Seniors Find It Tough Against Milltown

Post date: Jul 21, 2016 12:16:31 AM

Following their first round defeat to Rheban, Milltown's superior fitness and determination led them to a 1-13 to 0-6 win over Kildangan. These two sides had met in the league in April, and Kildangan pushed the home side all the way on that occasion, but unfortunately it was far from the case this time around. Milltown won the break and scored within thirty seconds, thanks to Eoghan O'Toole. Kildangan had the opportunity to equalise following a foul on Ryan Moran, but Robert Hanley sent the ball to left of the post. A Dara Gilbert run straight through the middle of the field, followed by some build up play from Ryan Moran and Eric O'Hara allowed Hanley to redeem his first effort with a point three minutes later. The signs were looking positive for Kildangan after the first fifteen minutes, with some spirited play. However, Milltown scored the next four points without reply, courtesy of Ronan O'Shea, Alan Dignam, Kevin Dowling and Omar Dunne. Dignam got a goal to extend the Allen team's lead to seven. Hanley was awarded another free, finding the target on this occasion. Dignam and Kevin Byrne got the last two scores of the half, which saw Milltown lead 1-7 to 0-2. Kildangan failure to make use of some scoring opportunities they would normally benefit from was evident in this half.

Ronan O'Shea scored a free almost immediately after the restart, furthering Milltown's lead. Hanley continued his freetaking form about six minutes later. An immediate turnover of the Kildangan ball led to Alan Dignam getting a point, before Eric O'Hara scored Kildangan's fourth point. A Colin O'Shea point would be the only score for the next ten minutes. Ian Fitzgerald got a hat trick of points in the closing stages of the game, the last of which came from a free. O'Hara managed one in between, as did Damien Broughall, who scored a fantastic long range point from the left side of the field, but overall, it was quite a poor performance from Kildangan.

Kildangan's final game against Caragh is now a must win in order to progress to the quarter-final stage of the championship, while the pressure has eased off slightly for Milltown, who have Ballykelly and Caragh to play. The fixtures for the Caragh game will be posted here as soon as they become available.

Kildangan: Richard Morgan; Luke Barry, Bryan Adams, Jordan Kaye; Darragh Kennedy (S/O 55 minutes), David Christie, Dara Gilbert; Padraig Casey (Yellow, 37 minutes), Damien Broughall (0-1); Robert Hanley (0-3 2F), Stephen Quigley, Dermot Hickey, Ryan Moran, Tom Moran (Yellow, 28 minutes), Eric O'Hara (0-2).

Substitutes: Colin Christie, John Miller (for Hanley, 55 minutes), Paddy Kelly, Andrew Wilson.

Milltown: Liam Fields; Jamie Cross, Rory Donoghue, Paddy Keogh; Eddie Owens, Colin O'Shea (0-1), Kevin Byrne (0-1); Omar Dunne (0-1), Emmet Mulhall; Kevin Dowling (0-1), Wayne Dignam, Eoghan O'Toole (0-1); Ian Fitzgerald (0-3 2F), Ronan O'Shea (0-2 1F), Alan Dignam (1-3 1F).

Substitutes: John O'Reilly, Mick Collecton, Eoin O'Sullivan (for Rory O'Donoghue, 52 minutes), Dave Hanlon, James Condon, Sean Trant, Paul Mulhall.

By Andrew Wilson