Dominant display by the boys in blue - U18 Non Exam League
June 17, 2021
A bright night in Buttevant GAA Grounds saw our u18s up against the home team, Buttevant in a division one football clash. Our Killavullen team are looking to get a win under their belt entering a busy summer of games, which they achieved, and what an emphatic win it was as Killavullen played with a clinical intent from first whistle to last.
Right from the off, our young Killavullen men came flying out the gates as our two wing forwards, Kian Lane and Ultan Cottey set the standard with surging wing runs putting the Buttevant players under early pressure. The fast pace play from Killavullen quickly accumulated to a well taken score from Jamie Magner. This was followed by a well worked play from Seamus O Mahony, who covered every blade of grass on the night, winning a free and calmly slotting it himself. Buttevant did well to respond to the barrage of attacks from Killavullen as their number 14, who was a star player for the opposition team on the night, slotted a nice point from range. But, our lads responded, largely thanks to the full forward line of Colm Nagle, Rory O’Regan and Ferghal Horgan who all emphatically won their individual battles in the opening quarter leading to Jamie Magner again appearing on the scene to score another point for the blues quickly followed by clinically taken strikes from Rory O’Regan and Seamus O’Mahony which saw Killavullen close off the first 15 minutes with a lead of 5 points to 2.
After the break, Killavullen came out with a strong flow throughout the side with key players such as Shane Walsh and Eoghan O' Hanlon marshalling the Killavullen attacks. This fast and expansive play from our boys was quickly rewarded with a point as Rory O’ Regan is played through for a smartly taken finish near the start of the second period. Buttevant again didn’t lie down and responded with a score from their wing back. But, our Full forward Rory took centre stage once again and was fed in by a perfectly place pass from Seamus o Mahony which saw Rory beating the keeper to the ball and strongly fisting it into the back of the net. Killavullen’s lead continued to increase from sources such as Jack Martin, who showed up in key times and who scored a point in great style. Momentum began to mount for Killavullen as Captain on the night Michael Cagney led with precision passes to his forward line which eventually concluded with Jamie Magner scoring a smart point on the run. Although once again, Buttevant responded with a point from their number 15, they subsequently were dealt a killer blow at the hands of Seamus O’Mahony who minutes before half time collected a pass from the half forward line and calmly slotted the ball into the top right corner. Killavullen lead at half time 3-7 to 1-3.
The third quarter saw a top quality defensive display from both teams. Controlled on the Killavullen side by goalkeeper, Niall Murray, a well accomplished player between the sticks whose kick outs played a big role in killavullen’s success. The full back line of Donal Cronin, Sean Palmer and Barry Cotter were near faultless tonight, dealing with all dangers that came at them although Sean Palmer was shown a black card in the final 10 minutes, after bringing down an attacking Buttevant player. The half back line of Eoghan o Hanlon, Michael Cagney and Jack Martin similarly kept the Buttevant attacks at bay. Buttevant’s defence stood just as firm though as we were held to only 1 point in the quarter scored by Rory o Regan bringing his total to 2-2. We also saw the introduction of Willie Gifford and Colm o Mahony, who both injected extra life into the Killavullen side. At the end of the third quarter the scores were 3-8 to 1-6.
In the final quarter, Killavullen’s commanding lead showed no signs of diminishing as Kian Lane, whose stamina and speed was too much for the Buttevant defence at the late stages of the game ran through to score a well finished point. Substitutes Luke Carey and Ian o Mahony came on and re-energised the Killavullen forward line with the latter scoring an impressive point in the closing stages. The involvement of Stephen Rea and Owen Magner also brought noticeable speed and grit into the game to finish out an impressive day out for the boys in blue. Final score was 3-10 to 1-6 to Killavullen.
- Niall Murray
- Donal Cronin
- Sean Palmer
- Barry Cotter
- Eoghan O’ Hanlon
- Michael Cagney
- Jack Martin (0-1)
- Seamus O’ Mahony (1-2)
- Shane Walsh
- Ultan Cottey
- Jamie Magner (0-3)
- Kian Lane (0-1)
- Colm Nagle
- Rory O’ Regan (2-2)
- Ferghal Horgan
Substitutes - Stephen Rea
- Willie Gifford
- Luke Carey
- Owen Magner
- Colm O Mahony
- Ian O Mahony (0-1)