Inters Gain Second Brace of Points
On Saturday evening, 25th April 2009, the Kilmacud Crokes intermediates played their second 2009 round robin championship game against Round Towers at Silverpark. Down seven points with forty minutes gone a win seemed unlikely but the Kilmacud team showed considerable resolve to eke out a 2-16 to 3-10 win and garner their second brace of points
A Declan Browne free from seventy metres sailed over to open the scoring. Towers replied with three of their own to lead 0-3 to 0-1. It was not until the twentieth minute a Kevin O’Loughlin free reduced the margin to the minimum. Within a minute there were two in it and when the Clondalkin team goaled following an excellent save from Eoin Dalton, not for the first time, it looked as if the game was going to slip from Crokes. In the twenty sixth minute a pass from Ronan Walsh was neatly tipped over the keeper by corner forward, Kevin Dalton, to bring Crokes back into the game at 1-4 to 1-2. Two Kevin O’Loughlin frees from forty metres equalised matters before Towers got their second goal to make it 2-4 to 1-4 at half time.
No less than eight scores were registered in the first ten minutes of the second half, 1-4 for Round Towers and three points for the home team. Very few bookmakers would have taken odds on Towers being confined to two points for the remainder of the game. Bit by bit Crokes made up the deficit with points from Declan Browne (three 65’s), Kevin O’Loughlin (two frees), Shea Gillen (at the end of a good movement involving Gary McMorrow and Peter Clinton) and Kevin Dalton off his left. Twice Crokes had the arrears down to one point but each time Round Towers stretched the lead.
In the fifty fourth minute came the crucial score. Kevin Dalton did the hard work before setting up Kevin O’Loughlin to finish to the net. Crokes were now one ahead, 2-14 to 3-10 and the game was turned on its head. In the fifty sixth minute another intelligent Gary McMorrow clearance found Kevin O’Loughlin. The wing forward made a strong run before offloading to his wing colleague, Barra O’Leidhin, who split the uprights. Two minutes later O’Leidhin returned the favour and O’Loughlin obliged to finish the scoring at 2-16 to 3-10. Crokes next face Setanta in Poppintree currently fixed for 9th May.
Team: E Dalton, G McMorrow, D Byrne, F Monnelly, E de Paor, D Browne (0-4, 65-3, f-1), N Mulligan, S Gillen (0-1), C Brugha, B O’Leidhin (0-1), H Gannon, K O’Loughlin (1-7, f-6), A Hopkins, D McGovern (0-2), K Dalton (1-1). Subs: R Walsh for C Brugha (15 mins), P Clinton for A Hopkins (half time), S McNicholas for N Mulligan, R Mangan, N Lillis, R Tighe, C Sheehan, T O’Sullivan, A Tiernan, S Canny and D McSweeney.
For images of this match click HERE or on the flashing camera above!