Late Regan point secures narrow Cullen win in Ducon Cup
DUCON CUP Cullen 1-12 Knocknagree 2-8
CULLEN pulled out all the stops to overcome Knocknagree in a thrilling Ducon Cup tussle played in Knocknagree. In a welter of excitement, Alan Regan thumped over the match winning point to allow Cullen put a halt to Knocknagree’s unbeaten run.
The issue looked in the balance after Knocknagree appeared to rally brilliantly and a Daniel Murphy goal squared up the contest with three minutes remaining. A division of the spoils looked on the cards only for Regan to step up to the plate to pop over the matchwinning score.
The opening 30 minutes furnished strong evidence that an evenly balanced contest was in the offering. Knocknagree pounced early for a Paul O’Connor goal only for Cullen to get to grips with the situation, Tomás O’Keeffe and Regan posting points for Cullen to hold a narrow 0-8 to 1-4 advantage at the break.
And Cullen moved forward with menacing purpose on the restart, their hopes brightened on a goal netted by O’Keeffe. The football remained fast and furious, Knocknagree thankful to a series of marvellous saves by custodian Pa Doyle.
Trailing by three, Knocknagree sparked a comeback that yielded a goal to Murphy. With the game in the melting pot, Knocknagree appeared to hold the initiative only for Cullen to pounce for Regan to deliver the all important winner. CULLEN: B O’Connor; D Twomey, J O’Sullivan, T Moynihan; W O’Keeffe, N Lynch, D Hickey; P O’Sullivan, A Regan 0-3; A Meade 0-1, B Kelleher, C Kearns ; C Moynihan 0-1, T O’Keeffe 1-7, M Twomey. Subs: M O’Riordan, L Mullane. KNOCKNAGREE: P Doyle; D Leader, S Daly, C Buckley; C O’Leary, K Buckley 0-1, L Sugrue; P O’Connor 1-1, P Collins; T Long 0-4, D O’Connor, D Murphy 1-0; S Twomey, J Dennehy 0-2, M Mahony. Subs: G O’Connor, A Sheehan, G Carroll. REFEREE: D Hickey (Millstreet)