Kilanerin best with late brace
Forde’s dismissal overcome
KILANERIN OVERCAME the dismissal of Matty Forde with six minutes to go to advance past Raheens of Kildare and into the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate football championship semi-final at Páirc Uí Shíocháin on Saturday.
The former All Star was on thin ice already and was given a final warning just seconds before his dismissal after delaying an opponent’s free, a move that also earned him a shot in the face from the lucky yellow card recipient Alan Igoe.
However, after the throw-in to re-start the game, the most innocuous of fouls saw Forde off and sent the Kildare champions into somewhat over-eager celebrations. In truth, it threw them more than Kilanerin and it showed in the remainder of a game that was then tied at 0-8 apiece.
In the 61st minute Peter Hughes kicked a stunning point from the left wing after good build-up work by Niall Breen and Denis Jones. Then, three minutes into added time, Niall Hughes sent over a booming free to clinch the win and a place in the last four.
In all honesty the first-half was more fire and brimstone than classy fare. It was niggly, it was unnecessarily tetchy, and neither side really got into a rhythm. The Kildare men looked to go long with diagonals to Liam Power initially but soon abandoned that plan for a measured approach.
Kilanerin did nothing spectacular or different to their norm, despite this really being a step into the unknown, in terms of quality of opposition. They stuck to their usual approach and it paid dividends in the end.
Old warhorse Forde opened the scoring with a free in the second minute, but Raheens responded with a pair of placed balls from the boots of Paddy Woodgate and Alan Igoe.
Both Kilanerin midfielders scored classy points to leave their side 0-3 to 0-2 ahead at the end of the opening quarter, but Raheens dominated the next 15 minutes. They levelled through David Fitzpatrick but missed a simple free when Igoe cracked the upright from in front of the posts.
David Malone gave his side their second lead before Rory Hannick made it 0-5 to 0-3 in first-half added time. It was the only time, apart from when Hughes added the 63rd-minute clincher, that either side led by more than a point but the advantage lasted just seconds.
With the last kick of the first-half Mark Boland popped over a deadball after he was felled to leave the minimum between the sides at the break. Within six minutes of the re-start, Forde had turned a 0-5 to 0-4 deficit into a one-point lead with a brace.
Rory Donnelly hit back to level after four Raheens wides in a row, but Dean O’Toole put Kilanerin back in front. Again Malone equalised and his side looked to be in a position to push on when Liam Power made it 0-8 to 0-7 in the 49th minute.
Colm Kavanagh’s point meant the game was tied for the seventh time with eight minutes left. The flashpoint that saw Igoe yellow-carded for a strike to the face of Matty Forde ended with a last warning for the Wexford man.
Mere seconds later he committed a run-of-the mill foul and was dismissed. However, Raheens lost focus completely in the final few minutes and Kilanerin moved clear to book a last four meeting with Westmeath side St. Mary’s of Rochfordbridge.
Kilanerin: Tom Hughes; Aidan Jones, Brendan Hobbs, Richard Hughes; Gavin O’Toole, Colm Kavanagh (capt., 0-1), Denis Jones; Niall Breen (0-1), Niall Hughes (0-2, 1 free); Mark Boland (0-1 free), Matty Forde (0-3, 2 frees), Mark Gethings; Bobby Hughes, Peter Hughes (0-1), Dean O’Toole (0-1). Subs. - Tommy Boland for B. Hughes (28), Tomás Owley for R. Hughes (45), Emmet O’Toole for D. O’Toole (52), Conor Devitt for Gethings (58).
Raheens: Declan Campbell; Shane Crowley, Matthew Betts-Symonds, Tom Earley; John Jennings, Conor Earley, Thomas Dore; Rory Hannick (capt., 0-1), David Fitzpatrick (0-1); Alan Igoe (0-1 free), Paddy Woodgate (0-1 free), David Malone (0-2); Colm Power, Liam Power (0-1), Rory Donnelly (0-1). Subs. - Mark Waters for C. Power, black card (35), Gareth Byrne for Jennings (45), Michael McMahon for Malone, black card (60+2).
Referee: John Hickey (Carlow).