Vital win for Coolkenno
Tinahely beaten in Arklow
COOLKENNO drew first blood in the battle for survival and the Keating Trophy with a defeat of south eastern neighbours Tinahely in Arklow on Saturday.
Missing key forward Conor Walker through injury, Coolkenno produced a good team performance to steer them to a precious two points.
They opened the scoring in the encounter through John Kavanagh and added a fine free from the influential Paddy Dalton to settle any derby game jitters early on.
Tinahely for their part, missed three early scoring opportunities and almost fell to a goal only for a fantastic block by Michael Byrne prevented Brian Rossiter netting. Tony Darcy scored his sides opening score from play before Eamon Rossiter pointed a free he managed to win himself. Rossiter was on imperious form and his pace and constant presence on the ball was a strain on Tinahely throughout the hour.
Tinahely managed to work their way into the lead on 15 minutes. A deliciously placed pass from David Blake found midfield Brian Walsh in space and his thunderous strike was a hot one for John Corcoran to handle.
The ball rebounded into the air after the save and deflected back towards goal by a Tinahely hand with Corcoran still on the ground. The Coolkenno net minder still manged to paw the ball away but Walsh managed to make his way in unnoticed while everyone else scrapped for the ball and poked home with his left foot.
Coolkenno reacted to the goal in great fashion. From the following play, Brian Rossiter fired over an equaliser and moments later Eamon put the side back in front. With Eamon having a wonderful game, Brian also was causing a pest for Tinahely and his hard work released Eamon for a third score in a row.
Tinahely’s response was worked out in the Keating household over breakfast with Laurence releasing Curtis for a point and an Alan Nolan free brought the game back to parity. Eamon Rossiter restored Coolkenno’s lead with 25 on the clock and he played a part in the next score also with a couple of jinks selling the Tinahely defence before releasing Kavanagh for his second of the night. An unfortunate slip on the greasy surface by a Tinahely defender allowed David Cole the opportunity to make the gap three in injury time. A little round of pushing at the interval added to the tension and after the helter skelter second quarter, the game was finely poised.
Alan Dillon opened the scoring of the second half with one of his first attempts with the Coolkenno defence putting in an excellent performance in eliminating his danger. Robert Keogh produced one of his better performances for the Carlow boarder side along with Jim Cush to name but two but the Coolkenno men were extremely zoned in on the task at hand.
Unfortunately for them, David Cole picked up a head injury in an accidental clash while contesting a kick out and had to await an ambulance. Rivalries set aside as both players applauded him off the field and both teams with medically trained personnel on hand to assist in the wait for the ambulance. With the game back underway, Eamon Rossiter kicked over a free to bring the gap back to three before Tinahely missed a couple of opportunities with some bad wides.
They lost star forward Alan Dillon to a red for an off the ball incident before Rory Stokes kicked a fantastic score off his left to leave some hope going into the final ten minutes.
With Tinahely on the extra push for possession and scores, they were left frustrated to a few forced wides and Coolkenno were able to punish their errors. Paul Murphy kicked a boomer for his side with the ball slipping around on the now rain soaked Arklow pitch and a further big score from David Tompkins just when they needed it left a four point gap that would appear insurmountable at that stage.
Philip Timmons prevented a dangerous Tinahely attack with a vital interception with time ticking out and moments later Alan Nolan seen his shot rebound back off the crossbar to safety. Coolkenno deservedly get the nod here, while Tinahely face off as a wounded animal to be wary of.
Scorers - Coolkenno – Eamon Rossiter (0-5), John Kavanagh (0-2), Paddy Dalton, David Cole, Paul Murphy, David Tompkins, Brian Rossiter (0-1 each)
Tinahely – Brian Walsh (1-0), Alan Nolan, Tony Darcy, Curtis Keating, Alan Dillon, Rory Stokes (0-1 each)
Coolkenno: John Corcoran, Shane Walker, Jim Cush, Billy Lucas, Paul Murphy, Philip Timmons, Robert Keogh, Paddy Dalton, James Gregan, Eoghan Dolan, John Kavanagh, Eamon Rossiter, Conor Doyle, David Cole, Brian Rossiter. Subs: Cathal Rossiter for Lucas, David Tompkins for Cole, Danny O’Neill for Dolan, Pierce McCarthy for Kavanagh.
Tinahely: Niall Byrne, Laurence Keating, Michael Byrne, James Tyrell, Curtis Keating, William Dillon, John Blake, Conor Hatton, Brian Walsh, Alan Nolan, Stephen Dillon, Rory Stokes, David Blake, Alan Dillon, Tony Darcy. Subs: Jason Cush for Tyrell, Gavin Kenny for L Keating, David Dillon for Darcy.