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Clooney-Quin 1-14 Kilmaley 0-17
UNBEATEN after three rounds of the championship and in danger of not making the play-offs. That’s the position Kilmaley find themselves in after they had their third draw in this year’s competition when sharing the spoils with Clooney-Quin at Cusack Park on Saturday evening.
On the run of play a draw was, probably, a fair result but should Kilmaley fail to make it into the quarter-finals they will look back on a few missed opportunities in this tie.
In all, the teams were level on six occasions but twice in the second half Kilmaley had edged in front, only to be hauled back. They will be disappointed they didn’t build on a spell of dominance, which saw them score six points without reply.
In the end, it was Kilmaley who had to come from behind to snatch a draw when Michael O’Neill pointed two minutes from time.
They came agonisingly close to hitting the winner when Kenneth Kennedy’s effort from a 70m free drifted inches wide in the closing minute.
This game marked the return to competitive action of Colin Lynch, who entered the action early in the second half.
Michael O’Neill, scorer of the last point, also had the distinction of getting the opening score as he put Kilmaley into the lead after two minutes. It was followed by a spell of dominance from Clooney-Quin, who had the next four scores, two pointed frees from Derek Ryan and two from play from Cathal Egan.
Free-takers Ken Kennedy and Derek Ryan exchanged points before county minor Dara Keane struck a brace to close the gap to the minimum.
Points were exchanged twice before O’Neill had the last score of the first half to send the teams to the changing rooms with the score at 0-7 each.
Both sides made changes to their line-ups for the second half, Brian McMahon was in the Kilmaley attack in place of John Cabey while Brian Shalley replaced Sean Conheady on the Clooney-Quin team.
Again, Kilmaley scored first with Ken Kennedy pointing inside a minute but John Earls replied with a like score before Fergal Lynch burst through to rifle the ball to the roof of the Kilmaley net.
Kilmaley had a chance to land a goal a minute later when Michael O’Neill broke through and handpassed to Dara Keane but the full-forward failed to connect with the ball and the danger was averted.
Derek Ryan and Ken Kennedy exchanged points from placed balls before Kennedy (free) Alan Markham with a huge free from deep in his own half and Diarmuid McMahon landed points to level the game with 11 minutes of the half played. Another Diarmuid McMahon effort and a Kennedy free after a foul on O’Neill put Kilmaley two clear at the three-quarter stage but Clooney-Quin responded with points from Shalley and Seamus Conroy to tie up the game with 12 minutes still to play.
Conor McMahon signalled his arrival into the action with a point for Kilmaley and Kennedy converted a 65 to make the margin two with eight minutes remaining.
Three in a row for Clooney-Quin from Earls, Shalley and substitute Peter Duggan had them in front with four minutes remaining but Kilmaley had the final say when O’Neill popped up for a deserved equaliser.
Colin McGuane and Noel Casey did well in the Kilmaley defence while Michael O’Neill and Conor Clancy got through a lot of work in the attack. Conor Harrisson, Adrian Fleming and Cathal Egan worked hard for Clooney-Quin throughout.
