Jason Foley goal at the death wins pulsating clash for North Kerry
North Kerry will play Kenmare Shamrocks in round 1 of the Kerry SFC. Photo by Tatyana McGough.
A clinically dispatched goal from captain and full-back Jason Foley two minutes from time got North Kerry off to a winning start in the Kerry SFC following this pulsating victory over St Kieran’s in a Round 2 preliminary round encounter at Fitzgerald Stadium.
At a sun-splashed Killarney, and in their first senior championship outing as an amalgamation in 70 years, Jimmy Keane’s combination of Shannon and Feale Rangers looked home and dry after a stunningly effective first half display.
With Evan Boyle setting up top scorer Cormac Dillon for a fisted 15th minute green flag and, due to their almost complete dominance in the primary possession stakes around the middle, North Kerry were 11 points to the good (1-12 to 0-4) at half-time.
St Kieran’s, who had the benefit of an outing in the competition the week before, simply couldn’t get their hands on the ball, and failed to score at all in the second quarter. Trudging off at the break, they looked a beaten docket.
However, in the proverbial game of two halves, everything was transformed on the resumption. The herculean Sean O’Connell, Jamie O’Sullivan, Brian Leonard, Adam O’Donoghue and Cathal Brosnan upped the ante, and St Kieran’s were galvanised.
Youngster Michael Horan buried a brace of goals in the 33rd and 38th minutes, and outstanding two-point scores from O’Connell and O’Donoghue had the sides level by the 46th minute. Four more unanswered points, amazingly, saw a 15-point swing in St Kieran’s favour (2-15 to 1-14).
Huge questions were now being asked of North Kerry, as they stared down the barrel of a capitulation. Undaunted, however, Dillon, who finished with 1-11, supplied the assist for midfielder Joe Joe Grimes to goal, with the aid of a deflection off Leonard, in the 53rd minute.
Suddenly rejuvenated themselves, Dillon kicked an excellent equaliser from out on the right wing, before the Duagh attacker, and substitute Conor Sweeney, combined for Kerry star Foley to rocket a left-foot drive to the St Kieran’s net in the 58th minute.
The talismanic O’Connell tried to rescue St Kieran’s one more time with his fifth point of the day, but North Kerry midfielder Cillian Trant had the final say with a white flag at the death. The winners go on to meet Kenmare Shamrocks next weekend.
C Dillon 1-11 (3tpf, 0-3fs), JJ Grimes, J Foley 1-0 each, R O’Connell 0-2, R Stack, E Healy, C Trant 0-1 each.
M Horan 2-0, S O’Connell 0-5 (1tp), A O’Donoghue 0-3 (1tp), C Brosnan 0-2, A Barry 0-2 (fs), S Óg Ó Ciardubháin (’45), A Breen, L Brosnan, K Dennehy 0-1 each.
K O’Connor (Ballyduff); M Kennedy (Listowel Emmets), J Foley (Ballydonoghue), A Segal (Ballyduff); E Healy (Listowel Emmets), P Walsh (Listowel Emmets), C Kennelly (St Senan’s); JJ Grimes (Listowel Emmets), C Trant (St Senan’s); R Stack (Beale), E Boyle (Ballyduff), B Ó Seanacháin (Ballydonoghue); C Dillon (Duagh), R O’Connell (St Senan’s), D Mulvihill (Tarbert).
D O’Shea (Ballydonoghue) for O’Connor, inj (40), T Dillon (St Senan’s) for Ó Seanacháin (44), A Kennelly (Listowel Emmets) for Stack (49), D Maher (Duagh) for Segal (53), C Sweeney (Listowel Emmets) for Mulvihill (56).
S Óg Ó Ciardubháin (Cordal); I Brosnan (Castleisland Desmonds), B Leonard (Castleisland Desmonds), J McElligott (Knocknagoshel); Jamie O’Sullivan (Brosna), L Brosnan (Castleisland Desmonds), S Kelliher (Cordal); Jack O’Sullivan (Brosna), S O’Connell (Cordal); K Dennehy (Cordal), A Barry (Brosna), A O’Donoghue (Castleisland Desmonds); C Brosnan (Currow), A Breen (Ballymacelligott), M Horan (Scartaglin).
R Brosnan (Currow) for I Brosnan (ht), C McElligott (Knocknagoshel) for Kelliher, inj (42).
F Clifford (Listry).
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