Rathmore hold out after late Legion rally comes up short

Defending Kerry senior club champions Rathmore withstood a late Killarney Legion onslaught before winning their quarter-final, 1-10 to 0-12, on Saturday night with Legion missing two goal chances late on.

Kerry defender Aidan O’Mahony took control of midfield for Rathmore in the second-half as they went ahead through a John Buckley penalty (1-6 to 0-8) but with impressive Kingdom and Legion forward James O’Donoghue scoring 0-6 and causing Tom O’Sullivan no end of problems, Legion were always within striking distance.

Rathmore will now face St Michaels/Foilmore in a semi-final next weekend, after the South Kerry side defeated Dingle 2-6 to 1-6.

Goals from Johnny Clifford and Bernard Kelly set St Michaels/Foilmore on the road to victory against depleted Dingle.

Kerry goalkeeper Brendan Kealy just came up short with an injury-time match-saving 45 as Kilcummin lost to Laune Rangers, 1-7 to 0-9, in the third quarter-final of the senior club championship.

With Kerry wing-back Peter Crowley a real driving force in the Rangers’ midfield, the Killorglin team now face a semi-final against Dr Crokes.

In the quarter-finals of the Kerry IFC, Paul Galvin turned in a tour-de-force performance as he scored 0-3 in his side’s 0-7 to 0-4 victory over John Mitchels.

Former Kerry back Eamonn Fitzmaurice also made a big difference for Finuge in the second-half, and the North Kerry side now face Ardfert in the semi-finals, after the latter defeated Annascaul 1-12 to 0-10.

Meanwhile, All Star midfielder Bryan Sheehan scored 0-6 (all frees) for St Marys in their intermediate quarter-final against former All-Ireland club finalists Spa but it wasn’t enough to secure victory, with a late Adam O’Reilly point for Spa at the end of extra-time rescuing a draw, 1-15 to 3-9.

In the Kerry junior football championship, Darran O’Sullivan scored 0-3 as Glenbeigh/Glencar beat 0-12 to 0-8, and they now play Kenmare in the semi-final, after their win over Ballymac (0-18 to 2-10) yesterday.

The other junior semi-final will see Na Gaeil, after their win against Tousist (0-10 to 0-9), take on St Pats, who beat Anthony Maher’s Duagh 1-9 to 1-7.