Ballyfoilmore squeak past debutants Currow
CURROW rolled out the red carpet welcome for visitors St Michaels / Foilmore on their debut at senior level but the visitors spoiled the party with a narrow twopoint victory.
It was the second year in a row that the South Kerry side have drawn the previous year's intermediate winners and just as they did twelve months previously to Finuge, they came through a bruising contest to protect their senior status.
It may have been dubbed the relegation battle, but that would have been a disservice to both sides' efforts as the contest was in the balance up to the 58th minute when the game was decided on a pair of frees.
Currow's Dan O'Shea 58th minute effort would have levelled matters but his 50-yard strike dropped short and St Michaels broke only to be awarded a free of their own. Ronan O'Connor made no mistake with his 50-yard effort and the southerners left with a twopoint victory.
Currow made the more settled start and Dan O'Shea scored his sides first ever point at this level on the third minute. They doubled this on the eighth minute with Mike McCarthy pointing a 30 yard free, but it was the visitors who were making tough work of it.
Sean O'Connor and Padraig King were certainly enjoying a lot of ball in the centre of the field but the wides were mounting. They hit five wides before they got their first score with Bernard Kelly finally breaking his sides duck on the 13th minute. Scores followed from King, O'Connor and Kelly again as they took a 0-4 to 0-2 lead by the 24th minute.
Both sides played very open and at times, enterprising football and the final five minutes of the half produced almost a score a minute. Currow's with points from John O'Connor, Seamus Brosnan and Dan O'Shea put them back in the lead before late efforts from Sean O'Connor and full-back Brian Smith had Bally ahead 0-6 to 0-5 at the break.
Currow had overturned a seven-point deficit against the same opposition in the county league only two weeks previous and they must have felt they would going to repeat the trick again when Dan O'Shea struck for goal inside four minutes of the second half.
O'Shea found himself on the end line at the edge of the square but his effort hit the bottom of the cross bar and both umpires were happy to award a goal. A few minutes later, he gave his side their biggest lead of the day 1-6 to 0-6 when he converted a 35-yard effort.
However, it was to be the last time Currow were to score with St. Michaels patiently chipping away at the lead. By the 50th minute they were level thanks to Padraig King and Ronan O'Connor edged them in front on the 55th minute before the drama of the two frees settled the contest in favour of the visitors. ST. MICHAEL / FOILMORE: Jason O'Shea, Daragh Scanlon, Brian Smith (0-1), Adrian O'Connell, DJ Moran, Mark Griffin, Brian Galvin, Sean O'Connor (0-1), Padraig King (0-2), Bernard Kelly (0-3, 1f), James Moran, Sean O'Shea, Damien Kelly (0-1), Ronan O'Connor (0-3, 1f), Mathew O'Sullivan Subs: Colin Granfield for Scanlon (23), Sean O'Sullivan for O'Shea (48), Darren O'Sullivan for Moran (48), Sean Fogarty for Kelly (58) CURROW: Shane O'Leary, Cathal Daly, Dan O'Sullivan, Timmy O'Leary, Mike Hanifin, John O'Connor (0-1), Gareth O'Connor, Seamus Scanlon, Paudie Collins, Ian Somers, John Daly, Seamus Brosnan (0-1), Padraig O'Shea, Mike McCarthy (0-1f), Dan O'Shea (1-3, 0-2f) Subs: Pa McCarthy for O'Shea (5) Inj, Seamus Flynn for Daly (H/T), Kevin Daly for Brosnan (55) James Galwey for Somers (58) REFEREE: Gordon Kerins (Austin Stacks)