A win against Kilshannig in penultimate football league fixture
May 22, 2024
Last night in Killavullen, on a fine calm night for football, Killavullen overcame the representatives from Kilshannig, in the last bar one game, of the ordinary stages of the Avondhu Division 1 football league program.
Killavullen opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when Eddie Cotter fetched a fine mark, in close to goals, and scored his point from the resultant dead ball situation. Liam Cronin sent a 45 metre shot straight through the posts for our second score and Eoin Birchill added two close in free’s, from opposing sides of the field after Rory Regan and Charlie Lillis had been fouled respectively. Though four point in arrears, Kilshannig were getting their hands on a good deal of possession, and kick-started their scoring rival, with a converted close in free in the 18th minute, scored by their full forward, the strong Dermot Twomey. Evan O Sullivan scored a good long-range point for them, in the 20th minute and then, that man Twomey scored two points in quick succession to bring the teams to the same score by the 25th minute.
Eddie Cotter scored a delightful goal for us in the 28th minute when a neat series of short snappy hand passes allowed Eddie in on goals, and he finished cynically. Right before half time, Paul O Sullivan advanced from his defensive duties, Kilshannig backed off too far, and Paul shot the ball over the bar. The score at the interval was 1-05 to 0-04.
Kilshannig set about reducing that margin with increased intent in the second period, and the impressive, young Ben Creedon got a nice point in the 4th minute of the period. Charlie Lillis, who was on any amount of ball on the night scored for us in the next minute, with a tidy close in finish and then Eoin Birchill scored from open play in the 8th. We introduced Colm O Mahony for Liam Fox, who picked up a leg injury, and Dominic Bolster for Eoin Birchill. Owen Magner and Seamus O Mahony were also introduced for Rory Regan and Sean Palmer. Kilshannig were very much still in the game, and added another point, from a free, from Ben Creedon.
Paul O Sullivan pushed out the margin to five points, with a lovely score in the 16th minute, and Liam Cronin, again influential, as he always seems to be, scored a lovely point from out on the wing to bring our tally to 1-09 after twenty minutes of the half. We lost Brian Cotter to a hamstring tweak, to be replaced by Ultan Cottey. Kilshannig introduced the long absent, but classy Barry O Shea and he scored an audacious point quickly after his introduction, which you simply would have to admire. He managed to work himself free of his man, and curled the ball over the bar, from a huge distance out. Eddie Cotter scored a point from a free for us, deputising for Eoin, and then, our final score came when Liam Cronin scored a lovely goal for us, in the 27th minute of the half, to secure the win. Seamus Murphy kicked the final score for Kilshannig shortly there after and the competent referee of the night, Wayne King ended proceedings.
The win leaves Killavullen with eight points, following five games, and with one final game against Charleville to come, on Sunday next. Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels and Deel Rovers are also in the mix, for league honours with the top two teams progressing to a league final, a final that Killavullen have incidentally lost of the previous two years, against Charleville and Ballyhooly respectively.
Good win on the night, with fine displays all around, against a Kilshannig team sprinkled intermittently with players that have ambitions to play at Intermediate level, and have done so already in the County leagues.
Final Score: Killavullen 2-10; Kilshannig 0-09
The team was
- Michael Walsh
- Thomas Fennell
- Brian Cotter
- Fionn Magner
- Paul O Sullivan (0-02)
- Brian Cotter
- Sean Bartley
- Eoin Buckley
- Liam Fox
- Charlie Lillis (0-01)
- Eoin Birchill (0-03, 0-01F)
- Sean Palmer
- Eddie Cotter (1-02, 0-01F)
- Liam Cronin (1-02, 0-01F)
- Rory Regan
Substitutes
- Dominic Bolster for Liam Fox
- Owen Magner for Sean Palmer
- Seamus O Mahony for Rory Regan
- Colm O Mahoney for Sean Bartley
- Ultan Cottey for Brian Cotter