at half-time however, David Hallissey unlucky not to get a goal after his effort came off the upright, but three Brian O’Sullivan points saw Kenmare trail by 1-6 to 0-6 at the break.
While the hosts maintained their two point lead at three-quarter mark, points from Fionan and Shane O’Sullivan (the latter a 45 metre effort) saw just one between them heading into the final 10 minutes.
Killian Spillane broke away for Templenoe’s second goal however and despite four Paul O’Connor points on the day, the visitors still lost out by 2-8 to 0-11 to leave them firmly in the relegation zone.
Dingle were probably the most disappointed of the sides at the top of the table to lose out at the weekend, narrowly so it must be said at home to Kerins O’Rahillys in what was a dour and low scoring encounter played in heavy mist.
Tommy Walsh scored all of Strand Road’s firsthalf total, but three Breandán Kelliher points along with a free from Paul Devane and a Micheál Slattery point put the West Kerry side 0-5 to 0-4 up at half-time.
Owen O’Carroll for the visitors and Matthew Flaherty for the hosts exchanged points before the crucial score of the game came from a John Ferguson goal with a subsequent point from the same player putting the game beyond reach for the hosts despite closing points from Flaherty and Aidan O’Connor in a 1-6 to 0-8 defeat.
Dingle are still third on their own in the table but O’Rahillys and Austin Stacks are now well placed to go above them being a point behind with a game in hand.
Stacks finished strongly at home to Castleisland Desmonds in recording a 13 point win, two late goals from the debuting Sean Dukes two minutes after his introduction one of the main features of a 3-13 to 1-6 win for the Tralee side at Connolly Park.
They had led by four points early on but Desmonds fought back through a Cian O’Connor free and an opportunistic goal from Pa Hickey to lead at half-time by 0-7 to 1-3. A Darragh O’Brien goal in the 37th minute alongside four Shane O’Callaghan points on the night gave the hosts a much better grip on proceedings during the second period. This win sets them up well for the first of two Tralee derbies with John Mitchels and Kerins O’Rahillys in due course.
Mitchels secured a big win in the relegation battle away to Kilcummin on Saturday evening that saw them leapfrog the East Kerry side in the table.
They lead by 0-8 to 0-4 at halftime with Stevie O’Mahony and Shane O’Connor in impressive form as Niall Sheehy and Alan O’Donoghue kicked over some good points.
Kilcummin needed goalkeeper Tommy Brosnan to keep them from finding goals as Kevin McCarthy scored all of their first-half total with Kevin Gorman battling hard for the hosts.
Shane McSweeney was more influential for the hosts in the second period and a brilliant individual run from Noel Duggan led to a goal that put them in front. The visitors regrouped decisively however Alan O’Donoghue getting their goal to put them back in front by six as McSweeney scored a second for the hosts to set up a grandstand finish.
Mitchels goalkeeper Dermot Raggett saved well from Shane Smyth to prevent Kilcummin getting a share of the spoils as the Tralee side held on for a 1-14 to 2-8 win with the East Kerry side now facing a crucial encounter at the bottom away to Kenmare Shamrocks this weekend.