Kilshannig 2-11
Iveleary 1-11
(after extra-time)
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
IT was easy to appreciate Iveleary’s frustration after their quest for glory in the McCarthy Insurance Group county premier intermediate football championship was brought to an end by Kilshannig.
Narrowly defeated by Bantry Blues at the semi-final stage in 2022, and eliminated by the eventual champions Cill na Martra in a quarter-final tie last year, the 2021 intermediate a kingpins looked on course to advance to the premier final at the third attempt when they led by four points with five minutes of regulation time remaining in Ballincollig on Saturday.
It all turned sour for the Inchigeelagh side in the closing stages, as they were reeled in by the never-say-die North Cork men, who went on to complete their great escape in extra-time.
Iveleary’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact that they had two players black-carded following a challenge on Kilshannig’s Darragh O’Sullivan towards the end of the hour.
That they had to operate without the experienced Cathal Vaughan, who was forced to retire injured after winning a free which enabled Chris Óg Jones to push them three points ahead in the 50th minute, was possibly another reason for their late fade-out, especially since Vaughan was to the fore up front prior to his departure.
A contest that promised a lot certainly lived up to expectations, although the first half was largely a forgettable affair.
Iveleary enjoyed a territorial edge for most of it, due to the tactic of operating with a three-man midfield comprising Sean O’Riordan, Timmy Roberts and Conor O’Leary. Kilshannig were content to soak up the pressure, getting bodies behind the ball in numbers when Iveleary were on the offensive. It meant that scores were hard to come by before the break when there was never more than the minimum between the sides at any stage.
Cathal Vaughan, who converted a brace of placed balls, Timmy Roberts and Conor O’Leary shared Iveleary’s first-half return – the latter bringing his tally to two from play with an excellent score in stoppage time that left the Mid Cork side leading by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval.
After Ian Jones drew first blood for Iveleary on the resumption, Kilshannig responded with a goal from substitute Kieran Twomey before Cathal Vaughan took a return pass from Barry O’Leary to tie things up at 1-4 to 0-7 inside 34 minutes.
Iveleary’s marquee attacker Chris Óg Jones had struggled to make an impact in the first half, but the Cork star showed his class in the 46th minute with a clinical finish to an exquisite Aaron O’Donovan pass.
Óg Jones’ strike made it 1-7 to 1-5, and he extended their advantage with two points from frees, which left them most favourably positioned entering the home stretch.
Then came the late rally from Kilshannig, whose bid for survival gathered momentum after Iveleary’s Ciaran O’Riordan and Timmy Roberts were both black-carded. Darragh O’Sullivan pointed the resultant free to leave Kilshannig two in arrears before Tom Cunninghan further reduced the deficit and ace marksman O’Sullivan landed a last-gasp equaliser.
Although operating with 13 players for the opening six minutes in extra-time, Iveleary, aided by a Chris Óg Jones point from a free, finished the first period trailing by just the minimum, 1-11 to 1-10. Their fate was sealed in the 76th minute, however, when a promising raid broke down and a snappy counter-attack yielded the decisive goal from Kilshannig’s Eanna O’Hanlon.
Our Star: In terms of sheer workrate, Iveleary’s Sean O’Riordan put in an admirable shift around the middle, playing more ball than anyone else on the pitch overall.
Scorers - Kilshannig: Darragh O’Sullivan 0-7 (4f, 1m); E O’Hanlon 1-2 (1f); K Twomey 1-0; T Cunningham, A O’Connell 0-1 each. Iveleary: C Óg Jones 1-3 (3f); C Vaughan 0-3 (1f, 1 45); C O’Leary 0-2; T Roberts, I Jones, C Galvin 0-1 each.
Kilshannig: G Creedon; S O’Connell, E Burke, M Twomey; P Walsh, C O’Shea, C Murphy: B Curtin, K O’Hanlon; T Cunningham, C O’Sullivan, C O’Connell; A O’Connell, E O’Hanlon, Darragh O’Sullivan. Subs: K Twomey for S O’Connell (ht), E Healy for Walsh (40), Diarmuid O’Sullivan for C O’Connell (50), C McMahon for M Twomey (59), J O’Hanlon for Darragh O’Sullivan (74(, B O’Connor for E O’Hanlon (inj, 78).
Iveleary: J Creedon; B Murphy, D O’Riordan, C Galvin, K Manning, K O’Riordan, D O’Donovan; S O’Riordan, T Roberts; A O’Donovan, C Og Jones, B O’Leary; C O’Leary, C Vaughan, I Jones. Subs: K Jones for D O’Donovan (46), L Kearney for Vaughan (inj, 51), S Pickering for B O’Leary (58), B O’Leary for A O’Donovan (inj, 63), B O’Riordan for C O’Riordan (inj, 74).
Referee: C Dineen (Douglas).
