The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Geaney goals ease Dingle past depleted Kenmare District
LIKE a diesel engine, it took a little while for Dingle to get warmed up and purring, but once they did accounted for Kenmare District with minimum trouble, helped greatly by the fuel injection of two Paul Geaney goals and a third from Conor Geaney. Despite the 15-point winning margin this was far from the perfect Dingle performance, but the old cliché of having plenty to work on will suit Dingle fine in advance of their Round 2 match with O’Rahillys on Sunday.
Kenmare District have the weekend off as they await the outcome of the Legion and Kenmare Shamrocks replay, and it will be an interesting ‘winner takes all’ Round 2 meeting with Shamrocks if that comes to pass. The District team certainly missed their erstwhile Kenmare club colleagues against Dingle, and while it’s hypothetical and irrelevant to countenance how they might have performed with players of the ilk of Stephen O’Brien, Paul O’Connor and Sean O’Shea, there’s no doubt the absence through injury of Templenoe duo Tadhg Morley and Adrian Spillane seriously damaged the hosts chance last Saturday.
Would Morley have prevented the Geaney boys snaffling those three goals, or would Spillane have managed want none of his playing team mates managed - to score a point from play? It’s doubtful the former could have been the boy with his finger in the dyke or that Spillane could have scored or assisted enough to bridge that 14-point losing margin, but they will need both available for their second round match and will need to develop a more rounded scoring threat up front than relying - as they did here - on Killian Spillane.
The match was just six minutes old when Spillane scored a delightful goal, chipping delicately over Gavin Curran after collecting Brian Crowley’s pass. A converted free from the goal scorer followed, and when Peter O’Shea drove a goal chance just wide and then Teddy Doyle had a goal-bound shot cannon back off a Dingle defender, there was a real sense of threat to the divisional side against a club side that was very slow to settle.
Still, six minutes later the sides were level after Paul Geaney finished a necklace of passes involving Tom O’Sullivan and Paul Devane to the District’s net to make it 1-1 apiece.
Points from Tomas Sheehy (2), Mikey and Paul Geaney pushed Dingle four clear by the 21st minutes, moments before Stephen O’Sullivan saved brilliantly from Tom O’Sullivan’s shot.
A minute later Kenmare District got their third score when Killian Spillane caught an under-hit ‘45’ and set up cousin Pat Spillane for a simple finish to the Dingle net to leave them trailing by a point at the break.
Dingle were leading by three points when Conor Geaney’s shot - which could have been an attempt at a point - dipped over Stephen O’Sullivan to double the visitors’ lead, and when Mikey and Conor Geaney followed up with scores to make it 2-9 to 2-1 the outcome looked fairly inevitable.
Killian Spillane converted another free but then Paul Geaney cracked a low shot past O’Sullivan as the District defence backed off the Geaney forward, and thereafter it was a point ticking exercise for the travelling team, with the Kenmare goalkeeper doing well to deny Dingle another two goals.
A tough day, then, for a pared down Kenmare District side who will want to salvage something from the Championship, while for Dingle it was a potential landmine avoided without the need to extend themselves to their full potential, even without Kerry senior panellist Barry O’Sullivan. KENMARE DISTRICT: Stpehen O’Sullivan (Tuosist), Michael Hallissey (Templenoe), Gavin Crowley (Templenoe), Kieran O’Neill (Templenoe), Joshua Crowley-Holland (Templenoe), Johnny Rice (Templenoe), Patrick O’Shea (Kilgarvan), Peter O’Shea (Tuosist), Sean Sheehan (Templenoe), Pat Spillane (Templenoe), Teddy Doyle (Templenoe), Gearoid Fennessey (Kilgarvan), Stephen O’Sullivan (Templenoe), Killian Spillane (Templenoe), Brian Crowley (Templenoe). Subs: Kieran McCarthy (Templenoe) for M Hallissey (inj, 18 mins), Mike Tim O’Sullivan (Tuosist) for B Crowley (inj, 30+2 mins), Thomas Harrington
(Tuosist) for K O’Neill (b/c, 56 mins), Daniel O’Shea (Tuosist) for Stephen O’Sullivan (56 mins), Jospeh Sheehan (Templenoe) for P Spillane (61 mins).
DINGLE: Gavin Curran, Tom (Leo) O’Sullivan, Conor O’Sullivan, Paul O’Connor, Aidan O’Connor, Breandan Kelliher, Tom O’Sullivan, Billy O’Connor, Dara O’Sullivan, Matthew Flaherty (0-1), Mikey Geaney (0-1), Paul Devane, Tomas Sheehy (0-3), Paul Geaney (2-4, 0-2f), Conor Geaney (1-2). Subs: Cathal Bambury (0-1) for B O’Connor (45 mins), Mikey Boland for P Devane (53 mins), Patrick Sheehy for M Flaherty (53 mins), Jack O’Sullivan for T Sheehy (57 mins), Michael O’Boyle for D O’Sullivan (57 mins), Michael Slattery for P Geaney (61 mins)
REFEREE: Eddie Walsh (Rathmore