Division 2, Round 5.
Tuesday 24th April, 2018
Kilmeena were at home to Ballintubber for this 5th round game of the Spring League. On a chilly evening with just a light breeze and a break from the rain, conditions were good for the game of football.
A game best summarised as ‘..........one that Kilmeena dominated for long periods but failed to make possession count on the scoreboard ‘
The Kilmeena lads effectively owned the ball for the first 25 minutes of the game but only had a solitary point to show for their possession dominance on the scoreboard. In fairness, the visitors weren’t exactly troubling the scoreboard operator up to this stage either – in fact, Ballintubber hadn’t troubled the scoreboard operator at all during this period.
And then it happens – the visitors lob the ball in the direction of their half forward line, find themselves in lots of space and a few seconds later, the ball is in the back of the Kilmeena net. Ballintubber then pressurised the Kilmeena kick-out and their efforts were rewarded with a further goal and 3 points. Kilmeena did manage another point before the small whistle to leave a scoreline of 2 – 3 to 0 -2 in favour of the visitors.
Aided by a slight breeze, Kilmeena began the second half brightly and notched up a couple of points to reduce the Ballintubber lead down to 5 points.
But the visitors, sensing the opportunity to bag 2 valuable league points, were not going to lie down and they responded with a point from play and a free.
Try as they did, Kilmeena could not get the scores that their efforts warranted. When Liam Moore came on in the last quarter, Kilmeena’s conversion from possession improved - Liam accruing 1 – 2 from play, in well taken scores. This gave Kilmeena a platform to push Ballintubber all the way to the final whistle but the visitors defended resolutely and in the end Kilmeena just couldn’t find that extra bit of firepower to alter the scoreboard in their favour.
The final score was: Kilmeena; 1 – 7, Ballintubber; 2 - 8
Next up: Breaffy away on Tuesday 1st May
The panel present this evening comprised of the following:
Cathal Cawley, Ben Lennon, Adam Sheridan, Tom Smythe, Sean Prenty, Ronan O’Donnell, Oisin Grimley, Chris McGlynn, Kian Moore, Mark Hastings, Jason McGlynn, Ian Murphy, Daniel O’Malley, Chris McNally, Jack Walsh, Cillian O’Grady, Liam Moore, Rory Nolan, Sean Sammon, Connor Sammon, Luke Garavan.