Kiltane secure home quarter-final with a game to spare
Kiltane’s Martin Gallagher, right, sees his effort hit the back of the Islandeady net for his side’s third goal during the Mayo IFC Round 2 game at Bangor Erris last Sunday. Picture: David Farrell Photography
For the first time since winning the Intermediate championship in 2013, Kiltane have stitched together back-to-back championship wins and the reward is a great one – a home quarter-final in Bangor is assured before the final round of games.
Only Parke can catch them on four points and Kiltane have them on head-to-head.
But while there was a 16-point winning margin, there was no high-fiving going on afterwards.
“We didn’t put in our best performance today, but we still got enough scores to get over the line,” said Kiltane manager Shane Lindsay. “We took the ball into tackles, we maybe took the wrong options at times, a bit of a lapse of concentration at the back for their goal. There’s lots we can tidy up. We are capable of scoring, but it is all about taking the right option. We’ve a lot to work on.
“The forwards are only good if they work. Sometimes they got a little bit lazy there, probably got a bit complacent too,” he said.
But there can be no doubt they have a serious forward-line at their disposal and if they can hit the levels Lindsay is seeking, few teams will live with them.
Minus the unavailable Mikie Sweeney, the starting Kiltane full-forward line hit 3-12 between them and showed serious potential. Josh Carey hit 1-9 while Charlie Ginnelly and Ben Donoghue were lively in the corners.
Tommy Conroy impressed on the forty while they have two really good footballing midfielders in Liam Donoghue and John Ginty.
However, Kiltane’s attacks were a bit narrow at times, and they can be more fluid.
That shows you the natural ability of a team that still went out and scored 5-14!
Three goals in less than two minutes in the middle of the first half completely changed the trajectory of this game.
When Brendan Gibbons found the net for Islandeady on 15 minutes, the visitors took an unlikely lead, but they were not able to revel in it for long From the kick-out, Kiltane worked the ball to the right wing where Owen Doherty floated a ball into full-forward Josh Carey. A goal looked on with Tommy Conroy running off his shoulder.
But Carey demurred (arguably one of those wrong options his manager spoke about), stepped out and went to stroke the ball over the bar. The trouble for Islandeady is he underhit it and the ball dipped into the top corner past Marcus Moylette.
Islandeady got a short kick-out off but were turned over around halfway. John Ginty carried the ball deep into enemy territory, as he did all game, before offloading to Charlie Ginnelly to finish.
In less than two minutes the match went from game on to game over.
Kiltane had been the best team in the opening quarter but three wonderful points from play from the sublime Brendan Gibbons, a monster of a two-pointer from Bryan O’Flaherty and Gibbons’s goal, a rebound after Darragh Carey did well to smoother his initial shot, had Islandeady in a great position.
But those two goals at the other end changed the course of the game irrevocably.
Kiltane led by five points, took in a ten-point lead at half-time and finished 16 points to the good.
Martin Gallagher got their third goal, in the 29th minute, punching home at the back post after Ultan Corrigan’s shot from the left-wing dropped short.
It was 3-11 to 1-7 at half-time and while Kiltane only scored once in the first 20 minutes of the second half (a Josh Carey point inside a minute), Islandeady could only retort with three points themselves. They had a chance to get the gap back to five points on 45 minutes when corner-back Mossy Gibbons broke through on goal, but Carey got down well, low to his left to save.
Islandeady wouldn’t score again and goals from Ben Donoghue and impressive corner-back Owen Doherty buttressed the final margin.
No one will want to be playing them in Bangor in a quarter-final, especially if they catch fire.
