Another great escape

Six minutes second-half injury-time handed Kildalkey a Jubilee Cup reprieve against battling Navan O'Mahonys at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening and last year's beaten finalists capitalised to advance to the penultimate stage of the SHC after extra-time. O'Mahonys had plenty of reasons to feel aggrieved as they attempted to cause a major upset following a disappointing performance against Clann na nGael only six days earlier. They were tenaciously defending a 1-12 to 1-11 advantage as the stopwatch ticked towards full-time, but there was no indication of the amount of added time and the game had entered the sixth minute when Kildalkey's Noel Kirby pointed a free after O'Mahonys full-back Seamus Duignan was penalised. When James Burke pucked out the ball, referee Conor Ferguson ended 'nornal' time and there was no one more relieved than Kildalkey manager Pat O'Halloran. "If the truth be told, Navan O'Mahonys probably should have won that game over 60 minutes," he told the Meath Chronicle after a dramatic Kildalkey escape in extra-time. At one stage in the second-half, O'Mahonys were ahead by six points (1-11 to 0-8) and looked well on their way to the last four. Kildalkey were struggling at that stage and needed a break of some sort, it duly arrived when Nick Fitzgerald pulled on a loose ball nine minutes from time. "That goal was our lifeline, in fairness to Nick he had one go at it and he pulled on the sliotar, if we hadn't got that goal, we were gone," stated O'Halloran. When the sliotar flashed to the net, it gave O'Halloran's men a glimpse of the road to recovery, but they still had to work hard to get back on terms, 1-12 each, and that six minutes of added time was hugely important. This game practically developed into a duel between Kildalkey's Kirby, who finished with 12 points (nine frees) to his credit, and Navan's Ciaran Dunphy who claimed 10 points, five frees and a magnificent score from a sideline cut on the 20-metre line five minutes from the end of normal time. Kildalkey dominated the opening five minutes, but were unable to make an impact on the scoreboard before O'Mahonys got off the mark in the fifth minute when Dunphy pointed a free after Kildalkey's Stephen Forde was penalised for picking the sliotar off the ground. That appeared to sharpen the Kildalkey senses and they were on terms inside a minute from Kirby's free. Sean Heavey added a brace of points from play, but by the end of the first-quarter the Navan men had forged ahead (1-1 to 0-3). Mikey Kelly finished to the net after a scramble in the Kildalkey goalmouth. Dunphy's centre caused the problem and he stretched his side's lead in the 18th minute with a superb point from a 65-metre free. Despite their inability to hit the target, wind-assisted Kildalkey were well in contention and created plenty of chances, but only managed one more point when Padraig Keogh ended a 17-minute barren spell ahead of the interval. Kildalkey also finished the half with a tally of 10 wides, due to some dire shooting, and that ultimately contributed to that one-point interval deficit, 0-4 to 1-2. They finished the game with 17 wides which is one weakness they will have to eliminate if they harbour any serious title aspirations. The performances of O'Mahonys defenders Duignan and Damien Moran was also vital as the duo consistently frustrated the best efforts of Fitzgerald and Keogh in what also turned out to be an absorbing duel over 90 minutes. The second-half resumed in a welter of scores as Kirby sent over a brace for Kildalkey with Dunphy (free) and midfielder Padraig Coone splitting the posts at the other end. By the end of the third-quarter O'Mahonys were still in the ascendancy with a 1-8 to 0-7 lead and they extended that margin to six points before Kidlakey grabbed a lifeline with that opportunistic Fitzgerald goal. Heavey followed with a quick point and then Kirby added a brace before his late, late score forced extra-time The sides were still level at the end of the first-half of extra-time (1-14 apiece), but the next period belonged to Kildalkey as Kirby sent over four unanswered points. Kildalkey - G McNally; S Corrigan, S Forde, D Laharte (0-1); C Dunne, S Heavey (0-3), M Doran; T Fox, M Keogh; D Fagan, N Fitzgerald (1-0), N Kirby (0-12, nine frees); D Doran, P Keogh (0-1), M Potterton. Subs - P Connelley for Fagan 20 mins; C Kane for Keogh 51m; E Redmond for D Doran 59m; Keogh for Redmond full-time; D Doran for Kane full-time; extra-time - Fagan for Heavey 16m. Navan O'Mahonys - James Burke; C Reilly, S Duignan, D Moran; S Crosbie, R Hogan, D Hogan; P Coone (0-1), A Snow; B Dillon, D Loughran, P Smith; M Kelly (1-1), J Gleeson, C Dunphy (0-10, five frees, one sideline). Subs - C O'Rourke (0-1) for Gleeson 39 mins; P Skehan for Dillon 52m; S Quirke (0-1) for Smyth 54m; M O'Rourke for Hogan 60m; extra-time - J Murtagh for M O'Rourke 9m; D Murtagh for Kelly 16m; D Fitzsimons for Coone 20m. Referee - Conor Ferguson (Gaeil Colmcille)