Late Kelly goal earns a reprieve

There mightn"t have been as much at stake in Boardsmill on Sunday than there was at Croke Park between Kerry and Cork in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, but there was an equally exciting finish as Kildalkey struck late to force a Div 2 HC final replay against Killyon. With an hour played Killyon were desperately holding on to a slender one-point advantage. In a rare attack, Ray McKeown found Leighton Massey unmarked and the corner-forward buried a brilliant goal to move Killyon four points clear and into what they believed was a winning position. However, there was still time for plenty of drama. Seconds later when David Brady lined up a free he was told there were two minutes of injury-time remaining and so he took his point to leave Kildalkey just 0-10 to 2-7 adrift. All Killyon had to do was weather a two-minute storm, but instead they imploded. They conceded possession from the puck out and instantly Kildalkey were on the attack. Brady struck a superb long-range effort that appeared destined for the net, but Joe Connor made a brilliant save. In the ensuing scramble it was substitute Gary Kelly who reacted quickest to blast the ball to the net and restore parity. The goal sparked huge celebrations in the Kildalkey dug out, but they could have had even more cause for cheer had captain Padraig Corrigan converted a late, late free from about 60 metres. Corrigan"s effort drifted narrowly wide and Killyon survived, justice was done. It was a remarkable end to a hugely entertaining game that included several passages of exciting hurling that would have put a few senior teams to shame. Kildalkey were marginally the better side, but it would have been cruel on Killyon if they had lost because they battled tenaciously to force Kildalkey into desperate tactics. Both sides enjoyed moments of supremacy, but Kildalkey failed to take full advantage of their longer periods in charge. Pascal Carr"s men hit 13 wides and dropped several under-hit point attempts into the hands of Connor, but they deserve another bite at the cherry because they restricted Killyon to just one point in the second-half before the late goal almost secured the win for Kit Mitchell and Sean Ryan"s side. Kildalkey were the younger and fitter side. That was very evident in the closing stages, but in the opening quarter the wise old heads of Killyon were devastating and they looked more than capable of establishing enough of a lead that would have seen them through the final quarter when the expected pressure would come on. The experienced trio of Leighton Massey, Ray McKeown and Ambrose Connolly and the incessant wanderings of Keith Keoghan and Kevin Kelly had Kildalkey under pressure for the first 20 minutes and in that period Killyon opened a fully-deserved 1-6 to 0-1 lead. However, once Kildalkey settled they were the better side and out-scored their opponents by 1-9 to 1-1 for the remainder. Micheal Potterton and Karl Leavy were hugely responsible for Kildalkey getting back into the contest. Both men were superb and with John D Flynn starting, after a late injury to Tosh Brady, and Padraig Potterton and Padraig Corrigan also settling well, Kildalkey were excellent at the back after their nervy opening 20 minutes. Micheal Potterton and Leavy"s drive and hunger ensured the tide started to turn in Kildalkey"s favour in the final nine minutes of the opening half and they maintained that pressure. Sean Kealy caused Killyon problems and with Brady showing great accuracy from frees Kildalkey were in the ascendancy. That certainly wasn"t the case early on. Keith Keoghan"s free inside a minute gave Killyon a lead, which they held until three minutes into injury-time. Seconds later McKeown brilliantly gathered Willie Dixon"s long ball, turned Tommy Masterson and Seamus Dunne before kicking to the net. Brady responded with a free, but it was only temporary respite for Kildalkey as Killyon bossed the exchanges. Two more frees from Keith Keoghan and excellent points from Patrick Ryan and Padraig Keoghan established a 1-5 to 0-1 first-quarter lead for Killyon and that advantage could have been greater had Keith Keoghan been more accurate with a decent goal chance. He made it 1-6 to 0-1 in the 20th minute, but then Killyon faded. Brady kick-started the recovery with a pointed free after Leavy was fouled. Leavy followed with a point and further scores from Corrigan and Anthony McNally left Kildalkey just 0-5 to 1-6 adrift at the interval. Keith Keoghan stretched Killyon"s lead in the first minute of the second-half, but by the end of the third-quarter points from Brady (two), Micheal Potterton and Corrigan cut the deficit to 0-9 to 1-7. Kildalkey hit four poor wides before the late drama got the pulses racing. Kildalkey - T Masterson; J D Flynn, S Dunne, R Geoghegan; C Ward, P Potterton, P Corrigan (0-2 one free, one '65"); M Potterton (0-1), K Leavy (0-1); D Doran, S Kealy, P O"Halloran; A McNally (0-1), T Smith, D Brady (0-5 four frees). Subs - G Kelly (1-0) for Doran half-time, Doran for Smith 39 mins, Smith for O"Halloran 54m, K Murray for McNally 57m. Killyon - J Connor; B Fulham, D Mitchell, O Treacy; A Feeney, M Ryan, P Ryan (0-1); W Dixon, S Carroll; P Keoghan (0-1), K Kelly, K Keoghan (0-5 four frees); L Massey (1-0), R McKeown (1-0), A Connolly. Subs - M Cogan for Kelly 36 mins, J Mitchell for Cogan 50m, M DeLacy for Dixon 57m, P Rattigan for Connolly 62m. Referee - Gerry Keoghan (Dunsany).