Dreadnots bounce back with big win
with a well-worked goal.
Louth minor captain, Eoghan Callaghan, who started despite the impending quarter-final date with Kerry, made a brilliant run down the left and picked out Rooney, who in turn teed up Benny Reilly for an exquisite finish.
Conor Whelan and Conor Rafferty traded frees, but Rooney’s fifth point of the night made it 1-11 to 0-8.
Recent form suggested that might be that for Cooley, but they hit back soon after as Brian White, Darren Marks and Sean Marks combined to tee up Aoghan McGuinness for a composed finish to the bottom corner.
He followed up with a point to make it a two-point game again, 1-11 to 1-9 with just over 10 minutes of normal-time remaining.
The superb McDonagh burst forward again to kick a vital score for the Mairtins, but White converted another free to keep it the balance.
Cooley passed up a giltedged chance to take lead when Shane Marks burst through on goal, but he pulled a weak shot low and wide of the target, albeit under pressure.
White felt Marks had been fouled and picked was given his marching orders from David Fedigan, to be replaced by another Louth minor star, Fearghal Malone.
Michael Rafferty deputised well for White over dead balls, cancelling out scores from Stephen Campbell and Brian Berrill at the other end.
With time running out rapidly, Cooley needed another goal, but it was the Jocks who put the issue to bed when Thomas Sullivan teed up the returning Brian Berrill for an emphatic finish past a helpless Neil Gallagher.
His fellow Louth panellist Craig Lynch fired over a late free from well outside the ‘45’ to put six between the sides.
Harsh on Cooley, but that won’t bother the Jocks too much as they prepare for an intriguing quarter-final joust with Dreadnots.
NAOMH MAIRTIN: Craig Lynch; Paul Berrill, Mick Fanning, Thomas Sullivan; Paudie McDonagh 0-3, Brendan Reilly 1-0, Eoghan Callaghan; Wayne Campbell, Val Leddy; Conor Healy, Sam Mulroy, Stephen Campbell 0-1; Conor Whelan 0-4 (3f), JP Rooney 0-5 (1f), Bryan McQuillan. Subs: Eoin McDaid for J Loughran (21), Brian Berrill 1-1 for C Healy (37), John Clutterbuck for B McQuillan (41), Patrick Sullivam for P Berrill (45 BC), Gavan Mooney for V Leddy (48), Francis McCullough for C Whelan (60+)
COOLEY KICKHAMS: Neil Gallagher; Paddy Hanlon, Conor McGuinness, Gerry Malone; James Loughran, Alan Page, Shane Marks; Keith White, Peter Thornton; Aoghan McGuinness 1-1, Darren Marks, Jake McShane 0-1; Conor Rafferty 0-2f, Brian White 0-4 (3f), Ciaran Sheelan 0-2. Subs: Thomas McGuinness for (36), Michael Rafferty 0-2f for C Rafferty (39), Fergal Malone for B White (53 BC),
REFEREE: David Fedigan. FOLLOWING the disappointment of losing to Newtown Blues in their opening game, Dreadnots revived their Senior Championship ambitions with a clinical display that saw them put Kilkerley Emmets to the sword at Stabannon on Saturday evening.
It was the perfect response from the Clogherhead men and the impressive display will go a long way to restoring their self-belief ahead of the knock-out stages where they will face Naomh Mairtin.
For Kilkerley it was another disappointing evening as despite the honesty of their effort, they were second best in most areas over the course of the hour. The result heaps further pressure on the team that now faces a relegation battle in both league and championship over the closing stages of the season.
While in the end the Dreadnots had 16 points to spare, it wasn’t all plain sailing as Kilkerley kept themselves in contention up to the early stages of the second half. The failure to take full control of the game in the first period will be the only slight area of concern for Colm Donnelly’s side.
The Clogherhead outfit were tight at the back throughout with ‘Pop’ Rath and Derek Shevlin restricting the dangerous full-forward line, while around the middle they dominated with James Califf and Fergal McGuigan getting good support from Cian McEvoy and Dermot Campbell.
Paraic Smith was back to full fitness and pulling the strings in attack and although their superiority was not reflected on the scoreboard, the Dreadnots always looked the more likely winners.
Ultimately, the outcome was decided in the space of nine minutes just before and after the break when Kilkerley were reduced to 14 men and saw a three-point deficit stretched to an insurmountable ten-point gap.
Coming up to the interval, the Clogher side, despite being well on top, were leading by just 0-8 to 0-5, and Kilkerley were battling back into the game having kicked the last two points. However, things began to go wrong for the Emmets when midfielder James Shields picked up a second yellow card for a high challenge on Peter Kirwan.
James Califf added further punishment when he pointed from the resultant free just before the short whistle, but when Shane Lennon had a shot deflected over the bar it suggested that his side were going to make a real fight of it.
The Dreadnots response to this challenge was impressive and they kicked points from Cian McEvoy and Pat Lynch, before Smith, who was at the centre of much of what was good from his side, set up Liam Shevlin for the opening goal of the game.
The Clogher side could have had further goals during this spell with Peter Kirwan, Richard Kirwan and David O’Brien all going close. Nonetheless they managed further points from Peter Kirwan and O’Brien to lead by 1-13 to 0-6 after 38 minutes.
The game was effectively done and dusted at that stage and the final quarter produced little in the way of entertainment as the Dreadnots cruised home. Pat Lynch put the seal on a satisfactory evening for his team when he picked up a loose ball and fired home the second goal five minutes from the finish.
DREADNOTS: Kenneth Shevlin; Brian Gargan, Derek Shevlin, Padraig Rath; Barry Faulkner 0-1, Cian McEvoy 0-1, Dermot Campbell 0-1; James Califf 0-5 (3f), Fergal McGuigan; Liam Shevlin 1-0, Paraic Smith 0-5 (2f), Pat Lynch 1-2; Peter Kirwan 0-3, Richard Kirwan 0-1, David O’Brien 0-1. Subs: Aaron Scullion for B Faulkner, Cathal Lynch for P Smith.
KILKERLEY EMMETS: Darren Meehan; Killian Kampes, Fintan Clarke, Alan McGeough; Adam Shields, Shaun McElroy, Cormac Bellew; Ciaran Bellew, James Shields; Rian Hand, Shane Lennon 0-4 (3f, 45), Ciaran Clarke 0-1; Daniel McKeown , Tadgh McEneaney 0-4 (3f), Sean Hand 0-1. Subs: Conall McEneaney for R Hand, Conor Kirk for K Kampes, Cillian De Roever for Ciaran Bellew.
REFEREE: Gerard Corcoran.