S Kenny
E Whelan
C Kenny
T Scanlon
F Murphy
K Mansell
J Scully
I Flynn
MJ Flynn
F McKenna
D Finn
Subs:
D O'Connor
C Smith
P Dwyer
P Flynn
Team:
Cyril Dineen
John Fitzgerald
Mark Walshe
Barry O'Grady
Kieran Young
Derek Carroll
Eamon Fitzgerald
Barry Walshe
John Paul Leahy
John Mike Dooley
Stephen Goggin
Subs:
Shane Harty for Derek Carroll
Shane Leahy
David Leahy
Pat Spillane
TOP MET THIRDFROM DIV 1A AT SUN KISSED CASTLEGREGORY ON SUNDAY MORNING.THE HOME SIDE WER LOOKING TO CREATE CLEAR WATER BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND ONE OF THEIR MAIN RIVALS AT THIS STAGE OF THE SEASON BUT WERE MIGHTY LUCKY TO SCRAMBLE OUT OF THIS MATCH WITH A POINT.
NORMALLY VISITORS SUCH AS AC ATHLETIC WOULD BE HAPPY TO TAKE A POINT AWAY FROM HOME TO DIVISIONAL LEADERS BUT THIS TIME THEY WERE PROBABLY KICKING THEMSELVES ALL THE WAY BACK TO NORTH KERRY.
THEY DOMINATED FROM THE START, TOOK A DESERVED LEAD AFTER ONLY SIX MINUTES AND CONTINUALLY BATTERED THE HOME DEFENCE. AC KEEPER CYRIL DINEEN COULD HAVE BEEN AWAY BEACH CASTING SO LITTLE HAD HE TO DO IN THE OPENING PERIOD. CASLEGREGORY MANAGER RON MCDONALD WAS RELIEVED TO REACH THE INTERVAL ONLY A GOAL DOWN.
THE SIDES RE-ORGANISATION AT THE BREAK MEANT THE SECOND PERIOD WAS A MORE EVEN AFFAIR BUT THE HOME TEAM CREATED VERY LITTLE THROUGHOUT.ONLY A BLUNDER BY AC’S DEREK CARROLL ON THE EDGE OF HIS OWN BOX GAVE JOE SCULLY ONE CLEAR CHANCE AT GOAL.HIS SHOT FIZZED PAST AN UNSIGHTED DINEEN AND THUS THE POINTS WERE SHARED.
THE OPENING 10 MINUTES SET THE SCENE FOR THE FIRST HALF.AC WERE VERY WELL ORGANISED AND CLEARLY KEEN TO MAKE THEIR MARK. EX RATOO WINGER JOHN PAUL LEAHY SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLD FASHIONED WING PLAY AS HE RAINED CROSSES FROM BOTH SIDES.
BARRY WALSHE GOT AN IMMEDIATE GRIP OF MIDFIELD, ABLY SUPPORTED AGAIN BY EAMON FITZGERALD AND BEHIND THEM BARRY O’GRADY JUST EDGED OUT THAT MOST CONSISTENT OF PERFORMERS MARK WALSHE IN THE MAN OF THE MATCH STAKES.
BY CONTRAST CASTLEGREGORY LOOKED OUT OF SORTS.THEY WERE REDUCED TO LONG BALLS AIMED VAGUELY IN DAMIEN FINN’S DIRECTION BUT WITHOUT MIDFIELD SUPPORT THE BALL INEVITABLY RETURNED WITH INTEREST TOWARDS THE HOME GOAL. VETERAN KEVIN MAUNSELL WORKED HARD THROUGHOUT BUT WALSHE RULED THAT PARTICULAR ROOST.
BALLS HAD ALREADY BEEN WHIZZING AROUND THE CASTLEGREGORY BOX SO IT WAS NO SURPRISE WHEN AC TOOK THE LEAD AFTER SIX MINUTES.JOHN MIKE DOOLEY’S PERSISTENCE DOWN THE LEFT ENABLED HIM TO CROSS TO THE FAR POST, DEREK CARROLL, WHO HAD A LIVELY FIRST HALF, KNOCKED THE BALL BACK TO LEAHY WHOSE CLOSE RANGE SHOT WAS DEFLECTED BY KEEPER SHANE KENNY OVER THE LINE.
FROM THE KICK-OFF THE NORTH KERRY SIDE THOUGHT THEY HAD INCREASED THEIR LEAD.DOOLEY SENT LEAHY DOWN THE LEFT AND STEPHEN GOGGIN MET HIS CROSS FROM THREE YARDS OUT BUT CASLEGREGORY’S STAR ON THE DAY COLM KENNY BLOCKED HIS SHOT ON THE GOAL-LINE.
FOR THE REST OF THE HALF AC THREATENED AN AVALANCHE OF GOALS AS CASTLEGREGORY CONCEDED TOO MANY FREE KICKS.BARRY WALSHE HAD ONE HEADER DISALLOWED FOR OFFSIDE AND A SECOND FROM FITZGERALD’S FREE JUST MISSED THE CROSSBAR.DOOLEY TOO HAD TWO VOLLEYS BLOCKED AND A HALF-VOLLEY FROM A CORNER SKIMMED THE LEFT POST.
THE HOME SIDE RARELY THREATENED APART FROM TWO FREE KICKS FROM IAN FLYNN BUT MANAGED TO PUT TOGETHER THE BEST MOVE OF THE MATCH WHEN KENNY SENT MJ FLYNN DOWN THE RIGHT WING, HIS WELL STRUCK CROSS WAS MET BY FINN MCKENNAS FLYING HEADER THAT WAS NOT FAR AWY FROM AN IMPROBABLE EQUALISER.
AT THE OTHER END IT TOOK A FINE SAVE FROM SHANE KENNY PALMING AWAY GOGGIN’S SHOT FROM THE EDGE OF THE AREA, TO DENY AC THE SECOND GOAL THEIR PLAY DESERVED.
AND SO CASLEGREGORY MADE IT TO THE INTERVAL,REGROUPED AND PERFORMED MUCH BETTER IN THE SECOND HALF.SUBSTITUTES DAVE O’CONNOR AND CHRIS SMITH IN PARTICULAR MADE THE MIDFIELD A MORE EVEN CONTEST.NEVERTHELESS,THEY FOUND AC’S BACK FOUR TOO SOLID TO PENETRATE UNTIL CARROLL LOST CONCENTRATION AND BALL 20 YARDS FROM GOAL AND SCULLY’S SHOT RIPPLED THE NET.
EVEN THEN AC LOOKED MORE LIKELY WINNERS.COLM KENNY FOILED DOOLEY IN THE AREA AS THE STRIKER SEEMED CERTAIN TO SCORE AND SHANE KENNY AGAIN DENIED GOGGIN WITH A REPRISE OF HIS FIRST HALF SAVE IN INJURY TIME.
SO HONOURS EVEN BUT AC WILL FEEL THEY SHOULD HAVE NARROWED THAT GAP AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE
