Four late points secure a share of the spoils for Kildorrery hurlers against Lisgoold in Division 4
Lisgoold 1-17 Kildorrery 0-20
FOUR points in the closing stages helped Kildorrery earn a share of the spoils when they clashed with Lisgoold in a thrilling Red FM County Division 4 Hurling League contest at Kildorrery on Sunday. In a lively contest the issue was in the balance right until the final whistle.
The opening stages saw the home side quick off the mark with Dave Kelly, Peter O’Brien and Shane Fitzgerald landing points as they moved 0-3 no score in front. Lisgoold quickly got up to the required pace with Liam O’Shea’s goal scoring opportunity in the seventh minute going narrowly wide.
Nevertheless three points on the spin by Liam O’Shea (2) and Mark Hegarty tied matters by the 11th minute and they were also deadlocked at 0-4 each by the end of the first quarter. The Imokilly outfit were doing rather well at this stage with John Cronin, Cathal Hickey, Mark Hegarty, Liam O’Shea and John Cashman making inroads as they moved 0-9 to 0-6 clear by the 22nd minute.
Kildorrery’s response was swift with Michael Walsh, Peter O’Brien and Cathal Harrington on target with points that level proceedings for the third time at 0-9 each. Lisgoold hit the front again courtesy of a long range free from Liam O’Shea with Kildorrery responding straight from the puckout when James O’Sullivan set up James Keating for a point.
In the closing moments Lisgoold added two more scores through Liam O’Shea and Mark Hegarty as they held a 0-12 to 0-10 interval lead.
On the changeover the game really came to life. Great work by Luke Keating set up his brother James to score a great point near the sideline for the home side in the 32nd minute. John Cashman had two points at the other end with Kildorrery forcing parity at 0-14 each by the 40th minute when Dave Kelly, Peter O’Brien and David Hunter picked off points.
Over the next couple of minutes they were level at 0-15 each before the Avondhu outfit took the lead when James Keating picked up possession from an Ian Butler puckout to score from distance.
As they entered the last quarter both teams were reduced to 14 players. In the 49th minute Lisgoold struck for the only goal of the game when a sideline by hard-working Mark Hegarty deceived everyone with the sliotar making its way to the Kildorrery net and they came very close to adding a second in the 53rd minute when Liam O’Shea was denied by an excellent save from Ian Butler at the expense of a ‘65’.
Two more points from a free and a ‘65’ by Liam O’Shea looked enough for Lisgoold as they held a 1-17 to 0-16 lead. Kildorrery showed great battling qualities from here to the finish and four points entering the home straight by Keating brothers Luke and James ensured they finished in stalemate at the final whistle. LISGOOLD: C Cronin, J Hegarty, C Cashman, C O’Shea, K Cashman, C Hickey, J Cronin 0-1, M Hegarty 1-2 (1-0 s/l), C Scannell, L Walsh, L O’Shea 0-10 (5f, 1 ‘65’), C O’Brien, J O’Driscoll, J Cashman 0-4, C Hallinan. Subs: T Savage for J O’Driscoll (inj), I Walsh for T Savage, E Holden for C O’Brien, O Savage for C Hickey (inj)
KILDORRERY: I Butler, C O’Sullivan, W Fouhy, R Hurley, J O’Sullivan, M Walsh 0-1, D Hunter 0-1, K Hurley, P O’Brien 0-4 (3f), S Watson 0-1, J Keating 0-5 (1 ‘65’), C Harrington 0-1, L Keating 0-3f, S Fitzgerald 0-2, D Kelly 0-2. Subs: Pierce Piggott for D Kelly, P Harrington for S Fitzgerald, T Condon for R Hurley (inj)