Dingle keep faint hopes alive

SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP 2 ROUND 2 Dingle 1-14 Kenmare 0-15

DINGLE weren’t perfect, still a good way off the form that got them to two county finals last year.

But they at least looked better on Sunday than they did the previous week against Austin Stacks. A fine start, and good character when the game entered its closing stages, kept their Club Championship hopes alive – if only just.

Before the first score went up, Paul Geaney had three wides, and the home supporters might have feared their team’s patchy recent form would continue. But once a ball across the goal came to the excellent Conor Geaney, who finished with a simple shot to the net on five minutes, Kenmare were destined to never hit the front.

Where Dingle looked timid going forward against Stacks, they were noticeably more pacey and direct on Sunday, particularly early on, and they also looked better organised at the back. They kept plenty men behind and stole a good deal of possession from Kenmare.

On ten minutes, they led 1-3 to 0-0, which included one point brought about by lovely passing between the three Geaneys, finished again by Conor. On the quarter-hour, it was 1-4 to 0-1, Paul Geaney fisting over a good long ball by George Durrant, and a one-sided game seemed very possible.

But once Kenmare were dialled in, they were tough opposition throughout a free-flowing game in which the momentum swung one way, then the other.

Seán O’Shea had already proven he was a threat with a sweetly struck ‘45’, and his accuracy from placed balls made for a delightful watch until the latter stages of the game. Two frees of his were amongst a run of four consecutive points for the away team, the game back on at 0-5 to 1-4, with Dingle’s lead dripping away quickly. Kenmare’s Stephen O’Brien was regularly setting attacks in motion from outside the Dingle ‘45’, and while all of O’Shea’s scores were coming from frees, his movement on and off the ball was causing Dingle some bother. But the closing stages of the first half were even on the scoring front, even if Kenmare looked slightly stronger.

A nice piece of fielding by Durrant led to Barry O’Sullivan putting over Dingle’s first point in ten minutes, and it was to and fro for the rest of the half. Geaneys Conor and Paul tagged on points for Dingle, while O’Shea added two more frees to bring his half-time tally to five points. A late, searing run by Stephen O’Brien finished with a point, making it 0-8 to 1-7 at the break, the game nicely poised.

Indeed, by the 40-minute mark, the teams were level. O’Shea fired over three frees, including one superb effort from near the righthand sideline, with an O’Brien point levelling it up at 0-12 to 1-9.

But the previously faultless O’Shea began to put a few astray, and it was Dingle’s Conor Geaney who rediscovered his brilliant early form for Dingle to capitalise. Backto-back points of his, including one with nice interplay between himself and Kerry star Tom O’Sullivan, had Dingle 1-11 to 0-12 ahead on 45 minutes, and they nursed that lead expertly.

Three times Kenmare scored points – through O’Brien, Dan McCarthy, and O’Shea’s ninth point of the game – but three times Dingle responded in kind. On his return, Mikey Geaney lobbed a point over in the fifth minute of added time to secure a hard-fought, but justabout deserved, 1-14 to 0-15 win.

DINGLE: Eoin Brosnan, Conor O’Sullivan, Tom ‘Leo’ O’Sullivan, Patrick O’Connor, Matthew Flaherty, Tom O’Sullivan, Aidan O’Connor (0-1), Barry O’Sullivan (0-1), Billy O’Connor, Paul Devane, Mikey Geaney (0-1), George Durrant, Cathal Bambury (0-1), Paul Geaney (0-4, 2f), Conor Geaney (1-6, 0-2f). Subs: Micheál Flannery for G Durrant (53); Tomás Sheehy for C Bambury (54); Brian O’Connor for Billy O’Connor (60+5)

KENMARE: Kieran Fitzgibbon, Dara Crowley, Dara O’Shea, Dan McCarthy (0-1), Matt Murnane, Tommy O’Sullivan, James McCarthy, Ciarán O’Sullivan, Shane O’Sullivan, Sean O’Leary, Seán O’Shea (0-9, 7f, 1 ‘45’), Kevin O’Sullivan, Donal O’Connor, Stephen O’Brien (0-4), Dylan O’Connor (0-1). Subs: Mark Crowley for C O’Sullivan (35); David Ciuciu for Donal O’Connor (47); David Cronin for M Murnane (60)

REFEREE: Padraig O’Sullivan (Firies)