Late Harte attack keeps Kilkee afloat

Kilkee   0-12

Wolfe Tones  2-6

FOUR points down and a man short two minutes from the end of normal time, Kilkee looked to have kicked their last ball in 2011. Another team might have accepted that they were gone and thought about heading for home but Kilkee stuck at it and three Michael O’Shea frees drew them to within a point of Wolfe Tones.

Following the third of these frees, which was kicked in the fourth minute of injury time, Wolfe Tones goalkeeper Jason Casey lined up the kick-out. Unfortunately, for the Shannon men, the kick-out went straight down the middle where Barry Harte was waiting. The Kilkee centre-forward didn’t need much encouragement to run at Wolfe Tones and angle over a magnificent equalising left-footed point.
Seconds later, Michael Talty called for the ball, meaning St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield would have to wait at least a week to find out who their semi-final opponents will be.
The plus for Wolfe Tones is that they are still one of five teams left in the senior championship. The minus is that they definitely should have closed out last Saturday’s game in Kilmihil. Injury time was extended to five minutes, largely because a couple of Wolfe Tones players received treatment during that period. That came back to bite them and gave Kilkee more time in which to complete their comeback.
Playing into a strong breeze in wintry conditions, Wolfe Tones made a seamless start. Chris Dunning, who played very well until sustaining an injury, was taken down by Kevin Harte after just 20 seconds. Kilkee’s Darragh Kelly had given the ball away to Gary Leahy, who freed Dunning. Leahy buried the penalty and Wolfe Tones were up and running.
Points from Kevin Corbett, Daniel Gallery, who benefited from an excellent William Flynn run, and Joe Gauley shot Wolfe Tones into a 1-3 to 0-0 lead. All of this after a mere four minutes.
Kilkee were stunned. They were winning very few balls at midfield and didn’t look tuned in anywhere on the field. Eventually, they dragged themselves back into it with a couple of Michael O’Shea pointed frees. Wolfe Tones were now playing fairly deep, with full-forward Darren Ryan and Kevin Corbett defending as much as they were attacking.
A couple of minutes after Dunning limped off, Michéal Keane kicked Kilkee’s first score from play. Gary Leahy then replied with a classy score, which bridged 21 scoreless minutes for Wolfe Tones, who now led 1-4 to 0-3.
In first-half injury time, Michael O’Shea (free) and Christy Kirwan, with a superb score, brought Kilkee to within a point of Wolfe Tones, 1-4 to 0-6. Kirwan’s score owed much to Chris Williamson, who fielded a Wolfe Tones kick-out straight after O’Shea had pointed his last first-half free.
On the resumption, Brian Clancy came in for Derek Deloughrey and Kilkee were level within 30 seconds. O’Shea pointed again after he had been fouled.
With David Russell now playing outfield, having started at full-forward, Kilkee went ahead when O’Shea pointed after Russell had turned over Wolfe Tones possession. Things were looking up for Kilkee, even if they were playing into the breeze.
All of that changed when Kevin Cahill, back from the US, came on and calmly slotted beyond Kevin Harte, after Leahy located him with a perceptive diagonal ball.
Three minutes later, Stephen Monaghan curled over a lovely point, putting Wolfe Tones 2-5 to 0-8 up 17 minutes from time.
Two minutes after that, Michéal Keane was sent off on a straight red card, having become entangled with a Wolfe Tones player after Kilkee had won a free. A couple of Michael O’Shea wides helped Wolfe Tones to retain their lead, while Kevin Harte saved smartly from Stephen Monaghan at the expense of a 45’.
After 10 scoreless minutes, Gary Leahy pointed a 45 yard free seven minutes from time. Now leading 2-6 to 0-8, Wolfe Tones looked home and hosed. However, Kilkee kept plugging away and their persistence was rewarded when Harte equalised five minutes into injury time.
As admirable as Kilkee’s resistance to defeat was, there is no denying that they were aided by Wolfe Tones not closing out the game.
Until injured, Chris Dunning played well for Wolfe Tones, as did Craig O’Brien and William Flynn, who sustained a fearsome bang when he clashed with a Christy Kirwan. Gary Leahy also showed his class, while Kevin Cahill netted a lovely goal.
Although impeded by a leg injury Christy, Kirwan gave everything for Kilkee, while Barry Harte, Michael O’Shea and David Russell, when moved outfield, also made vital contributions.

Kilkee: Kevin Harte; Thomas Galvin, Darragh Kelly, Darren Clarke; Kevin Larkin, Christy Kirwan, Darren Owens; Derek Deloughrey, Chris Williamson; Gearóid Lynch (captain), Barry Harte, Michael O’Shea; Senan Larkin, David Russell, Michéal Keane.
Subs: Brian Clancy for Derek Deloughrey (half-time).
Scorers: Michael O’Shea (0-8, 7f), Barry Harte (0-2), Michéal Keane and Christy Kirwan (0-1) each.
Wides: 8; frees won: 32; 45s: 1
Yellow cards: Christy Kirwan.
Red card: Michéal Keane.
“We’re delighted. Relieved if anything. It felt like we won the game but still we’ve to go out and win it again the next day. That’s the challenge now. We looked a bit rusty. It has been a stop-start season and it has been hard to get any momentum going.” Kilkee full-back Darragh Kelly.

Wolfe Tones: Jason Casey; Steven Carroll, Seán Brennan, Craig O’Brien; Steven McInerney, Brendan Hughes, William Flynn; Patsy Keyes, Joe McGauley; Kevin Corbett, Chris Dunning, Daniel Gallery; Gary Leahy, Darren Ryan, Stephen Monaghan.
Subs: Colm McCall for Chris Dunning (21, injured), Kevin Cahill for Kevin Corbett (40), Alan Hehir for Colm McCall (47) and Gary Whelan for Joe McGauley (53).
Scorers: Gary Leahy (1-2, 1f), Kevin Cahill (1-0), Kevin Corbett, Daniel Gallery, Joe McGauley and Stephen Monaghan (0-1) each.
Wides: 9; frees won: 21; 45s: 1
Yellow cards: Craig O’Brien and Daniel Gallery.
“Maybe we should have won it but we’re still in the county quarter-final. We’ll be back on the training field Monday night and we’ll be all guns blazing for next weekend again. We’re far from out of this.” Wolfe Tones manager, Brendan Reidy.
Referee: Michael Talty, Kilmurry Ibrickane.