Rock march into the last eight with victory over Killeeshil

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

Rock 1-18  Killeeshil 0-11

By Niall Gartland

THE Rock took full advantage of the blustery conditions in an impressive victory over Killeeshil in the first round of the Intermediate Championship as the dusk began to set on Stewartstown on Saturday evening.

With the wind at their backs, the Rock landed some beautiful points from distance in the first-half: Shane Murphy barely needed to take stride before thumping over 50 metre frees, Liam Nugent and Thomas Mackle curled over a couple of sublime efforts, but you also couldn’t ignore their Trojan efforts in the middle of the park – Shea Daly, Diarmaid Carroll, Mackle and Murphy combining to great effect when possession was up for grabs.

And the best moment of a very productive first-half – an outrageous sideline kick from a borderline impossible angle from Murphy. It was a real peach.

But yet, an eight-point lead at the interval was by no means insurmountable considering the wind factor. Killeeshil had their chances after the break, but they hit too many wides and unfortunately that was pretty much the story of their second-half showing.

The effort was abundantly clear though, and they’ll now switch their focus to an upcoming play-off clash against Fintona.

The Rock started with real intent and midfielder Mackle had the ball over the bar with 10 seconds on the clock.

Shane Murphy landed his first of the day shortly afterwards, but Killeeshil worked their way into the game with a pointed free from goalkeeper Ciaran Reilly and a lovely effort from Tomas Hoy.

They also spurned a goal chance, so they weren’t going too badly at all given they had to content with a really unforgiving breeze.

For a sustained period in the first-half, however, it was almost one-way traffic as the Rock deservedly raced into a 0-13 to 0-3 lead. They gobbled up a mountain of ball in the middle and they made good use with their possession with a flurry of points.

There was the aforementioned sideline kick from Murphy, who also nailed two frees from considerably beyond the ‘45’ metre line.

There were also lovely points from play from Thomas Mackle and Liam Nugent, while special mention must go to their centre half-back Shea Daly, who had an absolutely outstanding first-half in particular.

His influence can’t be overstated – he was putting in tackles, winning primary possession from restarts, linking the play up front. He had a real stormer.

Killeeshil ended a 20-minute drought with a badly needed score from Conall Monaghan, while corner-back Adam McGonnell was playing with real purpose and drive in trying to get his side back into the game.

They did muster the last two points of the half – two frees from veteran Packie McMullan – but they were still a long way back at 0-13 to 0-5 at the half-time whistle, whatever about holding the wind advantage in the second-half.

The Rock cleverly pieced together a score converted by Liam Nugent early in the second-half, while Killeeshil spurned a few efforts at two-pointers down the other end of the field.

Michael O’Neill scored a fine two-pointer from out on the flank, but they needed more of that and another two-pointer was subsequently chalked off when Packie McMullan was deemed to have taken the free from the wrong position.

The Rock played some really controlled football in the final 15 minutes to ensure a somewhat comfortable finish to proceedings from their perspective.

Nugent landed his latest score before Aidan McGarrity got in on the act.

Shane Murphy made it 0-17 to 0-7 with 55 minutes on the clock, and while Killeeshil responded with a two-point free from Ciaran Reilly, it was snuffed out shortly afterwards as Aidan McGarrity scored the only goal of the game.

There were a few more scores as full-time approached but by that stage the outcome wasn’t in doubt. The Rock march on and it’ll be interesting to see whether they can now go on and string together a championship run.

Scorers

Rock: Shane Murphy (0-7, 2 2pt f), Liam Nugent (0-5, 1 2pt), Aidan McGarrity (1-2), Thomas Mackle (0-3, 1 2pt), Caolan Chada (0-1)

Killeeshil: Ciaran Reilly (0-3, 1f, 1 2pt f), Packie McMullan (0-2, 2f), Cahill Rafferty and Michael O’Neill (0-2, 1 2pt each), Tomas Hoy and Conall Monaghan (0-1 each)

Teams

Rock: Oisin Mac Nía, Mark McAleer, Shea Litter, Niall McWiliams, Cormac O’Neill, Shea Daly, Caolan Chada, Thomas Mackle, Diarmaid Carroll, Enda McWilliams, Shane Murphy, Odhran Nugent, Aidan McGarrity, Liam Nugent, Conor McGarrity. Subs: Cathal McWilliams for Nugent, Eoin Gallagher for Carroll, Peter Loughran for O’Neill

Killeeshil: Ciaran Reilly, Adam McGonnell, Mark Donnelly, Cathair Quinn, Liam Traynor, Conall Monaghan, Micheal Carty, Patrick McMullan, Dillon O’Neill, Luke Donnely, Eoin Neill, Ciaran O’Neill, Gary Reilly, Michael O’Neill, Tomas Hoy. Subs: Cormac Donaghy for Traynor

Referee: Niall Conlan (Moortown)