Kilmessan open with a win

It didn"t take Kilmessan long to find their stride as they hit the ground running and opened the defence of their Jubilee Cup with an easy SHC win over Clann na nGael at Ashbourne on Monday evening. The champions played most of the second-half against Clann na nGael with just 14 men after Peter Reynolds got himself sent-off for two yellow cards inside a minute following tangles with Gary Mangan. When the sides met in last year"s championship Clann na nGael put it up to Martin Curran"s side, but apart from a few bright spells in the opening half Clann na nGael were always playing second fiddle to a side that had Chris Curtis in outstanding form. Curtis finished with 2-3 to his name. Both his goals were very similar as he pulled first time on low crosses to fire the ball to the net, but his points were exceptional and he caused Pat Shore all sorts of problems throughout. Clann na nGael did threaten to make life difficult for Kilmessan when they opened brightly with Daithi Gergahty, Jamie Shaw, Darren Heaney and Mangan doing well. The Athboy / Rathcairn men were ahead by 1-2 to 0-2 after 11 minutes, but that was as good as it got. When Kilmessan found their stride they were ultra-efficient. Mal Doyle and Kevin Keena formed a very effective full-forward line with Curtis and with Nicky Horan displaying glimpses of his obvious class Kilmessan always looked dangerous. Charlie Keena enjoyed an excellent outing and with David Donnelly dropping back into a more familiar defensive role from the centre-forward position, where he started, they looked very secure. There were a few occasions when speculative centres could have been dealt with better by Mark Brennan, but good defending and referee"s decisions ensured that Clann na nGael were never going to get enough goals to trouble Kilmessan. 'I"m always happy to win the first round of the championship. It can often be the hardest game because we are trying to get the lads going again,' Kilmessan manager Martin Curran told the Meath Chronicle. 'I"m delighted with the performance and the players showed great work rate. We expected a tough game again from Clann na nGael and they gave it to us. 'We are at a slightly higher level now than we were at this time last year and things are going well. 'Chris Curtis has been waiting for his chance and he took it well tonight, he did really well,' concluded Curran. After Horan (free) and Donnelly pointed either side of a Geraghty free inside the opening seven minutes Clann na nGael were boosted when Gearoid Breathnach pounced on a loose ball, after Brennan had stopped Geraghty"s initial effort, and rifled to the net. Geraghty added a free to make it 1-2 to 0-2 and an upset appeared to be on the cards. However, Kilmessan were playing against the stiff breeze and once they adjusted their sights they became dominant. Curtis pointed superbly before a Horan free closed the deficit to a point. Early in the second-quarter Curtis netted his first goal from Doyle"s centre and further points from Horan (free) and Stephen Clynch either side of a Barry Doherty effort made it 1-6 to 1-3 at half-time. Within three minutes of the restart it was all over bar the shouting. Another great run from Doyle created the opening for for Curtis to volley another goal. Two minutes later Reynolds earned his first yellow card along with Mangan for an off-the-ball tussle and within 60 seconds the Kilmessan man saw red when he was issued a second yellow after catching Mangan on the helmet with a late challenge. Boosted by Kilmessan"s reduction in numbers Breathnach pointed for Clann na nGael, but Kilmessan were still in control. Great scores from Richie Donnelly, Doyle and Curtis stretched the advantage to 2-9 to 1-4 before Trevor Matthews had a 'goal" disallowed for a square ball. Nothing was going Clann na nGael"s way. Vinny Doyle produced a smart save to keep out Horan"s sideline, but a foul on Joey Keena allowed Horan tap another free over the bar. Frees were exchanged by Nicky Horan and Geraghty before Brennan made a bit of a mess of a Clann na nGael centre and Martin Horan had to clear off the line under pressure from Breathnach. Curtis and Nicky Horan closed the scoring for Kilmessan before Clann na nGael tried to add further respectability to the scoreboard by going for goal with a late free. Brennan did brilliantly to save Geraghty"s effort before Jamie Shaw tapped over the rebound. That miss was symptomatic of Clann na nGael"s performance. They failed to take the few chances that came their way while Kilmessan, and in particular Curtis, were ruthless in their finishing. Kilmessan - M Brennan; P McGovern, M Reilly, C Keena; P Farrell, S Clynch (0-1), M Horan; R Donnelly (0-1), P Reynolds; J Keena, D Donnelly (0-1), N Horan (0-6, frees); M Doyle (0-1), C Curtis (2-3), K Keena. Sub - V Reilly for Farrell half-time. Clann na nGael - V Doyle; P Daly, P Shore, A McCormack; B McGovern, G Mangan, G Woods; M Mullen, D Heaney; P Geraghty, J Shaw (0-1), T Matthews; B Doherty (0-1), G Breathnach (1-1), D Geraghty (0-3, frees). Sub - D O"Shea for Woods 49 mins. Referee - Gerry Kelly (Navan O"Mahonys).