Kilglass Gaels First Round Report

Kilglass Play Boyle in the first round , full draw to come shortly

Boyle won

Lossers Round 1

Washington inspires Kilglass triumph
AFTER A magnificent struggle in atrocious playing conditions at Strokestown last Sunday afternoon, Kilglass Gaels, inspired by the, well inspirational, Dermot Washington, overcame St. Dominic's and progressed into the losers group final of this year's Intermediate Football Championship.

Tatler Inn/Jono's Bar Intermediate Football C'ship
Kilglass Gael 1-9 St. Dominic's 1-6

Although it wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, pretty, this was an absorbing game of football and was played with championship intensity. Throughout the first half, the margin on the scoreboard between the two teams was at no stage greater than two points and the teams were level, at four points apiece, at half-time.
The third quarter was equally as entertaining, with St. Dominic's racing into a four point lead in the 40th minute only to see parity restored by the 47th minute when the irrepressible Washington calmly converted a penalty after Jim Tighe had been illegally impeded as he bore down on goal.
In fact, it was only in the final 10 minutes of the game that Kilglass finally established dominance, and indeed the final score belies the nature of the course of this game.
Both teams began brightly and, in fairness, coped well in conditions in which it was almost impossible to play constructive football. Michael Finneran of St. Dominic's orchestrated the flow of the game from his midfield berth and Washington snapped up all chances Kilglass had of a score.
Derek Fallon and Aidan Weir were both prominent for the Knockcroghery team in the opening stages, with Weir being the target of many of Finneran's long and high passes.
Washington opened the scoring for Kilglass in the fourth minute with a free from in front of the posts. Conor Fallon replied with one of his own for Dominic's four minutes later. The pair again exchanged scores in the 10th and 14th minutes before Washington's third score, a free in the 16th minute.
Pauric Nugent was Kilglass's second best player in this game. The hard-working wing-forward expended immense levels of energy throughout the first half in particular and frequently dropped back to help out his defence. Nugent gave his team a two-point lead for the first time in the game in the 17th minute when he lashed the ball over the bar from 40 metres.
Dominic's, however, were determined not to fall behind and set about restoring parity before half-time. Eleven minutes before the break the excellent Derek Fallon raced through the middle and kicked the ball over from 35 metres to reduce the gap to just one.
Michael Finneran was the outstanding player in the first half of this game. The tall midfielder, who plays Sigerson Cup football for NUIG, fielded many high balls over the course of the first 30 minutes and was the catalyst for many of his team's most significant attacks. Finneran also made many forays forward himself, one of which resulted in the scoring of a point in the 24th minute which brought the teams back on level terms.
The beginning of the second half was very similar to the start of the first with Washington and Fallon both scoring a free apiece in the opening minutes.
The game was ebbing and flowing at this point, with neither team able to play very constructively due to the atrocious conditions. However, the introduction of Mike Lyons for Dominic's altered the nature of the game entirely.
Lyons, a physically imposing player, entered the game in the 35th minute and, within 45 seconds of his introduction, had the ball in the Kilglass net. Lyons fielded a long, high ball from Michael Finneran and, turning, crashed the ball to the net to give his team a three-point lead. At this point, the conventional belief amongst the supporters was that the Knockcroghery side would progress, an opinion which was cemented by Conor Fallon's point in the 42nd minute.
However, Kilglass were determined to win. With Washington leading the charge, they thus began to attack strongly, and started to exert immense pressure on the Dominic's defence.
In the 47th minute, Washington converted a penalty to reduce the margin to one point after Jim Tighe had been fouled on the edge of the square.
The same player then scored four consecutive points in the final 10 minutes of the game to give his team a three-point victory and a place in the final of the losers group of this year's championship.
KILGLASS GAELS: Seán Davis; Brian Feeney, Thomas Diffley, Thomas Tighe; Damian Davis, Michael Mullarkey, Joey Casey; Niall Hanley, Adrian Lannon; Pauric Nugent (0-1), Thomas Tully, Richard Dooner; David Nugent, Dermot Washington (1-8, 1-0 pen. 0-7 frees), Jim Tighe. Subs used: Ray Lannon for Hanly (34 mins); David Kelly for Jim Tighe (inj. 40 mins).
ST. DOMINIC'S: Mark Miley; Declan Kilcline, Fergal Kelly, Damien Fallon; Arthur Beades, Paul O'Connor, Tom Gately; Michael Finneran (0-1), David O'Connor; Derek Fallon (0-1), Conor Fallon (0-4, 0-3 frees), Ian Naughton; Anthony Kelly, Liam Murray, Aidan Weir. Subs used: Michael Lyons (1-0) for Kelly (36 mins); Padraig Naughton for Kilcline (52 mins).
Referee: Vivian Hardiman (Western Gaels).

Lossers Round 2

Kilglass V St Micheals