Advantage Cooley
COOLEY KICKHAMS GERALDINES 2-13 0-12
COOLEY Kickhams claimed their first win of the Division 1 League campaign when they overturned a five-point interval deficit to defeat Geraldines in a game of two halves at Fr McEvoy Park.
Michael Rafferty did much of the damage, bagging two goals, while Brian White weighed in with six points over the hour.
Both teams went into the game with just one point from their opening four games and in need of victory in the battle to avoid the drop at the foot of the table.
It appeared that the Gers were on course to achieve that target when they dominated the first half and kicked a total of 11 points through Michael Rogers, Shaun Callan, Conor Rafferty and Paddy Geoghegan.
However, Cooley gave themselves hope and a vital lifeline when Michael Rafferty scored the first goal of the game to cut the gap to 0-11 to 1-3.
The second period saw the home side assert their authority and with the Gers only managing to add one point to their tally over the 30-plus minutes, Cooley gradually built up a lead.
Rafferty added his second goal of the game to secure a badly needed victory for the home side.
COOLEY KICKHAMS: Sean Hayes; Richard Brennan, Dean McGreehan, Alan Page; Conor McGuinness, Patrick Hanlon, Gerry Malone 0-1; Peter Thornton, Fearghal Malone 0-2; Michael Kane 0-1, Eoin McDaid 0-1, Michael Rafferty 2-1; Emmet Rogan, Brian White 0-6, Aoghain McGuinness 0-1. Subs: Shane Marks, James O’Reilly, Keith White.
GERALDINES: Darrin Kearney; Sean Watters, Daniel Corcoran, Kevin Pepper; Killian Dempsey, Jack Trainor, Gareth Neacy; Paddy Hoey, Matthew Corcoran 0-2; Shane Rogers, Glen Trainor, Shaun Callan 0-2; Conor Rafferty 0-3, Michael Rogers 0-2, Paddy Geoghegan 0-2. Subs: Robert Lynch, Josh Arrowsmith 0-1, James Corrigan, Sean Thornton.