Kilcoole march on
Goosebank side look sharp as they beat Barndarrig
KILCOOLE produced an impressive display of hurling to ease past Barndarrig last Sunday afternoon and book their place in what should be a cracking 2020 Intermediate hurling decider against Glenealy.
Continued commitment and improvements for this squad of Goosebank hurlers and they would be more than capable of holding their own at Senior ranks. Indeed, it’s safe to say that with hurlers of the quality of Luke Evans, Ronan, Eoin and Dara Keddy, Ciaran Doyle and Gary Coady they would not only hold their own but thrive, providing the North Wicklow Gaels conveyor belt comes through on the promise of talented young players.
It wasn’t to be for an honest, hard-working Barndarrig side who are most certainly fighting the good fight when it comes to the small ball game. But, apart from a very strong second quarter where they recovered from a near devastating Kilcoole start in this game, they never really looked like stopping the Kilcoole march.
The Kilmacurra men pulled Martin Cullen (wearing 14) right back to mind his full-back line from the start of this game, leaving Gary Coady free to roam in front of his own goal. The threat of Luke Evans, Toby O’Brien and James Toner was very real but the Barndarrig attack was left lacking as a result of this decision.
Kilcoole started much the brighter in a cold Pearse’s Park and had two early wides on the board before the electric Luke Evans rifled over the opening score from a free after Malachy Stone had fouled Ryuan Heffernan with
two minutes on the clock.
Evans was in sparkling form in this game, showing his impressive natural attacking ability and flair and sweet stick work throughout. He made it 0-2 to 0-0 with a peach from out near the sideline on the railway tracks side.
Barndarrig were in real trouble early on. They just couldn’t like with the force of the Kilcoole men with Ronan Keddy and Vinnie Quigley dominating around the middle and a long Keddy ball to Evans saw the sprightly attacker feed burly full-forward Toby O’Brien who finished home to the back of Michael Crowley’s net for
the opening goal with just four minutes on the clock.
By the time Andrew Kavanagh opened Barndarrig’s account after seven minutes the gap was 1-5 to 0-1 after further Kiloole points from the busy Ronan Keddy (two) and a sweet score from Eoin Keddy who was a thorn in the Barndarrig side all afternoon.
A scare in front of the Barndarrig goal was cleared and Enda Dempsey fired over a great point for the Kilmacurra men despite being under massive pressure from Michael O’Brien.
However, Barndarrig would suffer a brutal blow in the 11th
minute when a defensive error resulted in Toby O’Brien feeding Luke Evans and the ball was in the back of the net for a second time and Barndarrig had a long way back from 2-5 to 0-2 down.
Andrew Kavanagh started the revival with a fine score but Kilcoole were in top form and a Luke Evans free and Ronan Keddy from play after Paddy O’Brien had won a Michael Crowley puck out left Kilcoole leading by 2-7 to 0-3 shortly after the first water break.
The third quarter belonged to Barndarrig. Andrew Kavanagh added five points from frees on the trot with three wides mixed in while
Jacques McCall would also prove wayward from distance during a real purple patch that gave the Barndarrig supporters plenty to cheer about.
Luke Evans would win and point his own free to send the teams into the half-time break with Kilcoole ahead by 2-8 to 0-8 but with Barndarrig right back in the mix.
A wide at the start of the second half for Barndarrig was followed by a mini burst from Kilcoole as Luke Evans (free), Eoin Keddy, Ronan Keddy and Evans from play after a stunning catch from a Ciaran Doyle delivery wrenched open a 2-12 to 0-8 gulf between the teams, with Barndarrig guilty of not clearing ball quickly enough and being turned over.
Again, they proved capable of bouncing back. T Burke, Enda Dempsey and Jacques McCall pulled it back to 2-12 to 0-11 with 12 gone in the second half.
The excellent Eoin Keddy replied before Andrew Kavanagh lofted over what would be Barndarrig’s last score just before referee Max Molloy sounded the whistle for the second water break.
Two wides for Kilcoole (the second of which was a point by Eoin Keddy which snook in just inside the upright but was waved wide by the umpires) brought us to one of the main events of the hour, a penalty for Barndarrig for a foul on Michael Owen Byrne.
Had Andrew Kavanagh converted it would have left just four points between the sides but Chris Carroll saved superbly from what was a poor penalty.
With that chance gone, Kilcoole weren’t about to let this game slip. Eoin Keddy, Dara Keddy, and two late frees from Luke Evans secured a sweet victory for Michael Neary’s men and sent them on to the Intermediate decider where they will face Glenealy in what promises to be a belter of a game if and when it takes place given the latest restrictions announced on Monday.
KILCOOLE: Chris Carroll; Michael O’Brien, Gary Coady, Adam Cummins; Dara Keddy (0-1), Ciaran Doyle, Paddy O’Brien; Ronan Keddy (0-4), Vinny Quigley; Kris Farrell, Eoin Keddy (0-4), Ryan Heffernan; Luke Evans (1-8, 6f), Toby O’Brien (1-0), James Toner. Subs: Conor Toole for K Farrell, Dylan Doyle for J Toner, Cormac Byrne for R Heffernan. BARNDARRIG: Michael Crowley; Michael Doyle, Bernard Quinn, Liam Dickenson; Shane Whelan, Michael Cullen, Jacques McCall (0-1); T Burke (0-1), Jonathan Devereux; Malachy Stone, Paddy Redmond, Andrew Kavanagh (0-8, 7f); Enda Dempsey (0-2), Martin Cullen, James Quinn. Subs: Kevin Cullen for J Devereux.
Max Molloy (Annacurra)