Éire Óg gear up for SAFC clash with Bishopstown after beating Kilshannig
Colm Clifford, Éire Óg, about to break the tackle of Bill Curtin, Kilshannig, in their McCarthy Insurance Group SAFC match at Donoughmore. Picture: Dan Linehan
Éire Óg face Bishopstown in the Senior A quarter-final after a testy affair in Donoughmore on Sunday.
A strong wind and a well-taken Dylan Foley goal six minutes from time were the deciding factors on the day but Éire Óg’s celebrations were dampened slightly by a head-scratching sending off for Eoin O'Shea just before the final whistle.
The first half opened with four scores from frees. Brian Hurley was happy to tidy up from close range while Darragh O’Sullivan and Eanna O’Hanlon punted over for Kilshanning.
Darragh Clifford scored Éire Óg’s first from play, finishing off a swift move that started with Ronan O’Toole bursting through a two-man Kilshanning barrier from midfield and laying off to Clifford who pointed from a tough angle. Eoin O’Shea provided one of the afternoon's finest scores and from an even tighter angle than Clifford’s to give his side a two-point advantage on 20 minutes.
Their secret weapon, keeper Chris Kelly, was deadly from long frees all afternoon. This was his first of three, putting the ball right over the black spot.
Kilshannig’s Kieran Twomey drew things level with a monstrous effort from range on 25 minutes to make it 0-5 apiece.
It was tit-for-tat just before the break with Hurley and Kelly scoring from frees, Kelly’s a vital two-pointer. Tom Cunningham and Eanna O’Hanlon brought it back to a one-point game; Éire Óg went in 0-8 to 0-7 up.
Kilshanning burst into life at the restart, Ciaran O’Sullivan bounced a beautiful ball into namesake Darragh O’Sullivan whose goal-bound effort beat Kelly but crashed off the post. Seconds later the ball fell to Kieran Twomey who hit the crossbar.
It was a close shave that woke the Ovens men up. Using the wind to their advantage, Eire Og popped over three scores in quick succession during a six-minute spell. Full-back Colm Clifford saw his effort fly over after beating two Kilshanning men while Darragh Clifford and Chris Kelly two-pointed to further extend the lead: 0-13 to 0-7.
O’Hanlon and Cunningham tightened the scoreline again. Jack Twomey saw a couple of scoreable efforts go a-begging.
Chris Kelly did his due diligence in the Éire Óg net when a high ball landed in the hands of Kieran Twomey whose shot forced Kelly into a brilliant save down low. Eoin O’Shea’s Hail Mary found its way over the bar but was swiftly cancelled out by Darragh O’Sullivan’s point for Kilshannig (0-14 to 0-10).
Then came the moment of the match. A bouncing ball from the kicko-ut fell into the hands of Michael Murphy. Murphy found Rian O’Flynn who found Johnny Galvin who unselfishly played it across to Dylan Foley in space.
Foley did what he needed to do, calmly slotting it into the net.
That wasn't the end of the drama though. Eoin O’Shea was deemed to have spoken inappropriately to the linesman leading to referee Cormac Dineen showing the full-forward a red card. Éire Óg say they will appeal.
C Kelly 0-5 (0-1 45, 2 2pt f), D Foley 1-0, B Hurley 0-3 f, D Clifford 0-3 (1 2pt), E O’Shea 0-2, C Clifford 0-1.
E O’Hanlon 0-4 (0-2 f), D O’Sullivan 0-3 (0-1 f), K Twomey 0-2 (2pt), T Cunningham 0-2, S Murphy 0-1.
C Kelly, C Clifford, M Brady, C McGoldrick, H Murphy, C O’Callaghan, D McCarthy, M Griffin, D Clifford, R O’Flynn, R O’Toole, J Galvin, D Foley, E O’Shea, B Hurley.
D Goulding for R O’Toole (49), J Murphy for B Hurley (49), D Kelly for D Clifford (53), D Dineen for R O’Flynn (58), J Kelleher for D Foley (59).
G Creedon, S Murphy, E Burke, C Murphy, E Healy, S O’Connell, K O’Connell, B Curtin, J Twomey, A O’Connell, T Cunningham, C O’Sullivan, D O’Sullivan, E O’Hanlon, C Twomey.
M Murphy for A O’Connell (13), C O’Shea for C O’Connell (27), K O’Hanlon for C O’Sullivan (37), B Creedon for M Murphy (55).
C Dineen (Douglas).
App?
