Kildalkey shock champions

KILDALKEY are back in a position where they can make up for previous disappointments following this thoroughly deserved victory over champions Kiltale in the second SHC semi-final at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday. Intensity, passion and a sheer will to win were key ingredients in the success which earned Pat O"Halloran"s side a place in the decider for the first time since 2005, but there was also a fair bit of individual brilliance which served to dethrone the Jubilee Cup holders. Goalkeeper Gary McNally was a true star of the victory with a string of saves which prevented Kiltale from gaining the upperhand while left corner-forward Padraig Geoghegan rowed in with a superb contribution of 1-4, which included three late points as Kildalkey finished in style. Noel Kirby notched six points, three frees and two '65s" and team captain Sean Heavey scored two fine points from play in the first-half before he was forced to retire with an injury which may well rule him out of the final. Kildalkey made a blistering start as they tore into Kiltale with fierce determination. They maintained the intensity for much of the contest and after McNally had come to their rescue with some magnificent goalkeeping, they ended a long scoreless spell by notching the last five points to win by a surprisingly comfortable margin. Kiltale will be disappointed with their performance, especially with the experience of last year"s successful campaign behind them, and they were clearly unsettled by Kildalkey"s passion and drive. Apart from a contribution of 1-5 from one of the real heroes of last year"s final win over Kilmessan, Peter Durnin, only Mark O"Sullivan, Paul Garvey and John Donoghue managed a point and their overall tally of 1-8 was never likely to be good enough. After their poor showing against Navan O"Mahonys in the quarter-final, many people underestimated Kildalkey, but their assessment probably changed in the very early stages as they exploded from the traps and warmed to the challenge magnificently. Kirby settled them with the opening point from a '65" after five minutes and when Geoghegan netted following a pass from Heavey a minute later they had made the ideal start by opening up a 1-1 to 0-0 lead. Their advantage stood at 1-3 to 0-3 by the end of the opening quarter after Geoghegan and Kirby (free) had added points and Durnin (two frees) and O"Sullivan were on the mark for Kiltale. Kildalkey"s half-back line of Sean Corrigan, Enda Keogh and Mairtin Doran was working tirelessly and after Heavey had increased their advantage with his only score from play, McNally made the first of three superb saves when denying Cathal Sheridan after O"Sullivan had put him through. Kiltale, fielding several players who had tasted JFC success a week earlier with Moynalvey, received a big boost on 20 minutes when Sheridan turned provider for Durnin to blast past McNally who got his stick to the sliothar, but couldn"t stop it. That left them the minimum in arrears, but Kildalkey finished the first period strongest by scoring three of the last four points, three of them from Kirby, to lead by 1-8 to 1-4 at the interval. Kiltale made switches in a bid to revive their fortunes, with John Donoghue moving to centre-forward, Brendan Dixon going to centre-back and Paul Garvey operating at midfield. They proceeded to enjoy a far more productive third-quarter and but for McNally"s heroics might well have taken command. The second period was less than two minutes old when he saved from Durnin and he denied Garvey approaching the three-quarter stage as Kiltale applied the pressure. Those blocks were vital because Kildalkey"s advantage was reduced to 1-8 to 1-9 with 12 minutes remaining after Durnin (two), Garvey and John Donoghue had scored for the champions. However, that Donoghue point was Kiltale"s last score. Ger Geoghegan had accounted for Kildalkey"s first point of the second period with a brilliant effort after just 20 seconds, but they endured a barren spell of nearly 25 minutes before they exploded into life again. Padraig Geoghegan was oozing with confidence as he pointed twice and when Maurice Keogh, Kirby and Geoghegan again split the posts, Kildalkey were back in the final. Of course, it"s now a matter of repeating the sort of performance which overpowered Kiltale, but for now they can savour a fully merited victory over the team which eliminated them at the quarter-final stage after extra-time last year. SCORERS Kildalkey - P Geoghegan 1-4; N Kirby 0-6, three frees, two '65s"; S Heavey 0-2; M Keogh 0-1; G Geoghegan 0-1. Kiltale - P Durnin 1-5, four frees; M O"Sullivan 0-1; Paul Garvey 0-1; J Donoghue 0-1. THE TEAMS Kildalkey - G McNally; E Potterton, S Forde, D Laharte; S Corrigan, E Keogh, M Doran; M Keogh, G Geoghegan; D Brady, T Fox, N Kirby; P Keogh, S Heavey, P Geoghegan. Subs - G Kelly for Heavey half-time, D Fagan for Brady 50 mins, M Potterton for Keogh 54m. Kiltale - O Regan; A Donnelly, P Donoghue, D Donoghue; W Mahady, J Donoghue, S Reilly; S Donoghue, B Dixon; D Dixon, Paul Garvey, Philip Garvey; P Durnin, C Sheridan, M O"Sullivan. Subs - C Ennis for Mahady 51 mins, S White for O"Sullivan 58m, TJ Lynch for Philip Garvey 58m. REFEREE Fergus Smyth (Blackhall Gaels).