Emotive day ends with Killavullen advancing to the final.
August 22, 2019
On a highly emotive night, and in near darkness, in Doneraile last night, Killavullen overcame a spirited Liscarroll / Churchtown Gaels combination in the semi-final of the Div 1 Football championship to progress to the final.
The game started 35 minutes late, due to the allocated referee been assigned another match on the same night and time, so both clubs were grateful for John O Leary who made himself available at short notice. The Liscarroll / Churchtown Gaels combination, hereafter called Liscarroll, were first to score in the 1st minute but Mark Nagle scored a nice point in the 2nd minute to equalise the game. Brian Cotter then scored for us; before we were awarded a penalty after Colm Looney was fouled in the process of shooting. Mark Nagle stepped up, and duly and coolly dispatched the ball to the net in the 6th minute. We were nicely on top of the game at this stage, but wasted some good chances, before Noah Butler finished to the net after a neat exchange of passes between Fionn Magner and Eoin Birchill released Noah to finish. That was in the 13th minute, and inexplicably, we failed to score for the rest of the half. Liscarroll scored a free in the 20th minute and another point from play in the 21st. Patrick O Grady in our goals made a very smart save and diverted the ball away from the danger area, but play was called back for an earlier foul, and Liscarroll duly converted the free.
Liscarroll did get in for a goal in the 27th minute when they moved the ball quickly through the hands and released an inrushing player that gave Patrick no chance. That left the score at the break, at 2-02 to 1-04 in our favour. With a quick turnaround, the second half started at 8.40 PM
Liscarroll brought the game level with a point in the 1st minute and took the lead in the 8th. Killavullen missed some chances in a row, before Eoin Birchill equalised with a fine conversion from distance from a free, in the 10th minute. Darragh O Grady gave us the lead again, in the 15th minute when he was at the end of a flowing move, after Kian Lane and Michael Cagney had combined to bring the ball out of defence. The centre of the defence of Killavullen was being superbly marshalled by Fionn Magner and Ronan Barry at this stage, and with the forwards pressing up on the Liscarroll kicks outs, they found it hard to get out of their own half. Mark Nagle kicked a point, then Darragh again and next Colm Looney to open up a 4 point lead by the 20th minute.
Both teams were now grateful for the training lights in Doneraile which gave a semblance of light on the field, but also meant that much of the play was compressed down one side of the field, where the lights were stronger. Killavullen rang the changes from their bench but added further scores from Eoin in the 25th and 30th minutes. Colin Carey scored a point from an acute angle, and Michael Walsh scored another point, right at the end of the game to leave the final score 2-11 to 1-06, a game that finished @ 21.12 PM. For the record, sunset on the 21st August 2019 occurred at 20.47 PM
Earlier in the day, many of these Killavullen players who attend the Patrician Academy, in Mallow stood in the rain, and formed a very respectful guard of honour as their friend Billy Bohan’s funeral mass took place in Castletownroche. No words can adequately describe the loss of Billy to his family and friends, and it emphasised again, the preciousness and fragility of life, and the place of sport in the overall greater picture. It is hard to play a game when these events are in your head.
The team, and those who scored, were as follows;
- Patrick O Grady
- Kian Lane
- Ronan Barry
- Conor Griffin
- Padraig Cronin
- Fionn Magner
- Michael Cagney
- Mikey O Connor
- Brian Cotter (0-01)
- Eoin Birchill (0-03, 0-01F)
- Darragh O Grady(0-02)
- Noah Butler (1-00)
- Mark Nagle (1-02)
- Liam Fox
- Colm Looney (0-01)
Substitutes –
- Seamus O Mahony for Colm Looney
- Jamie Magner for Mark Nagle
- Colin Carey (0-01) for Liam Fox
- Michael Walsh (0-01) for Mikey O Connor
Killavullen await the winners of the game between BK Plunketts and St. Peters to decide the opposition in the final.