Kildress see off Naomh Eoghan in tense Intermediate opener

Kildress 0-13  Naomh Eoghan 0-11

By Niall Gartland

KILDRESS claimed their first Championship victory in a full four years with last Wednesday night’s deserved Intermediate first-round win over Naomh Eoghan at O’Neill’s Healy Park.

Buoyed by an impressive run of results in the league heading into the Championship season, the Wolfe Tones went about their task in a measured fashion and finished strongly to book their spot in the last-eight.

It was a relatively low-scoring contest, perhaps more akin to a match from yesteryear before the new rule changes, but there were still some good moments and good scores, and when the game was there to be won, Kildress pushed for home with three unanswered points in the final 10 minutes.

The two sides traded blows throughout an evenly matched first-half, Naomh Eoghan getting the show on the road from an Eoin Devine free, Kildress responding in kind from Shea Quinn not long after.

Naomh Eoghan corner-back Gary Duffy was playing with a sense of adventure and teed up Ryan Mayse for the third point of the game, though Kildress enjoyed a productive spell with three points on the spin, spearheaded by their captain Cormac Loughran, wearing number six on his back, raiding upfield for two cracking scores. Shea Quinn also landed a peach, while stalwart Philip Lennon was really starting to influence matters in the middle of the park.

But Ryan Mayse was looking extremely lively down the other end of the pitch and jinked this way and that before splitting the posts, and two more points duly followed – Ryan and Tiarnan Mayse the score-getters.

It was still nip and tuck and Kildress edged their noses in front via Jonny Connolly and a Quinn ‘45’, though the final ten minutes of the half were fairly cagey. Kildress were patient in possession and did well to engineer a point via half-back Shea Loughran, and while Naomh Eoghan responded with a fine score from Conal McConomy, it was the Wolfe Tones who held a 0-7 to 0-6 lead at the interval.

Naomh Eoghan were dealt a blow as Kevin Gallagher didn’t come back out for the second-half through injury, while Kildress moved to introduce Tiarnan McNamee, who was tasked with marking Ryan Mayse, and he did a good job with it.

Still, Mayse was to the fore with the first point of the second-half, playing through an inch-perfect pass to Tiarnan Mayse, who levelled matters for Naomh Eoghan.

A few bad wides down the other end of the park threatened to derail the game as a spectacle, though Kildress broke the deadline after the latest score from the on-song Cormac Loughran in the 42nd second.

Both teams probed for openings, and Naomh Eoghan midfielder Eoin Devine did extremely well to burst through and nab his side’s latest score, but Kildress upped the ante in the final 15 minutes, kickstarted by a fine effort from Shea Tracey.

Naomh Eoghan were finding it increasingly difficult to penetrate a well-drilled Kildress defence, and while TIarnan Mayse did find the target once again, Kildress looked the more potent side at this stage and fired over late scores from Quinn, Shea Loughran and a particularly determined effort from Corey.

Their opponents didn’t give up the ghost and landed two late points in stoppage-time via Ryan Mayse and Aidan McSorley, but it wasn’t enough as Kildress made sure of their place in the last eight.

Scorers

Kildress: Shea Quinn (0-5, 2f, 1 ‘45’), Cormac Loughran (0-3), Shea Loughran (0-2), Corey Holland, Shea Tracey and Jonny Connolly (0-1 each)

Naomh Eoghan: Ryan Mayse (0-4, 1f), Tiarnan Mayse (0-3), Eoin Devine (0-2, 1f), Conal McConomy and Aidan McSorley (0-1 each)

Teams

Kildress: Nathan McKernan, Dean McNally, Callum Holland, Jack Loughran, Shea Loughran, Cormac Loughran, Jonny Connolly, Shea Tracey, Niall Connolly, Adam Connolly, Caolan McNamee, Oisin McDonald, Philip Lennon, Corey Holland, Shea Quinn. Subs: Tiarnan McNamee for MJ Connolly

Naomh Eoghan: Connor Traynor, Gary Eoin Mayse, Calum McNamee, Gary Duffy, Conal McConomy, Damien Coyle, Ciaran McSorley, Piaras McSorley, Eoin Devine, Dabhag McNamee, Kevin Gallagher, Eamonn McGovern, Ryan Mayse, Tiarnan Mayse, Conor Langan. Subs: Aidan McSorley for Gallagher, Turlough McNamee for McGovern, Jake McHugh for D McNamee, Shae Gallagher for Langan

Referee: Cathal Bell (Killeeshil)