Kildalkey complete recovery

Kildalkey made the most of a reprieve they earned six days earlier when they returned to Boardsmill on Saturday afternoon and completed the recovery with a thoroughly merited Div 2 HC final replay victory over local rivals Killyon. That this was the lowest grade of hurling in the county was hardly evident as both teams served up a thriller despite the damp conditions and a liberal amount of yellow cards from Blackhall Gaels referee Richard Morris who kept a tight rein on the players. There was nothing untoward from either side and the tempo was high throughout which prompted Hurling Development Committee chairman TJ Reilly to describe it as one of the best finals at this grade in many years. And the veteran GAA official would be well placed to make a comment like that as he lined out in last year"s decider andhelped Boardsmill to the title at the expense of Rathmolyon at Kildalkey. Kildalkey always looked the more likely team to win and they were ahead by 2-6 to 1-3 at the interval. They survived a tentative opening which yielded a rich harvest for Killyon after Ambrose Connolly"s first-quarter goal left Kildalkey adrift by 0-1 to 1-2. Killyon also had a 'goal" disallowed when Leighton Massey was penalised for over-carrying, there were few complaints from the sideline which is always a good gauge. Killyon ran on empty for the remainder of the half and much of that was due to the skill and tenacity of Sean Kealy. The former Meath star clearly still loves the game and his 16th minute goal kick-started a Kildalkey revival. Sean Carroll added another goal soon after and points from David Brady (three), Gary Kelly, Kealy and team captain Padraig Corrigan sealed a six-point interval advantage. Killyon"s Danny Gorman and Brady traded points within 60 seconds of the resumption, but Kildalkey eased away as they began to dictate in all departments. Trailing by seven points as the game approached the final quarter, Killyon needed a goal to have any chance of survival. With Ray McKeown in the ascendancy at centre-back, it duly arrived when Connolly struck and reduced the deficit to 2-6 to 2-10, but at that stage, Kildalkey"s Derek Doran burst into life and added crucial late points before Corrigan closed the scoring from a '65" and brought the trophy back to club for the first time in 14 years. Kildalkey - T Masterson; JD Flynn, S Dunne, R Geoghegan; P Corrigan (0-2, one free, one '65"), P Potterton, C Ward; M Potterton, K Leavy (1-0); D Doran (0-3), S Kealy (1-2), P O"Halloran; A Mcnally, G Kelly (0-1), D Brady (0-5, four frees). Subs - K Murray for McNally 43 mins, C Kane for O"Halloran 56m. Killyon - J Connor; B Fulham, D Mitcehll, O Treacy; A Feeney, R Mckeown, M Ryan; P Ryan, W Dixon; K Keoghan (0-6, four frees), one '65", D Gorman (0-1), P Keoghan; S Carroll, L Massey, A Connolly (2-0). Sub - K Kelly for Carroll 37 mins. Referee - Richard Morris (Blackhall Gaels)