West men put Coolboy out
Kilbride/Lacken progress
KILBRIDE/LACKEN COOLBOY 1-9 1-7
KILBRIDE/LACKEN progressed forward into the Boom Platform Hire Junior A Football Championship quarter-finals after a tight affair in Donard last Wednesday evening.
The lakesiders couldn’t have asked for a better start, with Owen Keogh pointing in the third minute.
Moments later, David Balfe put Owen Keogh in for an early goal for the west side.
The lakesiders were in for another major, but Damien O’Keeffe acrobatically saved and cleared the danger. Owen Keogh pointed a free after Mick Byrne was fouled in the next attack.
Coolboy suffered a double blow when first’ goalie Damien Keeffe went off injured and he was soon followed by PJ O Keeffe who picked up a black card.
Wayne Kinsella pointed a free to get Coolboy of the mark to close out the opening quarter, with the score reading 1-3 to 0-1. Keith Byrne’s side slowly settled into the game. It started with a move from Niall O’Keeffe who played the ball down the right to PJ Mulhall whose shot raised a white flag.
Johnny Willoughby added another point to get Coolboy right back in contention. Another beast of a point from the 45m line by Wayne Kinsella left the minimum between the sides.
A Michael Gregan effort dropped short and was cleared up the field where Sean Murphy landed the lakesiders third point of the game. Stephen Carter thought he was in for a point but was called back for a pick up by the match official.
PJ Mulhall tapped over a point for Coolboy going into the closing period of the first half.
Kilbride\Lacken suffered a huge blow when Sean Murphy picked up a brace of yellow cards within 30 seconds of each other just before the half-time whistle sounded with the score reading 1-3 to 0-5.
Coolboy couldn’t have asked for a better start to the third quarter, in just as enthralling a manner as the first for the west side, Wayne Kinsella dropped the size 5 into Anthony Holly, who dispatched the ball to the net to put Coolboy to the fore for the first time in the match.
The lakesiders responded with Matt Cripps pointing, followed by young Kevin McLoughlin levelling matters shortly after.
Jonathan Smyth and Bradley Walsh were influential for Coolboy, with sharpshooter Wayne Kinsella restoring the lead from another dead ball in this see-saw encounter.
Tom McKeon, who had engineered space for himself, slotted over and levelled proceedings once again.
The pendulum swung back again to Coolboy when Kevin O’Keeffe pointed after great work by Bradley Walsh for the lead, as the 14-man team came under pressure with 55 on the clock in this feisty encounter.
Again, Tom McKeon came to the rescue with a trademark point, again to level matters. Full-forward’Kevin Mcloughlin put the lakesiders in front with a sweet point.
A Niall O’Keeffe shot came back of the upright as the Coolboy supporters cursed their luck, and the west side broke up the field where Finn Craul was fouled, and Owen Keogh closed out this highly entertaining encounter with a point from the free.
- Kilbride\Lacken: Owen Keogh 1-03, Tom McKeown 0-2, Kevin McLoughlin 0-2, Sean Murphy 0-1, Matt Cripps 0-1.
Coolboy: Anthony Holly 1-0, Wayne Kinsella 0-3, PJ Mulhall 0-2, Johnny Willoughby 0-1, Kevin O’Keeffe 0-1.
Scorers
Conor O’Toole; Keith Mordaunt, Diarmuid Haughian, Larry O’Connor; Naill Keogh, Mat Cripps, Martin O’Donoghoe; Finn Craul, Thomas McKeon; Owen Keogh, Timmy Broe, Mick Byrne; Sean Murphy, Kevin McLoughlin, David Balfe.
Damien O’Keeffe; Enda Gethings, Daniel Nolan, James Gregan; Garett Gregan, Aaron Kinsella, Jonathan Smyth; Wayne Kinsella, PJ O’Keeffe; Niall O’Keeffe, PJ Mulhall, Bradley Walsh; Michael Gregan, Stephen Carter, Johnny Willoughby. Subs: Anthony Holly, Adam Doyle, David Tighe, Kevin O’Keeffe.
John Whyte (Donard-The
Kilbride\Lacken: Coolboy: Referee:
Glen) SHEER willpower and belief drove Coolkenno to a one-point victory over Dunlavin in the Darcy Sands Intermediate Football Championship in Baltinglass on Monday night last.
Coolkenno’s victory condemned Dunlavin to an early championship exit and propels the Carlow border side on a collision course with Tinahely this Sunday afternoon in Joule Park Aughrim to see who will top the group and qualify for a semi-final berth.
As a football match this encounter was found lacking in a number of qualities, with accuracy being top of the list as kickable frees and opportunities from play were spurned by both sides.
In terms of drama and tension however, this game had it in spades with the result still in doubt right up the sounding of Garreth Whelan’s final whistle and with battles aplenty all over the field to keep the decent crowd entertained and on the edges of their seats.
Dunlavin led for 60 minutes of this game but once Coolkenno drew level with them 32 minutes into the second half through a Conor Walker free it was difficult to see anything else than a victory for Damien McMahon’s men given how the landscape of the game had changed so dramatically.
All the energy and drive was now with Coolkenno as Dunlavin were looking blunt in attack and frightfully unreliable from placed balls.
Coolkenno had the bit between their teeth at this late stage, they could sense victory was within their grasp and they attacked with gusto with the busy but contained Eamonn Rossiter winning a free; Dunlavin’s Mark Reid enjoying a commendable night keeping the Coolkenno attacker relatively quiet.
Up stepped Conor Walker on the wrong side for a right footed player and he proceeded to launch one of the most beautiful shots off the outside of his right boot that sailed sweetly over the bar for the winning score, much to the unbridled delight of the Coolkenno crowd who had travelled in reasonable numbers for this clash.
Dunlavin would attack in search of championship survival but they would be blown for overcarrying and not long afterwards the shrill whistle would sound heralding the end of a difficult campaign for the west men.
It had all started so brightly for Dunlavin. Gary Allen had taken the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring the first three scores for his side as they bamboozled Coolkenno with confident football and no shortage of ambition and surged into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead after five minutes, with James Gregan getting Coolkenno off the mark.
Both sides made positional changes from the off.
Don Jackman, named at half-forward, lined out in midfield alongside the very impressive James Gregan while Aaron Phelan