Erris epic bends to the will of classy Carey
Josh Carey was outstanding for Kiltane, scoring 15 points in their thrilling all-Erris championship clash with Cill Chomáin. Picture: Ryan Gallagher
Kiltane produced a remarkable second-half comeback to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against near neighbours Cill Chomáin in a thrilling encounter in a windswept Tallagh on Saturday evening.
In a fixture that was billed as just a final round tie to fulfil given both teams circumstances to this point, one key ingredient may have been disregarded; bragging rights were at stake – and with that, these two local rivals delivered a game for the ages.
Cill Chomáin, certain of a relegation playoff regardless, appeared to be firmly in control for long periods, particularly during a first-half in which they made excellent use of the strong wind and established a commanding advantage. However, Kiltane came roaring back after the interval and, having been eleven points in arrears at one stage, turned the game completely on its head before eventually securing their third win on the bounce.
And when the game went into stoppage time with the sides deadlocked, it was Kiltane talisman Josh Carey who once again assumed centre stage to deliver victory for the Blue and Gold.
The opening exchanges belonged entirely to Cill Chomáin who, playing with the aid of the elements in the opening half, came flying out of the traps and immediately put Kiltane under severe pressure.
Jack Healy opened the scoring with a two-point effort before Sean Irwin repeated the trick, Liam Maloney followed suit as Cill Chomáin took an early stranglehold on proceedings.
Kiltane were struggling to get out of their own half as the Cill Chomáin intensity and direct running caused problems, while the visitors were making excellent use of the conditions.
Maloney was particularly influential during the opening stages and it was the Cill Chomáin centre-half-back who was at the heart of their first major score.
A long searching ball was delivered towards the Kiltane goal and, after a scramble in front of Stephen Sweeney’s goal, the ball was adjudged to have crossed the line to leave the scoreline 1-07 to 0-00 in favour of Cill Chomáin after only 10 minutes of play.
Kiltane did manage to create an opportunity from a free, with Josh Carey registering their first score, but Cill Chomáin continued to dictate the contest.
Kyle McGuire had an opportunity to add to their tally but saw his effort go narrowly wide before Gavin McAndrew got his name on the scoresheet.
Kiltane were finding it difficult to generate any rhythm and were being forced into a number of difficult possessions as Cill Chomáin’s defensive pressure continued to disrupt their attacks.
Shane Lindsay's men did begin to settle, however, and a brace of two Josh Carey frees eased them into the contest.
However, with 18 minutes played, they were to be dealt another major blow as Stephen Sweeney's kickout was overturned by Gavin McAndrew and he quickly transitioned the ball to Sean Murphy who finished emphatically to the net to put Cill Chomáin 2-10 to 0-02 in front approaching half-time.
Kiltane finished the opening period strongly and were given a lifeline in first-half injury time when Ginnelly finished expertly beyond Kian Gallagher in the Cill Chomáin goal.
The score at the change of ends read Cill Chomáin 2-10, Kiltane 1-4, as the task facing Kiltane remained formidable, but not insurmountable.
They had been outplayed for large periods of the opening 30 minutes and Cill Chomáin had made full use of the conditions, but whatever was said in the Kiltane dressing-room during the interval certainly had the desired effect. They emerged for the second-half with an entirely different intensity.
Tommy Conroy got the second-half scoring underway for Kiltane, reducing the deficit while Cill Chomáin responded through Gavin McAndrew, but the momentum was beginning to swing.
Carey then took over and similar to their meeting with Hollymount two weeks ago, Kiltane hit their purple patch and outscored their opponents by 12 points to no score in the third quarter and subsequently turned a ten point deficit into a 1-17 to 2-12 lead.
During this period, there was little Cill Chomáin could do to stem the tide as the Kiltane bodies poured forward. Charlie Ginnelly led the charge with an excellent two pointer from play before Josh Carey added to his tally with a brace of frees and points from play.
Kiltane’s midfield partnership of Rory Ginty and Liam Donoghue were getting on more ball as the contest developed while their opponents were struggling to reproduce the intensity they had in the opening half.
