Conneely point earns draw as Kildalkey and Kiltale must do it all again

It's back to the beginning for Kiltale and Kildalkey after they drew 1-13 apiece at the end of a heart-stopping SHC final at Pairc Tailteann today. 

With 56 minutes on the clock it looked like Kildalkey were going to end Kiltale's quest for a sixth successive crown. The Village side led 1-12 to 0-10 but Kiltale came back to go in front by a point only for Patrick Conneely to score from long range three minutes into injury time and force the replay. 

The first-half was a stop, start affair with Kildalkey 0-8 to 0-6 ahead at the interval however Kiltale shipped a big blow when Mark O'Sullivan was sent off just three minutes into the second-half. 

With Conneely steadily firing over the points Kildalkey continued to stay in front and they took a decisive step towards victory when on 56 minutes they put together a sweeping move that ended with Luke Rickard passing to Noel Kirby who scored a goal from close range. 

That goal put Kildalkey 1-12 to 0-10 upp and there didn't appear to be a way back for Kiltale. However they champions were not finished. Jack Regan and Peter Durnin landed points before Regan fired to the net from 20 metres or so. Suddenly the teams were level. 

And it got better for Kiltale when Regan sent over another booming point. It looked like they might snatch the win however Kildalkey won a free and Conneely held his nerve to slot between the posts from long range.  It was all over and Kildalkey had snatched a draw. 

In the MHC final Trim put in a strong performance to defeat Ratoath 3-16 to 2-7. The Trim side led 1-11 to 1-2 at the break with Josh Harris getting their goal. In the second-half two further goals from Sean Foley helped the team in red secure the win. Jack Lanigan was Ratoath's main marksman but they needed more to overthrow the overlords at this level. 

See match reports from both finals, photographs and quotes in next issue of the Meath Chronicle