Narrow victory for Kells men

Gaeil Colmcille ground out a result at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon when they qualified for their second successive IHC decider with a narrow victory over Blackhall Gaels. Twelve months ago the men from Kells came up short against Clann na nGael in the decider when they managed only a paltry four points for the hour in a low-key encounter and a similar scenario looked likely on Saturday. Both teams laboured to find any fluency in an opening half which seemed to go on forever although that was really only an illusion. At the end of a testing 30 minutes, Gaeil Colmcille held sway with a 0-3 to 0-2 advantage although three of the five points arrived in a hectic four-minute spell close to the interval. The teams managed almost three times as many wides in what could only be described as a yawn-inducing first-half during which the sliotar was fumbled and passes went astray with alarming regularity. Stephen Reddy (free), Robbie Flanagan and Brendan Murray pointed for Gaeil Colmcille while Dermot Carty ('65") and Thomas Murphy kept Blackhall Gaels in touch. Blackhall definitely created more chances, but were guilty of atrocious finishing and were also denied goals when Cormac Ferguson saved well from Coyle and Shane O"Loughlin. Gaeil Colmcille were also hampered by the loss of the influential Martin Barrett through injury, but they still looked solid with Tom Shine and Liam Newman dictating at midfield and Barry Smith dominant at centre-back. The tempo and the standard of play improved substantially after the resumption and that adequately compensated for the nervous opening half. Twice the sides were level as both struggled for supremacy, but Gaeil Colmcille never trailed. The fact that scores were scarce disguises the fact that the second-half was a hugely entertaining affair as Blackhall Gaels made a brave bid to take another step towards recovery and a place back in the senior ranks. Dermot Carty"s third minute point from play, after Mark Mullally made the opening, drew the sides level and Blackhall could have had a goal soon after when David Carty fired a low centre across the square. The determination in the Gaeil Colmcille team was evident when Shine restored his side"s advantage from a massive 75-metre free and substitute Gary McGovern added a fine score from play. Kells introduced Barry Ferguson in defence after Daniel O"Loughlin pointed for the Gaels from a lengthy Murphy clearance and by the end of the third-quarter it was all square at 0-6 apiece. Then came two crucial incidents. Blackhall goalkeeper Emmet Dalton was penalised after he failed to clear the sliotar and from the resultant free, Reddy hit the target. With seven minutes remaining, Blackhall had what looked like legitmate appeals for a free waved away and Gaeil Colmcille countered with a superb Smith point from play. That was Gaeil Colmcille"s last score and for the final seven minutes they defended tenaciously and conceded only one point to Dermot Carty who also had a late chance for an equaliser superbly blocked by Barry Tormay. Gaeil Colmcille - C Ferguson; P Tormay, M Foley, K Reilly; B Tormay, B Smith (0-2), D Tormay; T Shine (0-1), L Newman; C Roche, M Barrett, B Murray (0-1); S Reddy (0-2), R Flanagan (0-1), N Flanagan. Subs - G McGovern (0-1) for Barrett, B Ferguson for N Flanagan, P Ward for McGovern. Blackhall Gaels - E Dalton; N Hora, E Broad, U Colgan; K O"Connor, D McGowan, P Burke; T Murphy (0-1), T Delaney; D O"Loughlin (0-1), S O"Loughlin, T Coyle; David Carty, M Mullally, Dermot Carty (0-5). Subs - Daniel Carty for David Carty, K Coyle for T Coyle. Referee - Pat Gannon (Killyon).