Hurricane Rathkenny blow up a storm

It took some time to find their rhythm but once they did Rathkenny proved as unstoppable as a hurricane to claim the MFL Div 4 title with a considerable amount to spare. The Pairc Tailteann floodlights were on early for this encounter on Wednesday evening last with Rathkenny illuminating the occasion with festival of goals, most of them netted in extra-time. However, it wasn"t all sunshine and light for the Rathkenny boys and it took a superb, last-gasp goal in the dying seconds of normal time from midfielder Stephen McCabe to force the game into extra-time. McCabe"s goal came at the end of a surging run which he finished off with a low drive to the corner of the net. There were a few moments agonising wait for Rathkenny as referee Peter McDonagh consulted with his umpires before giving the signal for the green flag to be raised. For long time in the second-half it looked like Ballinabrackey would do enough to claim victory. They were in front going into the closing stages of normal time despite having a player, Stephen Donoghue, sent off midway through the second-half. Ballinabrackey led 1-5 to 1-4 at half-time in normal time and they were also in front for most of the second-half despite the fact they were a man short going into the last quarter. County player Damien Carroll was outstanding for Ballinabrackey and the 1-6 he scored indicated the type of influence he exerted from play and place-kicking. In terms of possession Rathkenny had considerably more than their opponents throughout this entertaining tie. They were hampered by some wayward shooting in front of the posts and the 15 wides they clocked up compared to just seven from their opponents tells a tale. Six Rathkenny players contributed to their team"s win and the spread of scores is also significant and gives an indication of the large number of chances created. Jonathan Fox, Brian Lenehan, Cathal McCabe, Patrick McGuirk and Stephen McCabe all found the net for the resilient and fit Rathkenny side who took complete control in extra-time as Ballinabrackey"s brave attempt to stay in contention wilted. Some of the Rathkenny goals were out of the top drawer. Take their opener 22 minutes into the game. Stephen McCabe pumped the ball forward, Ballinabrackey goalkeeper Gavin Murray punched clear to Fox who despatched a shot to the net with the type of clinical finish that would have done Colm Cooper proud. In the opening minutes of extra-time Lenehan slotted home soccer style following good work by McCabe. From then on it looked like their would only be one winner. Colm Gore registered three points for the winners and he also spurned a great chance to find the net. Ballinabrackey never stopped working with Carroll, Danny Quinn and Vinny Connolly slotting over points with Stephen Cooney also hitting the net. All their efforts proved fruitless as Rathkenny came back to force extra-time with Stephen McCabe"s late individual effort. After that it was mostly one-way traffic. Rathkenny - D Crobie; R Lynn, S Lynn; S Crosbie, D Keogan, J Gore; J Fox (1-0), S McCabe (1-1); R Gore, C Gore (0-3), B Lenehan (1-2); D Drew (0-1), C McCabe (1-0). Subs - P McGuirk (1-0) for Drew, L Reilly for Crosbie. Ballinabrackey - G Murray; G Kearney, K Coyne; S Donoghue, D Thompson, S Stewart; D Carroll (1-6), D Quinn (0-2); V Connolly (0-1), A Munnelly (0-1), J Conlon; S Cooney (1-0), P Munnelly. Subs - W Lee for P Munnelly, J Lee for Conlon. Referee - Peter McDonagh (Clann na nGael).