27th May 2006 - South Kerry U14 League Final in Valentia

St. Mary's 0-11 V 1-10 Templenoe

St. Mary’s were left heartbroken after being defeated by Templenoe in the South Kerry U14 League Final on Saturday afternoon last in Valentia. After holding a solid 6 point advantage at the break St. Mary’s left their lead slip under pressure when two points from Martin Reilly and Teddy Doyle sealed victory in the final two minutes. This was the second time in the space of a month the side have let their advantage slip in the second half in a crucial game, the other coming against St. Senans in the County League semi-final and everyone involved with the side were devastated afterwards.

Templenoe were first off the mark with a Martin Reilly close range free, but was duly cancelled out soon after when Declan Keating pointed a close free after a foul on Daniel Daly. St. Mary’s took control of the game from here till the break with Declan Keating adding 3 points, 2 form play, Kieran Driscoll pointing after collecting the Templenoe kick out, and Daniel Daly and Daragh O’Sullivan adding a point each with out reply from the Templenoe side. St. Mary’s were now holding a 6 point lead and were kept in this position also with the help of some amazing defending from the Nikita Pugachouv who twice denied Sean Moriarty what looked like dead cert goals. Martin Reilly pulled one back for his side before the break but Declan Keating added a final point for the Mary’s before the break to leave the half time score St. Mary’s 0-8 Templenoe 0-2.

It was once again the case of Reilly and Keating cancelling each other out with a point apiece from close frees. Daniel Daly added another point for the Cahersiveen side before Templenoe took control with the switch of Teddy Doyle to midfield and Martin Reilly to full forward proving influential. With 13 minutes of the second half on the clock a long ball found Sean Moriarty who turned his man and slotted the ball to the back of the net past Michael Pat Donnelly. This proved decisive and inspired Templenoe side to go on and show heart and determination and pull the Mary’s advantage back thanks to fine points from Teddy Doyle. Daniel Daly added another to his tally and levelled the game with 4 minutes left to play. While Nikita Pugachouv once again ensured Templenoe would not go ahead with yet another clearance off the line, but with the resulting free Martin Reilly pointed from close range to give his side the lead with 2 minutes left on the clock but when Teddy Doyle had a kick at the post from 21m out he made sure of victory for Templenoe on a final scoreline of St. Mary’s 0-11 Templenoe 1-10.

St. Mary’s went home after this one feeling very hard done boy, after kicking 6 wides in the first half and then their stamina leaving them down towards the end of the game, however Templenoe showed heart, determination and courage to chase what looked like a lost cause after being 6 points down but based on their second half performance they deserved their title. St. Mary’s now go on an contest the South Kerry U14 Championship Semi-Final next weekend against Valentia with a date and venue yet to be decided.

South Kerry U14 League Runners - Up

St. Mary's - Back Row (l to r): John O'Connor (Selector), Daniel Daly, David Sauskus, TJ Daly, Aaron Moran, Ml Pat Donnelly, Keith Curran, Declan Keating, James Stapleton, Damien Horgan, Kieran O'Driscoll, Noel Cournane, Kieran McCarthy (Trainer), Pan Curran (Selector), Front Row (l to r), Christy O'Connell (Selector), Ian Daly, Fergal O'Sullivan, Ml O'Sullivan, Denis Daly, Nikita Pugachouv, Ml O'Shea, Daragh O'Sullivan, Sean O'Shea and Killian Nolan.

South Kerry U14 League Winners

Templenoe Winners of the South Kerry U14 League Final 2006