Bray People

Two on the trot for Kilcoole

Own goal proves to be the difference between sides

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KILCOOLE KNOCKANANN­A 1-09 0-09

KILCOOLE made it two on the bounce, when they picked up their second brace of Boom Platform Hire Junior A Football Championsh­ip points with a hard-earned win over Knockanann­a on Saturday evening last.

An own goal by full-back Padraig Lancaster turned out to be the difference between these two teams.

Daniel Kavanagh landed a massive 54 metre free off the ground in the opening minute for the opening score of the game for Kilcoole. Knockanann­a started with Darren Flynn in a sweeper role.

Vincent Quigley played a great ball into Dara Keddy who was fouled and Matt Gilbert converted the free over the bar.

Pat O’Keefe picked up a yellow card for Knockanann­a for a heavy tackle and Dan Kavanagh landed a monster of a point from the free,which was way out on the sideline.

Tristan Maher got Knockanann­a off the mark with a point in the 8th minute after good work by Steven Hinchy. Paddy Byrne reduced the defecit to a point with a high in-swinger of a shot which crept inside the upright. Dan Kavanagh landed another sweet 50 metre free, off the carpet as Kilcoole rose up a gear.

Declan Roper dropped a shot short in the dangerzone where goalie Liam Vines spilled the ball, but recovered to clear, to close out the opening quarter.

Danny Kavanagh tagged on another point to put Kilcoole three points up. Knockanann­a applied a bit of pressure but could not convert into scores.

Kilcoole also added a couple off very bad wides with some poor shot selection.

The game became very ragged for the closing minutes of the half with some poor tackling. It was 14 minutes since the last score when Matt Gilbert pointed another free for Kilcoole in the 30th minute.

A huge turning point in the game came in the 34th and final minute of the opening half when the reds suffered a double blow. Firstly, they lost Edward Bracken to a Black Card for a hand trip. Secondly, Danny Kavanagh’s 50 metre free dropped into the square where Padraig Lancaster fielded the ball, but somehow he spilled the ball into his own net as the half time whistle sounded with the score reading 1-06 to 0-02.

Kilcoole added another brace of wides on the restart. Declan Roper had a great chance of a goal but his piledriver crashed off the crossbar and over for a point to let Knockanann­a off the hook. Aaron O Neill replied with a great point for the red men.

Again Kilcoole should have goaled but Matt Gilbert blazed his shot over the bar with 40 minutes played.

Knockanann­a hit a purple patch as their midfield completely took over and ran at the heart of the Kilcoole defence.

Lorcan Tyrell and Gerry Bradley tagged on a point each. Stephen Hinchy landed a point from a free. Darren Flynn added another point as the reds were flying at this stage, bayed on by a very vocal Eugene O Brien on the sideline.

Kilcoole tried to slow proceeding­s down but referee Matt Dowling rightly threw up the ball on the 21 metre line for time wasting by the goalie.

Steven Hinchy won possession and tagged on another point to make it 5 points without reply to eat into Kilcoole lead.

Each sides traded yellow cards as the temperatur­e rose up a level. Kilcoole steadied the ship but added another brace of wides. In the 54th minute Steven Hinchy hit another point to leave two points in it. Ronan Keddy broke the Knockanann­a momentum with some fine intercepti­ons but again his forwards did not punish their opponent’s as Luke Evan’s hit the “miss of the year” as another glorious goal chance went amiss. However Kilcoole held out with another point from Evan’s in the final minute for another important win, as Knockanann­a will regroup and should have a full compliment of regular starters for their next outing.

Kilcoole scorers: Dan Kavanagh 0-04 (3f), Matt Gilbert 0-03 (2f), Luke Evans 0-01, Declan Roper 0-01, Padraig Lancaster 1-00 (og).

Knockanann­a scorers: Steven Hinchy 0-03 (2f), Aaron O’Neill 0-01, Tristan Maher 0-01, Gerry Bradley 0-01, Lorcan Tyrell 0-01, Darren Flynn 0-01, Pat Byrne 0-01.

 ??  ?? Kilcoole’s Daniel Kavanagh puts pressure on Knockanann­a’s Patrick O’Keefe during the JAFC in Pearse’s Park, Arklow.
Kilcoole’s Daniel Kavanagh puts pressure on Knockanann­a’s Patrick O’Keefe during the JAFC in Pearse’s Park, Arklow.

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