The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Milltown Castlemaine and Rangers advance
MID KERRY O’SULLIVAN CUP Cromane 0-14 Milltown/Castlemaine 1-13
MILLTOWN / Castlemaine – courtesy of a bright opening quarter – booked their spot in the O’Sullivan Cup last four after a narrow win over Cromane.
The game was played in ideal conditions in Cromane and the visitors made the much brighter start with Jack McCarthy at midfield and Jonathan O’Sullivan causing Cromane some problems.
They led 0-4 to 0-2 after seven minutes before they broke through the Cromane rearguard again for Liam Burke to slot home the game’s only goal in the ninth minute. It was to be a crucial score as Cromane could never get ahead despite pulling level a few times in the second half.
Cromane steadied themselves midway through the first half and outscored Milltown/ Castlemaine by 0-7 to 0-3 in the second quarter with fine points from Paul Patrick O’Sullivan, Paudie McCarthy, and Danny O’Shea.
Half-time Milltown/Castlemaine 1-07 Cromane 0-09.
It was nip-and-tuck for most of the second half as the scoring rate dropped. A fine Jonathan O’Sullivan point in the 40th minute was Milltown/Castlemaine’s highlight while Cromane’s Emmet Casey slotted over an equally impressive point minutes later. With 15 minutes left it was all to play for with Liam Walsh levelling matters 0-13 to 1-10.
However, Milltown/Castlemaine showed their clinical side in the final ten minutes with points from Jerome Flynn and Jonathan O’Sullivan while Cromane rued three missed frees nearing the final whistle. Milltown/Castlemaine, in the end, held out to deservedly win by two and advance to the semi-finals.
Keel 0-16 Laune Rangers 1-14
FOR the first time in decades, a Laune Rangers ‘A’ team competes in the Mid Kerry O’Sullivan Cup in 2017, with teams competing in County League Divisions 3, 4 and 5 allowed to play with an unrestricted team.
Rangers travelled to Keel – another unrestricted team – in Round 1 of the competition on Tuesday evening and came away with the all important win. It was a family affair in the game with five sets of brothers on the field.
Rangers had the Russell, Tyther and O’Shea brothers involved while Keel had the Cahillane brothers playing. However, the most interesting pairing was the Sayers duo of Gary and Ronan who lined out on opposite sides with Ronan given the job of marking big brother Gary.
Keel got out of the blocks much better and were ahead by three points after five minutes, as Gary Sayers (3, 1f) and Thomas Ladden kicked well taken scores for the home side while Colm O’Shea got Rangers off the mark.
Rangers grew into the game, and points from O’Shea brothers Cian and Colm (free) as well as an excellent left-footed Shane McSweeney effort levelled up the game. Terry O’Sullivan and Colm O’Shea traded points to see the sides all square at 0-5 a piece with a quarter played.
Laune Rangers saw Peter Crowley don the royal blue jersey to come on as a substitute at full back for the injured Johnny Carey in the 16th minute. Gary Sayers and Aaron Murphy saw points cancelled out by two Colm O’Shea frees, while Daniel Macbeth and Keel’s Luke Flynn exchanged points also.
However, Rangers got their noses in front before the break, as a great team move saw a Colm O’Shea feed David Costelloe who finished with ease to give the visitors the lead at the break. Another notable first half introduction saw Gavin O’Shea come on to join both of his brothers Colm & Cian on the field for the first time. Half-time Keel 0-8 Laune Rangers 1-8.
Laune Rangers two goalkeepers saw equal game time, as Jason Browne was replaced by Tony Lyons at the intermission. The second half was a tighter affair and, having been introduced for his brother Francis at the break, Mike Frank Russell took little time in getting on the score-board.
Colm O’Shea added a free before both Rangers scores were cancelled out by Keel through Gary Sayers and Terry O’Sullivan. Francis Russell was re-introduced for Cian O’Shea to get on the field with Mike Frank for the first time, and took inspiration from big brother to score a neat point almost immediately. Keel substitute Dylan Prendergast got himself on the scoreboard to leave a goal between the sides with a quarter to play.
A Colm O’Shea pointed free extended the lead for Rangers before three points on the bounce for Keel through Gary Sayers and Luke Flynn (2) left just a point between the sides.
A Daniel Macbeth point was cancelled out by a Gary Sayers free, but an injury to Michael O’Sullivan saw him stretchered off the field – a big loss for Rangers in the weeks before an Intermediate semi-final.
Colm O’Shea kicked a crucial free from a difficult angle to double Ranges lead, but Aaron Murphy pointed from Keel as Rangers defence pushed out the Keel attack. A long range Gary Sayers free drifted wide with the last kick of the game as Rangers held on to progress to the O’Sullivan Cup semi-final, where they will travel to Beaufort in the coming weeks.