Cill Chomáin were hanging on, but they continued to threaten on the counter-attack. They had already shown in the first-half that they possessed the firepower to hurt Kiltane, and Jack Healy and Maloney remained dangerous outlets. Yet for all their early dominance, Cill Chomáin were now being forced onto the back foot.
Ginnelly was involved yet again as Kiltane continued to attack, while Liam Donoghue also got his name on the scoresheet to extend the lead out to three points.
Cill Chomáin introduced Justin Healy from the bench in an effort to inject fresh energy into their challenge, and his arrival did provide renewed impetus as he quickly fired over.
David Coyle’s troops managed to edge their way back into the contest with an inspirational score from Jack Healy to cut the deficit to one, 1-19 to 2-15.
Josh Carey steadied the ship with another from close free but Cill Chomáin, despite having surrendered their sizeable lead, were still capable of landing the decisive blow.
And they thought they had done just that when Liam Maloney, who had been outstanding throughout, came forward to put his side back in front during stoppage time.
It looked as though the Cill Chomáin comeback story was about to have an unhappy ending for Kiltane.
Cill Chomáin had survived the second-half onslaught and, having regained the lead at the death, appeared within touching distance of victory but Kiltane had one more sting in their tail.
Up stepped Josh Carey. The Kiltane forward won a late free and made no mistake from the placed ball. The sides were separated by the narrowest of margins, but Carey was not finished.
Kiltane earned another free and once again Carey dissected the posts. From eleven points down at half-time, Kiltane somehow clawed their way back and snatched victory at the death.
For Carey, it was a fitting ending to a remarkable individual display. His final tally of 15 points underlined just how influential he had been, particularly during the second-half recovery. There were also hugely important contributions from Charlie Ginnelly, whose 1-04 included the crucial goal on the stroke of half-time, while Liam Donoghue and Tommy Conroy also got on the scoresheet.
For Cill Chomáin, Liam Maloney was excellent at centre-back and also finished with 1-04, while Sean Murphy also found the net.
Gavin McAndrew, Jack Healy, Sean Irwin, Kyle McGuire, Eoghan McGrath and Adam Conroy all contributed on the scoreboard, underlining the spread of attacking options available to Cill Chomáin. Ultimately, though, the game slipped away from them during a second-half in which Kiltane produced an outstanding response.
Cill Chomáin demonstrated in the opening half that they are capable of producing football of a very high standard, while the manner in which they battled to remain in the contest also showed character, a character that had been questioned after the heaviest of defeats at home to Parke.
It was a classic contest between neighbouring clubs, one which swung dramatically from one side to the other and ultimately required a player of Josh Carey’s quality to settle it.
Kiltane march on to a home quarter-final meeting with Islandeady while Cill Chomáin are left to regroup but will take encouragement ahead of their relegation semi-final with Kiltimagh.
But for those in Tallagh on Saturday, they witnessed a game that will live long in the memory.
Scorers – Kiltane: Josh Carey 0-2-11 (2tpf, 9f), Charlie Ginnelly 1-0-4, Tommy Conroy 0-0-2, Liam Donoghue 0-0-1.
Cill Chomáin: Liam Maloney 1-1-2, Sean Murphy 1-0-0, Gavin McAndrew and Jack Healy 0-1-1 each, Adam Conroy 0-0-2, Sean Irwin 0-1-0, Eoghan McGrath, Kyle McGuire and Justin Healy 0-0-1 each.
Kiltane: Stephen Sweeney; James Conroy, Shane Gallagher, Michael Needham; Owen Doherty, Martin Gallagher, Sean Gaughan; Rory Ginty, Liam Donoghue; Johnny Deane, Tommy Conroy, Charlie Ginnelly; Nicky Carolan, Josh Carey, Ben Donoghue. Sub: Ultan Corrigan (for Carolan ht).
Cill Chomáin: Kian Gallagher; Dalton Murphy, Seamus Mason, Lorcan McGrath; Joe Corduff, Liam Maloney, Cathal Doherty; Luke Tighe, Sean Murphy; Sean Irwin, Eoghan McGrath, Kyle McGuire; Gavin McAndrew, Jack Healy, Adam Conroy. Subs: Justin Healy and Kyle McGuire (for Irwin and McGuire 45).
REF: Colm Reilly (Crossmolina)
