Gaeil Colmcille return with a bang

It was as if they had never been away. Gaeil Colmcille returned to competitive action tonight and romped to an impressive 1-18 to 2-7 A FL Div 1 Group B victory over hosts Simonstown.

The winner's goal came deep into injury-time to add further gloss to what was an already impressive display and even at this early stage of the delayed season the Kells side look to be in peak condition.

Limiting Simonstown to just 1-3 from play, with the goal that opened Simonstown's account coming in the 10th minute, Gaeil Colmcille showed a defensive fortitude and organisation that Simonstown simply had no answer to.

Even when they lost Brian Hanlon to a careless black card in the 26th minute Gaeil Colmcille never panicked as they hit the next three scores to stay in touch in difficult conditions.

Simonstown were pressurised in every department. They weren't allowed move the ball swiftly from defence and when they did try to launch long balls into Shane O'Rourke and Padraig McKeever they found Paul and Barry Tormay almost impenetrable.

Using their solid defensive line as their base Gaeil Colmcille were mesmerising at times to watch as they moved the ball left and right at frightening pace before punching holes with exquisite passing and devastating running off the ball.

When they countered they did so at such pace that Simonstown were chasing shadows. Even the spills of rain couldn't dent Gaeil Colmcille's confidence as they kicked several outstanding scores with Keith Reilly and Seamus Mattimoe lighting up the dull evening.

The incessant rain that fell in the hour before throw-in threatened to turn this contest into a sloppy scrappy affair, but it was far from it from a Gaeil Colmcille perspective.

They opened the scoring in the fifth minute with the exceptional Keith Reilly proving he can be equally adept in attack as he is in his more accustomed defensive role.

Simonstown struggled to secure decent possession as the hits were hard and often, but in the 10th minute a brilliant pass from James Kilcullen picked out Sean Tobin and his penetrating run set up McKeever for a fine goal.

Seconds later Rory Connor added a point as Simonstown looked to have settled.

However Gaeil Colmcille continued to pile on the pressure on the swift counter and won three successive frees, two of which were converted by Hanlon, to close the gap to 0-3 to 1-1 by the end of the opening quarter.

Simonstown, although lacking a spark, still looked capable of producing something special and they stretched their lead to four points when Tobin converted a penalty after Oisin Reilly had fouled Niall Kane just as the wing-back looked like scoring.

Mattimoe converted a free before Hanlon saw black and was dismissed for 10 minutes, but Gaeil Colmcille continued to exploit the gaps in Simonstown's rearguard with Evan Sheridan, Keith Reilly and Mattimoe on target to restore parity.

A superb run from defence from Ben Hoey set up Andy Kearney for a simple point which gifted Simonstown a 2-2 to 0-7 interval lead, but it was clear they weren't at their best.

Hanlon returned three minutes after the restart and immediately kicked a free to level the game again. McKeever countered with a converted free, but by the 41st minute two more points from Hanlon (one free) edged Gaeil Colmcille into a lead they didn't relinquish.

Oisin Reilly made it 0-11 to 2-3 before another free from McKeever just about kept Simonstown in the game. However in a 90-second burst early in the final quarter Gaeil Colmcille put the issue to bed with two superb scores from Keith Reilly and one from Fionn Reilly stretching their advantage to 0-14 to 2-4.

Mattimoe and Kearney traded points as the four-point margin was maintained heading into the final five minutes, but Simonstown were out of sorts.

McKeever closed the gap to three with another free, but with their position threatened Gaeil Colmcille turned on the afterburners again and added points from Hanlon, Mattimoe and Keith Reilly to make it 0-18 to 2-6.

O'Rourke was denied a goal late on by a brave block, from which Tobin converted the '45'. However it was Gaeil Colmcille's evening and their fine performance was capped by a brilliant goal from Ryan Farnham as they got their resumption off to a winning start.

SCORERS

Gaeil Colmcille - Brian Hanlon 0-6 four frees; Keith Reilly 0-5; Seamus Mattimoe 0-4 two frees; Ryan Farnham 1-0; Evan Sheridan 0-1; Oisin Reilly 0-1; Fionn Reilly 0-1.

Simonstown - Padraig McKeever 1-3 three frees; Rory Connor 0-1; Sean Tobin 1-1 penalty, one '45'; Andy Kearney 0-2.

TEAMS

Gaeil Colmcille - Gary McGovern; Barry Tormay, Paul Tormay, James Reilly; Liam Ferguson, Seanie Curran, Fionn Reilly; Oisin Reilly, Philly Ward; Evan Sheridan, Keith Reilly, Seamus Mattimoe; Conall Courtney, Martin Barrett, Brian Hanlon. Subs - Danny McGovern for Barrett 53 mins, Barry Smith for L Ferguson, Ryan Farnham for O Reilly both 55m, Fionn Ferguson for Hanlon 59m.

Simonstown - Robbie Burlingham; Josh Carolan, Stephen Moran, Brian McGrath; Mark Gardiner, Ben Hoey, Niall Kane; Brían Conlon, James Kilcullen; Nicky O'Brien, Rory Connor, Sean Conlon; Sean Tobin, Padraig McKeever, Shane O'Rourke. Subs - Andy Kearney for Connor 19 mins, Joe Lyons for S Conlon 42m, Shane Barry for Kilcullen 49m, Mark Devlin for Moran 51m, James Heaney for B Conlon 61m.

Referee - Bernard Heaney (Clann na nGael).