Heartbreak for Bonniconlon as Kiltimagh pull off the great escape

Mayo IFC Relegation Final 

Kiltimagh 0-9 

Bonniconlon 0-8 

Kiltimagh pulled off their own version of the great escape as they won their only league or championship game of the year to maintain their status as an intermediate club for another twelve months, at least, in Swinford last Saturday afternoon.

Trailing for virtually the entire contest from the moment Jonathan Lavelle kicked Bonniconlon into the lead in the second minute, Kiltimagh hung in by their fingernails throughout and when the North Mayo men were reduced to fourteen players through a black card, and then thirteen through a red, the East Mayo side pounced.

With six minutes of normal time remaining they levelled matters for the first time all day through a Dylan Roache free and as Bonniconlon battled to get out of their own defence, Kiltimagh kept the pressure up and in the first minute of injury time they struck again for the lead point, a close range free from Tomás Keegan.

Almost immediately they won back possession and Roache kicked a point from the corner, the sort of score that you can only kick when the adrenaline is up and the game is tilting your way.

Bonniconlon rallied though and they fought to win a free at the opposite end as their season trickled away.

Ronan Neary converted the free and they pushed up to win the subsequent kick-out. Somehow they engineered another free but this time the swirling breeze caught Neary’s effort and it smashed off the upright, denying Bonniconlon a shot at extra-time, and the final whistle sounded instantly to end their long stay in the intermediate ranks.

It had looked so much healthier for Bonni’ in the opening half as they raced into a three points lead after ten minutes through Lavelle, Conor Igoe and Darragh Fox.

Keegan kicked a mark to get Kiltimagh off and running before Ronan Neary restored the three points lead with a cracking score.

Conor Gallagher and then a Keegan free reduced the deficit to a solitary point for Kiltimagh but two in-a-row from Bonniconlon forwards Sean Neary and Brian O’Malley handed them a three point lead with seven minutes left in the half.

Bonniconlon would only score twice more in the remaining forty minutes of the game however, and that is the reason that they are in the predicament that they find themselves in.

Kiltimagh tagged on one more point before the break to leave it 0-6 to 0-4 at the interval and they scored the first after the restart to cut the gap to one point once more.

Sean Neary kicked his side two clear again but in the 48th minute Darragh Fox was adjudged to have committed a black card offence and three minutes later, substitute Niall Egan was shown a straight red card for retaliating to a high challenge.

That was the break that Kiltimagh needed to kick on and the litany of wides that they had kicked in the preceding minutes did not come back to haunt them as they drew level and eventually took the spoils in a nerve-racking ending.

Scorers – Kiltimagh: Tomas Keegan (1m, 2f) and Dylan Roache (1m) 0-3 each, Conor Gallagher 0-2, David Lydon 0-1.

Bonniconlon: Ronan Neary and Sean Neary 0-2 (1f) each, Johnny Lavelle, Conor Igoe, Darragh Fox and Brian O’Malley 0-1 each.

Bonniconlon: Daniel Devine; Lorcan Conlon, Eoghan Greavy, James Kelly; Cathal Kelly, Conor Igoe, Conor Redmond; Niall Greavy, Richard McKenzie; Johnny Lavelle, Ronan Neary, Darragh Fox; Martin Rafter, Sean Neary, Brian O’Malley. Subs: Wesley Loftus (for Conlon), Niall Egan (for McKenzie), Thomas Walsh (for Redmond).

Kiltimagh: Jamie McNicholas; Jack Mahon, David Lydon, Ryan Carroll; Niall Mulderrig, Liam Kelly, Jack Niland; Donovan Cosgrove, Aidan Cosgrove; Conor Mallee, Stephen McDonnell, Brian Gallagher; Tomas Keegan, Conor Gallagher, Dylan Roache. Subs: Jourdain Cunningham (for B Gallagher).

REF: Shane Corcoran (Islandeady)