Kilmainham complete a magnificent double

Those who claim that it is next to impossible to play good football in November should have turned up at Meath Hill on Saturday afternoon for the u-21 B FC decider to watch Kilmainham overcome Castletown in sensational circumstances. The standard of football throughout was of the highest order as both sides gave their all and it was unjust that there was a loser. Defeat was tough on Castletown because they played an exciting brand of football. The game was in the melting pot throughout with both sides looking capable of pulling clear, but as the minutes ticked away it looked as if Castletown would be the more likely to claim victory. However, to win anything you need a certain amount of luck and Kilmainham were handed a huge slice of good fortune two minutes from time. Michael Newman"s poor free dropped short, but was flicked to the net by substitute Conor Walsh. It was that goal that gave Kilmainham their winning advantage and it was also the only time they led from after the opening minutes of the second-half. 'This is a great win for a small club like ours. It means an awful lot to us, it is like an All-Ireland to these lads. It was a brilliant game and fair play to Castletown they made it tough, but we are glad to be out at the right end of it,' said Kilmainham manager Paddy O"Rourke. 'Either team could have won it, but the goal at the end there was the crucial score for us. We wouldn"t claim to be that brave that we told Michael Newman to drop the free short, but fair play to Conor Walsh, our super sub. 'We won the u-21 C FC last year and now we"ve won the B title so it is good progression for a small club and we are delighted to be in this position,' concluded the winning coach. Castletown will rue a couple of missed chances. A minute before Walsh"s winning goal Shane Farrelly fired a decent chance from a free wide of the target and had that gone over it might have caused the Kilmainham heads to drop. Three minutes earlier Shane Farrelly also missed a great goal chance when he failed to apply the finish to an excellent move that involved Gerard Farrelly and Thomas Smith. Those chances came and went, it enabled Kilmainham keep the faith and they were rewarded. The Farrelly cousins were outstanding for Castletown, while Robert Cribben, Daniel Metry and Johnny Ginnity also did well, but Kilmainham"s direct style proved more effective as they were able to relieve pressure quicker. Castletown tried to play the ball out of defence and on too many occasions got caught in possession. There are times and places for fancy football, but when your back is against the wall and you are under pressure route one is often the best option. That was Kilmainham"s policy. They wanted to move the ball quickly and more directly. They used Michael Newman to good effect and with midfielders Denis Newman and Gavin Butler offering great assistance it was a tactic that worked well for the most part. Kilmainham started well, but they were wayward in their early shooting and once Castletown settled they seized the initiative. Gerard Farrelly opened the scoring with Castletown"s first attack and two minutes later Mattie Carroll produced a superb finish to boost his side into a 1-1 to 0-0 lead. Gavin Butler settled Kilmainham with an excellent point and Newman followed up with a successful free. However, Castletown took control again and opened up a 1-3 to 0-2 first-quarter lead with scores from Carroll and Cribben. Michael Newman sent a 48-metre free off the ground over the bar, but Ginnity restored Castletown"s four-point cushion before the Kells parish side took over for the remainder of the half. Two superb points from Gavin Butler and a Michael Newman free closed the deficit to a point, but Cribben struck a fine score to make it 1-5 to 0-6 before Kilmainham took over again with Michael Newman posting three points, two from frees, to leave his side 0-9 to 1-5 ahead at half-time. Within six minutes of the restart Castletown regained the lead with Shane Farrelly lofting over a free from 45 metres, Thomas Smith pointing the score of the game and Cribben slotting over after a brilliant dummy by Gerard Farrelly to make it 1-8 to 0-9. It took substitute Walsh six minutes to get his name on the scoresheet and Michael Newman took advantage of poor defending to make it 0-11 to 1-8. However, every time Kilmainham got close Castletown were able to pull clear again. Shane Farrelly"s free gave Castletown a narrow cushion early in the final quarter and when Cribben made it 1-10 to 0-11 with eight minutes left it looked like curtains for Kilmainham, but they refused to give up. Shane Butler kicked two glorious points either side of Shane Farrelly"s missed goal chance and after the Castletown midfielder squandered a free it was Kilmainham who snatched victory with Walsh"s deflected goal. The Teams Kilmainham - P Hennigan; R Mooney, D Morgan; P Mooney, G Morgan, D Sullivan; D Newman, G Butler (0-3); S Butler (0-2), S Mahon, S Brosnan; P Smith, M Newman (0-7). Sub - C Walsh (1-1) for Smith 33 mins. Castletown - R Hoey; N Smyth, D Metry; N Metry, G Farrelly (0-1), E Horgan; R Cribben (0-4), S Farrelly (0-2); D Cribben, T Smith (0-1), S Dunne; M Carroll (1-1), J Ginnity (0-1). Sub - C Weldon for D Cribben 40mins. Referee - Seamus McCormack (Walterstown).