Credit Union County League
Division 1 – Round 6
Kenmare Shamrocks 1-10 0-10 Gneeveguilla
Our senior footballers picked up their first 2 points of the league campaign with a hard-fought victory over a gallant Gneeveguilla side in front of a large crowd in Kenmare.
Things didn’t go all our own way and the cliché “a game of two halves” certainly comes into play as the away side had the better of the first half. Scores were hard to come by and we found ourselves 3 points to 1 down by the 18th minute, our score coming from the boot of Pearce O’Brien. David Hallissey kicked a beauty in the 25th min but two quick points from Gneeveguilla’s boots left 3 points between the sides. We kicked away a lot of possession which put our backline under pressure, luckily they stood firm, were well organized, and thwarted a lot of the dangerous attacks. On the stroke of halftime, Kevin (Arthur) won a free just outside the 21-yard line and slotted it over to leave the score Kenmare Shamrock 0-03 to Gwneeveguilla’s 0-05.
Gneeveguilla was first to get off the mark in the second half with a point from play. Paul O’Connor was introduced for Jimmy Lehane at the break and he has an instant impact on the match. He won a free on his first 2 possessions which he slotted over the bar but the “piste de resistance” came in the 38th minute. We played some great football down the right side of the field which culminated with a high pass coming in across the square. Even though we couldn’t find the net with that pass, Paul gathered the rebound, pivoted, and stuck it in the far corner of the net. This left the score 1-05 to 0-06 with twenty minutes to play.
Confidence was high now and we were playing some great football. Kevin kicked two more points from play and Pearce added a lovely free from an acute angle. The away side was not finished yet and pinned us back in our own half for the last 10 minutes of the game. In that period they kicked three unanswered points which brought the deficit back to two. Kieran Fitz and Co cleared a ball off the line which was destined for the net and a minute later a thunderous strike rattled the crossbar and rebounded out. We went back up the field and Griffin Wharton tapped over a sweet point.
There were 4 minutes of injury time and a goal between the sides. By that time we has weathered the storm, regained our composure, and saw out the rest of the match. Gneeveguilla did kick over a point in the 31st minute but this was canceled out shortly after by another sweetly struck kick from Pearce. Well done to all the players and the management team… “Onwards and Upwords”
Final Score: Kenmare Shamrocks 1-10 0-10 Gneeveguilla
Kieran Fitzgibbon 2. Dara Crowley © 3. Tommy O’Sullivan 4. Cian O’Sullivan 5. Jamie Regan 6. James McCarthy, 7. Dara O’Shea 8. David Hallissey 9. Griffin Wharton 10. Shane O’Sullivan 11. Kevin O’Sullivan 12. Jimmy Lehane 13. Pearce O’Brien, 14. Tommy O’Sullivan, 15. Tommy Cronin
Fir Ionaid: 16. Ray O’Shea, 17. Ciaran O’Sullivan, 18. David Cronin, 19. Kane Reidy, 20. Cian Hanley, 21. Paul O’Connor, 22. Liam Palmer, 23. Joe Doyle
Roghnoirí: Jackie Tuohy, Mickey O’Sullivan, Kieran Moriarty, Timmy Palmer,
Physio: Molly O’Brien
Referee- Donal Casey
