The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Second half surge sees Legion into the final
O’DONOGHUE CUP SEMI-FINAL Killarney Legion 0-15 Gneeveguilla 0-10
THE East Kerry Championship Semi-final between Legion and Gneeveguilla in the Fitzgerald Stadium turned into a pulsating affair.
At half-time, a real surprise looked on the cards. Throughout the first half, it looked as though underdogs Gneeveguilla would pull off a second giant-killing feat in-a-row, having already beaten derby rivals Rathmore in the quarter-final.
Gneeveguilla were much quicker to release the ball to their team-mates and impressively accurate with their chances. They were playing simple, clear, direct football and looking very impressive while doing so. Legion, on the other hand, kept trying to break through tackles and wriggle through an unyielding Gneeveguilla defence instead of availing of simpler shooting options.
Two of the best players on the pitch opened the scoring, with Legion’s Jamie O’Sullivan opening matters but effective target-man
Shane O’Sullivan replying.
O’Sullivan also drew a great save out of Patrick O’Riordan before James O’Donoghue showed his county credentials with a good score. Gneeveguilla were beginning to dominate the play, though, and Con Buckley reeled off three frees on the trot and Conor Herlihy added another from play.
James O’Donoghue made it 0-5 to 0-3, but Buckley picked off a well-worked score and Conor Herlihy added another to make it 0-7 to 0-3. Conor Keane won and converted a Legion free but Shane O’Sullivan replied before Jamie O’Sullivan and John O’Leary exchanged scores.
At half-time Gneeveguilla led by 0-9 to 0-5, a margin that certainly didn’t flatter them.
Legion had the wind in the second half and, more importantly, pressed hard on Gneeveguilla’s kick-outs. James O’Donoghue and Shane O’Sullivan exchanged scores, but that was to be Gneeveguilla’s last score as the tide irrevocably turned. Billy McGuire took a point.
Jamie O’Sullivan added another and won a free converted by O’Donoghue. Conor Keane drew level before O’Donoghue, whose county class was much more evident now, put Legion in front, 0-11 to 0-10. Gneeveguilla tried hard, but most of the play was inside their own half and Legion were much better now at moving the ball and shooting. Rob Leen and Jamie O’Sullivan stretched the margin to three points.
Gneeveguilla almost cancelled that out with Pádraig Doyle on the end of a great team move, but Brian Kelly was equal to the effort and Conor Keane and Finbarr Murphy were able to close the game out.
Legion outscored their opponents by 0-10 to 0-1 in that sparkling second half and that will give them real hope of capturing their first O’Donoghue Cup since 1976.
The first half .... not so much. A lot will depend on which Legion side emerges to contest the final.
KILLARNEY LEGION: Brian Kelly, Darragh O’Doherty, Danny Sheahan, Podge O’Connor, Cian Gammell, Jonathan Lyne, Denis Sheahan, Rob Leen (0-12), Shaun Keane, Jamie O’Sullivan (0-4, 1f), Billy McGuire (0-1), Jack O’Neill, James O’Donoghue (0-5, 1f), Conor Keane (0-3, 2f), Darragh Lyne Subs: Kieran Slattery for Darragh O’Doherty (ht), Peter McCarthy for Denis Sheahan (37), Finbarr Murphy 0-1 for James O’Donoghue (47), Donal Lyne for Jack O’Neill (49).
GNEEVEGUILLA: Patrick O’Riordan, Owen Fitzgerald, DJ Murphy, Philip Cremin, Darren Brosnan, Shane Crowley, Connie O’Connor, Padraig O’Connor, Pa Warren, Conor Herlihy (0-1), Mike Murphy, Con Buckley (0-4, 3f), Pádraig Doyle, Shane O’Sullivan (0-3), Seán O’Keeffe (0-1) Subs: John O’Leary 0-1 for Con Buckley (20), Conlan O’Leary for Sean O’Keeffe (41), Donal Murphy for Shane Crowley (46), JJ Herlihy for Conor Herlihy (55), Damien O’Sullivan for Philip Cremin (57), Jack Cremin for Padraig
Doyle (62)
REFEREE: Eddie Walsh (Rathmore)
goalkeeper Shane Murphy had to be agile to turn O’Carroll’s low shot past the post for a ‘45’, though Casey converted another free in the 16th minute to give Crokes the lead for the first time.
Spa capitalised on a poor Murphy kick-out for Evan Cronin to kick the equalising point, and then O’Donoghue’s free kick had Spa in the lead again. Cronin and Burns traded points before Foley floated over a fine point from out on the left to make in 0-7 to 0-5 in Spa’s favour.
And then Crokes struck for their first goal. A quick counter-attack got the ball into the danger zone and set up Burns for a shot that seemed to hit the post and travel along the goal line where Tony Brosnan arrived to nudge it over the line in the 26th minute.
Incredibly, the last four minutes of the half saw each team score three points, O’Donoghue (two frees) and Michael McCarthy for Spa, with Brosnan, Casey and Michael Potts replying for Crokes to see the champions take that one-point lead to the interval.
Potts and Brosnan had early scores for Crokes, and the lead was still three, 1-13 to 0-3 in the 47th minute when Mark O’Shea clawed Brian Looney teasing cross into the Sap goal to double Crokes’ lead to six points. Two points from Brosnan had Crokes eight clear and there looked no way back for Spa. In the end there wasn’t, burt they made a fine fight of it. Evan Cronin landed two fine points, and when Foley found the net, helped by a deflection off Johnny Buckley, it was 2-16 to 1-15, but time was running out. Converted frees by
O’Donoghue and Foley made it a one score game - 2-17 to 1-7 heading into additional time, but Spa couldn’t reel in the deficit as Crokes more fell into, rather than bounded into, the final.
DR CROKES: Shane Murphy, John Payne, Mike Moloney, David Naughton, Cillian O’Regan, Gavin White, Michael Potts 0-2, Johnny Buckley 0-2, Daithi Casey 0-3 (1f), Michael Burns 0-5, Gavin O’Shea, Brian Looney, Tony Brosnan 1-4 (0-1f), Mark O’Shea 1-1, Kieran O’Leary 0-1. Subs: Alan O’Sullivan for G O’Shea (36), Mike Casey for K O’Leary (56), Jack Griffin for J Buckley (58), Jason Lyne for M Burns (63).
SPA: James Devane, David Spillane 0-1, Eoin Fitzgerald, Brian Lynch, Shane Lynch, Dan O’Donoghue, Ciaran Spillane, Liam Kearney, Shane Cronin, Gary Vaughan, Ryan O’Carroll 0-1, Michael McCarthy 0-2, Michael Foley 1-4 (0-3f), Michael O’Donoghue 0-5f, Evan Cronin 0-5. Subs: Niall McCarthy for G Vaughan (52), Eoghan Cronin for C Spillane (58), Niall O’Mahony for D O’Donoghue (blood).
REFEREE: Tom Moriarty (Legion)