Killmurry footballers seal promotion but still have a county title to contend for

KILMURRY GAA recently secured the Muskerry Junior A Football Championship title, with a fully deserving win over Aghinagh.

This solid Kilmurry team do not look like they are finished just yet, and there are some exciting challenges in store.

Kilmurry will face off against the winners of the Carbery final St James, in the Cork JAFC quarter-final. 

And as a result of winning the Mid Cork JAFC, Kilmurry will feature in the inaugural edition of the Cork Premier Junior Football Championship.

Teams that are set to compete in the new Cork PJFC competition next year include the likes of Cobh, St Nick’s, Buttevant, and Cullen.

Kilmurry will also be in that company, and they will eagerly be looking forward to the tests that will await them, you can be certain.

“Everyone in the dressing room knew that was the main goal. We are looking forward to competing in a new competition next year,” said Kilmurry captain Fionn Warren, on the prospect of playing in the Cork PJFC when the 2023 Cork club championship campaign comes around.

Padraig Berhanu is a good attacking threat for Kilmurry, as was in clear evidence during the Muskerry final win over Aghinagh, where he scored a total of 2-2.

Liam Wall and Joe Ryan also are players to keep an eye on in the Kilmurry forward line, with the likes of Warren, they also are a hard-working side defensively, and without possession of the football.

Kilmurry were fully deserving champions in Muskerry, and they will look to bring that form into the Cork JAFC over the coming few weeks.

Right from the outset of the Muskerry JAFC in 2022, Kilmurry looked like men on a mission and it became clear they would very much be in the mix for silverware.

In their opening Muskerry JAFC clash, Kilmurry recorded a comprehensive victory over Clondrohid with a full-time result of 1-14 to 0-6.

This very much was an early statement of intent, and there was little surprise to see that this was something they would build upon.

The second group stage game for Kilmurry saw them come out on top with another convincing victory, on this occasion against Kilmichael, finishing 0-13 to 1-4.

Kilmurry rounded off the group stages, making it three wins out of a possible three in ruthless fashion against Dripsey, as they won 2-23 to 1-5.

This meant Kilmurry headed into the knockout stages sending out strong signals that they were going to take some stopping in pursuit of Mid Cork glory.

EFFICIENT

In the quarter-final stages of the competition, Kilmurry again went about their business in an efficient manner, as they defeated Éire Óg 0-11 to 0-4, to book themselves a place in the semi-finals.

In the semi-final, they faced a clash with old foes Canovee. This was anticipated to be a keenly contested affair, and that is what duly transpired.

When the contest came to a conclusion, Kilmurry came out on top with a three point win over Canovee, at 1-13 to 1-10. That set them up for the final with Aghinagh, which they duly won.

Kilmurry were deserving winners of the Muskerry JAFC, and the statistics very much give this statement backing.

Kilmurry will have seen the upward trajectory Iveleary have been on in recent years, who are now in the latter stages of the Premier Intermediate Football Championship.

You can be sure Kilmurry will be hoping to make similar strides.

The 2020 Muskerry JAFC final is one to provide a strong reference point. In that game, Iveleary won by just a single point over Kilmurry, with a full time score of 1-11 to 0-13.

From there, Iveleary went on to secure championship glory in the Cork Junior A and also in the Cork Intermediate A Football Championships.

It may have been back in 2020, but that win over Kilmurry was a very crucial one for Iveleary, on the remarkable journey they have been on in the period since then.

Kilmurry have been on an exciting journey in recent times, and there could be a few more chapters to be added yet.