Kildangan Under 12s Secure South Board Title

Post date: May 15, 2017 12:13:01 PM

SOUTH BOARD UNDER 12 DIVISION 3 FINAL - KILDANGAN V CASTLEDERMOT - HAWKFIELD 14 May 2017

There have been some very entertaining games in the Senior Club championship over the past two weekends but when it comes to excitement and drama, none of them even came close to this game.

Very much a game of two halves, Castledermot were the dominant force in the first half with Kildangan controlling the second. In the end it took a goal in the fourth minute of injury time to decide the winner in the most dramatic of fashions.

Kildangan were slow to start-Castledermot had two points on the board before Joey Walsh got Kildangan off the mark.

Castledermot were making full use of a strong wind and rocked Kildangan with two goals, followed by a long range point to build a hefty lead. A combination of Sean Behan and Zoe Fitzpatrick managed to prevent a third goal and from the resulting clearance Joey Walsh added a second Kildangan point.

Kildangan then suffered a double blow with Eanna Sherlock leaving the field injured just before a third Castledermot goal that left us 10 points behind.

On the stroke of half time, Ieuan Gabor Sweeney passed to Nicole Moran who scored a goal that was to prove hugely important. There’s a big difference between going in 10 down and going in 7 down at half time and that goal gave us the bit of inspiration we needed.

The second half was a different game as Kildangan took control in midfield and made much better use of the ball with some excellent moves. Having said that, Richard Holligan in the Kildangan goal was forced to make a superb save early on with Stephen Murtagh, Luke McKenna and Caleb Schofield all outstanding as we took the game to Castledermot.

A Cian Reilly free came off the crossbar and went over for a point-the same player goaled from another free moments later with the ball skimming the underside of the crossbar on the way in.

Caleb Schofield drove through the middle of the Castledermot defence to knock over a great point to leave Kildangan just 2 points behind, as the large Kildangan support roared the team on. Castledermot secured their second score of the half with a well taken point, restoring their three point advantage.

Castledermot again attacked from the kick out and it took a perfectly timed tackle from Killian Scully to prevent a fourth Castledermot goal.

In the Kildangan attack Paddy Neary, Aaron Geoghan and Alan Donoher were causing havoc whenever they gained possession, however they could not register a score as Castledermot defended en masse. Then Cian Reilly reduced the deficit to two points with time almost up with a well taken free kick.

In injury time Kildangan upped the tempo, Castledermot doing their best to stem the tide. Noah Barry, Joey Walsh and Aaron Schofield all came close to scoring the all important goal, but we just couldn’t get the ball over the line. It looked like it wasn't to be our day as the referee checked his watch.

As we entered the fourth minute of injury time there was time for one last attack as the ball fell to Cian Reilly. The second half of the game had almost been a game of ‘crossbar challenge’ for him, but with his last attempt he went low and somehow managed to squeeze the ball under the Castledermot goalkeeper to put us ahead for the first time in the game.

It was a cruel way for Castledermot to lose, but the final scoreline of 3.5 to 3.4 in favour of Kildangan shows just how a tight a game this was.

Great credit must go to all players on the panel who helped to get the team to the final and also to mentors John Reilly and Luke Sweeney for preparing the team so well. Thanks also to the supporters who contributed to a wonderful occasion, one that these children will never forget.