Kilsheelan/Kilcash survive big Cahir scare to reach county semi-finals
FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final
KILSHEELAN/KILCASH 2-13 CAHIR 1-14
Kilsheelan/Kilcash are through to the semi-finals of this year’s FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Football Championship but only after the hot-favourites survived a huge scare from Cahir at Ardfinnan on Saturday afternoon.
Cruising at half-time when seven points up at 1-10 to 0-6, Kilsheelan looked well on their way to a last four engagement with Clonmel Commercials (or Ballina). However, a different Cahir team emerged for the second half and in the end Liam Stokes’ side just about had enough to hold on for a two-point victory.
When Jamie Roche stretched the Kilsheelan lead to eight points, six minutes into the second half, one couldn’t foresee that they wouldn’t score again for another 20 minutes. In that hiatus Cahir managed 1-4 without reply, including a well-taken Stephen Grogan goal. Now, with six minutes remaining Kilsheelan were suddenly in a fight for survival, a man down after Daire Brennan’s dismissal, and all the momentum with John O’Connor’s team.
In the end Kilsheelan had Jamie Roche to thank for a superb goal in the 56th minute, created by Mark Kehoe’s decisive run through the middle, putting them four points clear. And while Cahir continued to press hard and had three late frees, Roche wrapped up the scoring with another free to secure that semi-final ticket.
Apart from Roche’s 1-2 contribution, Kilsheelan’s only other second half score was a long-range Evan Comerford free just after the restart. While the Cahir side that emerged for the second half was of a more positive mindset to their opening half side, so too was an indifferent Kilsheelan, who had been lording it up to half-time with Mark Kehoe magnificent. If Kilsheelan/Kilcash are to have any shout in two weeks time, they better not arrive with that second half performance. There is plenty of room for improvement and they will know that themselves better than anyone.
Kevin Grogan opened the day’s scoring with a point for Cahir but within seven minutes Kilsheelan were 0-4 to 0-1 ahead, with scores from Evan Comerford (free), Barry Kehoe, Jamie Roche (free) and Mark Kehoe who ran from deep inside his own half, unchallenged, to point.
The two full-forwards, Craig Guiry (Cahir) and Conor Davin-Murphy exchanged points, before the two centre-forwards Niall McKenna (Cahir) and Mark Kehoe did likewise, leaving the score at 0-6 to 0-3 on the quarter-hour mark.
Mark Kehoe and Micheál Freaney then one-twoed their way through the centre of the Cahir defence culminating in a Kehoe rocket heading for the corner of the net only to be saved brilliantly by a one-handed effort by Aaron Wall. Unfortunately for the Cahir custodian, Daire Brennan was following through to pick up the rebound and rifle it beyond Wall.
Long-serving Ian Flannery soon pulled a point back for Cahir when doing well under a lot of pressure to even get his shot away.
The last 10 minutes of the opening half saw Tipperary senior hurler Mark Kehoe excel with three further points from play, mixing a combination of incredible speed with a superb point-taking ability. New county football manager Philly Ryan was present in Ardfinnan and must be only imagining what a difference Kehoe would make to his plans, if only.
In between Kehoe’s three points Liam Freaney added another for Kilsheelan, while the always-honest Kevin Grogan, and Craig Guiry (free) raised white flags for Cahir.
At the break with Kilsheelan 1-10 to 0-6 to the good, it was impossible to envisage such an exciting second half in which the leaders would be put to the pin of their collars by a fired-up Cahir comeback.
The lead was twice out to eight points early in the second period with an Evan Comerford free and a Jamie Roche point bookending a point from the just-introduced Cahir sub, Jack Buckley.
Buckley again, from the edge of the D, finished off a good Cahir move in the 37th minute, before a Dylan Butler effort at a point was safely tipped over by Comerford. Cahir were slowly building momentum, the lead reduced to six, 1-12 to 0-9, after 38 minutes.
