Currow promoted at Ballydonoghue’s expense

MUCH like Division 5 we could have our first promotion confirmed in this division on Saturday evening with Currow on the brink of returning to Division 2 after a 2-15 to 0-12 win away to Ballydonoghue that ends the North Kerry’s side’s hopes for a third successive promotion in the County League.

A first-half goal from Mike Hanafin in the 22nd minute put the visitors in charge of the encounter as they led by 1-9 to 0-4 at the break in a game where both sides missed penalties at either end.

Five minutes into the second-half came Currow’s second goal from Seamus Brosnan to end the game as contest despite the best efforts of Ballydonoghue goalkeeper Darragh O’Shea.

Luke Fitzgerald and Pa McCarthy alongside Brosnan impressed in a very solid performance for the Currow half-forward line as Daniel O’Sullivan gave a Manof-the-Match performance at the other end.

Bar the performances of a debuting Brian Mason and Stephen Lonergan it was a very disappointing outing for Ballydonoghue as their march up the ranks of Kerry Football is halted temporarily.

A win for Currow in their back game with St Senans on Saturday evening will see them go up but with the Mountcoal side battling relegation it is easier said than done.

Indeed with the performance they put in against St Pats, Currow will know they have their work cut out as the St Brendans side had to withstand a late rally from the visitors on their home turf last Saturday evening.

Sean O’Connell scored an early goal for Senans to put them in the lead and the hosts needed goalkeeper John Fitzgerald to be vigilant soon after in preventing Sean Weir scoring a second. St Pats got control of the game again however through David O’Callaghan, Liam O’Sullivan and Brendan Poff to lead by 0-9 to 1-4 at the break.

Jordan Conway and Liam Poff combined for Kieran Hurley to get the home side’s goal early in the second period and even though both Kieran and Willie Hurley com- bined for a total of 1-12 of St Pats’ scores, Senans mounted a bit of a comeback from nine points down.

Eoin O’Connell scored their second goal as three from Sean O’Connell and a Bill Keane point saw the game finish at 1-18 to 2-13. With Annascaul’s win over Keel the following day both sides are level on 13 points in the table ahead of St Pats trip down to Dromid Pearses in the last round.

Ardfert and Gneeveguilla’s back games complicate matters slightly in the promotion race at the moment, Ardfert can go level with St Pats and Annascaul if they beat Beale at home in their game tomorrow evening while they might even find themselves second outright ahead of the last round against Annascaul if they can beat Brosna in their other back game.

Gneeveguilla moved themselves back into the promotion picture with a 15 point win over already relegated Tarbert as two Conor Herlihy goals and a closing strike from Padraig O’Sullivan saw them win out by 3-14 to 1-5 despite Donal Leahy scoring a goal for the hosts early in the second period.

Mathematically everyone on 10 points can still be relegated in the Division meaning the East Kerry side must get a result against Dromid Pearses in their outstanding back game this weekend to make sure it’s not their status they will be worrying about on the last day.

Beale need not worry about the last day, however, as they are going straight back down to Division 4. Despite three first-half goals they still went down by five points at home to Dromid Pearses at the weekend.

Those goals gave them a 3-5 to 0-10 lead at the break but a second-half goal swung the game in Dromid’s favour as Cathan Ó Nuallan and Niall O’Shea along with Shane O’Connor impressed in a 1-19 to 3-8 win as they keep their fate in their own hands in the relegation battle.

Ian Blake, Neilus Mulvihill and Ger O’Gorman stood out for Beale but it all about who will join them and Tarbert in Division Four next year with at least six teams still capable of going down at this point in time.