Kilcoo v Ballymartin

All County U-16 League Division 2

Kilcoo 2-15 Ballymartin 2-10

Kilcoo came out on top in a tight game last Thursday against Ballymartin in perfect conditions at Pairc Eoghan Rua.

Ballymartin started the brighter of the two teams and scored a free in the 5th minute to give them the perfect start. Kilcoo registered their first scores two minutes later when Eugene Branagan scored two points in a minute to give Kilcoo the lead for the first time in the game. The home side then upped their game and scored three points without reply, two coming from Branagan and the other one from Ceilum Doherty extended ‘The Magpies’ lead to four points.

The lilywhites fought back and scored four points in four minutes to level the scores but then, in the twenty first minute, the visitors got their first goal when the midfielder lobbed the ball over Brandon into the net. Kilcoo fought back and scored four unanswered points through Branagan and Finbarr Greenan. This meant the home side had a one point lead at half time.

Whatever the Kilcoo management said at half time worked because their players hit the ground running at the start of the second half. They scored four points in a row two of these came from Branagan and the other two scorers were Finbarr Greenan and Dylan Ward. The visitors hit back with two unanswered points of their own to reduce the deficit to three points.

Then the turning point of the game came in the forty third minute when Doherty flicked the ball to Christopher Rooney who put the ball into the net and then a minute later Dylan Ward scored a fantastic goal to give ‘The Magpies’ a nine point lead.

Ballymartin fought back and scored a well worked goal and added a further two points to reduce the Kilcoo lead to four points. Branagan and Doherty scored two points in a row to make sure of the victory. The visitors hit a late free but it was too little too late.