Cahir then introduced another pair of subs in Eoin Wyse and Nicholas Reidy, the latter pointing two minutes later. And it got even better when yet another just-introduced Cahir substitute, Ger Quinn, landed a sweet left-legged point to reduce the gap to four with 12 minutes to go.
The pressure was beginning to tell and Kilsheelan suffered a further setback in the 50th minute when goalscorer Daire Brennan was dismissed with a red card (a black being brandished after the umpires consulted to follow his first-half yellow). Numerically disadvantaged now, it went from bad to worse for Kilsheelan when Cahir goaled with a well-taken Stephen Grogan strike low beyond Evan Comerford after good work in the build-up by Ger Quinn.
With six minutes still remaining, Cahir tails up and Kilsheelan a man down, the pre-match 3/1 on favourites were in bother. They needed a response having gone 20 minutes without a score and they found it. That lifeline arrived when a quick-counter attack, aided in a big way by Mark Kehoe’s pace, was finished low by Jamie Roche to halt the decline and ease the obvious anxiety on the sideline, where manager Liam Stokes had fallen foul of referee Seanie Everard.
If Kilsheelan thought that Roche’s goal would finally kill off the Cahir challenge they would have erred again with complacency. Cahir kept pressing and three converted close-in frees were testimony of that tension, two from Craig Guiry and another from Ger Quinn, making it a one-point game deep into added-time. With possession crucial, Micheál Freaney won a vital late free and Jamie Roche converted for Kilsheelan to finally see off the dogged Cahir resistance.
It was the cliched game of two halves, the Kilsheelan first half smoothness almost unrecognisable from the frenzy of the second; conversely Cahir didn’t show for the first half hour compared to their post-interval mettle.
Kilsheelan will need a 60+ minute effort the next day in the semi-final but if they can find their A-game they can ask questions of three-in-a-row seeking Clonmel Commercials. The prize for the challengers, should they succeed, would be their first county final appearance since 1981 (v Galtee Rovers); their last county triumph in 1972 (v Ardfinnan).
Mark Kehoe’s first half performance in particular was immense on the day, but it was far from a one-man show when they had to dig their way out of trouble in the second half. Others to do well were Jason Madigan, Daire Brennan, Micheál Freaney, Conor Neville and Emmet Butler.
For Cahir Michael O’Connor, Eddie Kendrick, Kevin Grogan, Stephen Grogan, Niall McKenna, Craig Guiry and Ian Flannery put in battling displays to the very end.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash: Evan Comerford (0-2F), Conor Neville, Jason Madigan (capt), Tadhg McGuire, Emmet Butler, Daire Brennan (1-0), Billy O’Connor, Micheál Freaney, Billy Murphy, Tommy O’Connor, Mark Kehoe (0-5), Barry Kehoe (0-1), Jamie Roche (1-3, 0-2F), Conor Davin-Murphy (0-1), Liam Freaney (0-1).
Subs: Senan Butler for Davin-Murphy (47 mins), Mark Stokes for McGuire (55 mins), Eoin Kehoe for Murphy (60+2 mins), Sean Ryan for E. Butler (60+3 mins).
Cahir: Aaron Wall, Sean Leahy, Michael O’Connor, Eoin Donaghy, Jesse Kiely, Eddie Kenrick, Colin McEniry, Kevin Grogan (0-2), Stephen Grogan (1-0), Ian Flannery (0-1), Niall McKenna (0-1), Conor McKenna, Conor O’Brien, Craig Guiry (0-4, 0-3F), Jake Kiely.
Subs: Dylan Butler (0-1) for Jake Kiely (27 mins), Jack Buckley (0-2) for N. McKenna (inj., 34 mins), Eoin Wyse for C. McKenna (42 mins), Nicholas Reidy (0-1) for O’Brien (42 mins), Ger Quinn (0-2, 0-1F) for Flannery (47 mins).
Referee: Seanie Everard (Aherlow).