U-21 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 7-9 Claughaun 1-10. Our U-21 kickstarted their Championship campaign on bank holiday Monday with an impressive display away to Claughaun. Twelve of the players involved in today’s fixture were also involved in Saturday’s Premier Intermediate Hurling Final, so it was a very quick turnaround for those players, but we settled quickly all the same. A second-half hat-trick for Adam Butler and an all-action display from team captain Dylan Corrigan were among the highlights in what was an excellent victory.

 

Claughaun kicked the first score of the afternoon but a length-of-the-field move soon had us on level terms. Jamie Hickey found Liam O’Sullivan with a pinpoint kickout, who then linked up with James Pomeroy. There was some nice interplay between  James, Matthew Lucey, Liam O’Sullivan again before James kicked our first point of the afternoon. We then hit our first goal, Liam O’Sullivan sending a dangerous ball in from the right wing which left the keeper in two minds and it flew all the way into the back of the net. Claughaun did respond with another point before Dylan Corrigan kicked an excellent free from distance after Paudi Hartigan had been fouled.

 

Claughaun kicked another point soon after but Jamie Hickey launched another attack with an excellent kickout which resulted in a point for Adam Butler following some interplay between the lively Paudi Hartigan and Mícheál Cuddihy. From there, we powered on as we scored 2-3 in a row without reply. Dylan kicked another free after Liam O’Sullivan had been pushed in the back; Liam and James Pomeroy were constantly raiding forward from wing-back and posing a huge threat to the Claughaun backline. Paudi Hartigan’s movement was also causing all sorts of problems and when his shot came back off the upright, full-forward Evin Kelly was quickest to react and he buried the ball in the bottom corner after collecting the rebound. We almost had another goal a moment later when good play from Dylan Corrigan saw him set Conor Staff through on goal but his left-footed effort went just wide of the post.

 

But we were not to be denied a third goal and Paudi Hartigan turned the ball over in the Claughaun backline and fed Evin Kelly, whose shot was saved by the goalkeeper before Paudi reacted to prod home the rebound. Evin was proving to be a very effective target man, while the pace of the likes of Paudi, Matthew Lucey and substitute Liam Wilson as well as the athleticism of Conor Staff and Dylan Corrigan meant our attack was proving very hard to stop. We also missed a number of goal chances before the break, as the Claughaun goalkeeper stood strong. Some good play from Paudi Hartigan saw Adam Butler have a chance but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Conor Staff then linked up with Paudi Hartigan, who fed Evin Kelly whose low shot was again saved by the goalkeeper. We finally got back on track when Dylan Corrigan won a turnover in the middle of the field, had a nice interchange with Conor Staff before popping the ball over the bar. Claughaun did respond to our run of scores with two points of their own before the break, before we had another double goal chance, as both Naoise McGarrigle and Evin Kelly had shots saved by the goalkeeper. This left the half-time score: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 3-5 Claughaun 0-5.

 

Much of the plaudits were going to our attack and indeed, they did run up a big score. But there were also some huge displays in our backline, who kept Claughaun scoreless for 15 minutes of the second half which really sealed the victory, as they needed a bright start to the second half. The pace and energy of Liam O’Sullivan and James Pomeroy really supplemented our attack while the composure and positional sense of Lorcan O’Leary really held things together. Shaun Barry was similarly assured at the edge of the square, while Luke O’Keeffe and Jack Mullane were tigerish in the corners, beating their men to many 50/50s. We also had the likes of Naoise McGarrigle and Conor Staff really pressuring the opposition kickout, which kept us on the offensive.

 

Adam Butler and Paudi Hartigan again linked up together for the first score of the second half, with Paudi kicking a nice score from out on the right. James Pomeroy then brilliantly won a turnover and powered forward and there was some nice link-up play between Adam Butler, Matthew Lucey, Paudi Hartigan and Evin Kelly before a return pass was played to Paudi who buried the ball in the back of the net for our fourth goal. We then also added a run of points which would see our advantage extend to fifteen points. A brilliant turnover by Luke O’Keeffe in defence saw him feed Conor Staff, who also did very well to retain possession, and then set up Adam Butler for an excellent point. The captain, Dylan Corrigan, then delivered an excellent individual score as he weaved his way through the defence before firing straight between the uprights.

 

Claughaun had an opportunity to break our run of scores when they were awarded a penalty by referee Eamonn Phelan after he deemed there to have been a footblock. We needn’t have worried, however, as Jamie Hickey did brilliantly, diving to his right to make the save, with Luke O’Keeffe reacting quickest to the rebound. Matthew Lucey and Adam Butler switched the point of attack on a couple of occasions before Paudi Hartigan hit another point to bring his tally to 2-2. However, we would actually not score another point for the rest of the game and would go 10 minutes without a score before Adam Butler rattled in quickfire hat-trick. We perhaps tired a little and were a little less patient in our build-up which allowed Claughaun back into the game a little.

 

They score a point, followed by a goal, a deflection seeing it past Jamie Hickey. They hit another point from play, followed by a pointed free and reduced the gap to just nine with another point from play. But an excellent crossfield ball by Aaron O’Donovan stemmed the tide as Adam Butler raced through on goal from the right-hand side before rifling it past the goalkeeper. Claughaun did hit another point from play, but we would finish out the game with two more goals. Aaron O’Donovan again linked up with Adam and again, he made no mistake, dispatching the ball into the far corner of the net. Naoise McGarrigle then brilliantly claimed a Claughaun kickout, moved through the middle before releasing Adam Butler who rounded off a fine display as he pinged the ball into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper absolutely no chance. It was a hat-trick for Adam in about five minutes which really rounded off the display.

 

It was a great win for the U-21s to kickstart their Championship campaign, particularly since it came on a weekend where a number of our team had suffered a defeat in a final and we were also missing a number of players. It puts us in a good position to reach a City A Final, with matches against St. Patrick’s and Crecora/Manister to come. Well done to all involved; congratulations to the management team of John Barry, Brian Butler, Liam Hayes and Damien O’Brien on what was an excellent display of football. Our second game against St. Patrick’s was called off at the weekend due to adverse weather conditions.

 

Team: Jamie Hickey; Luke O’Keeffe, Shaun Barry, Jack Mullane; Liam O’Sullivan (1-0), Lorcan O’Leary, James Pomeroy (0-1); Dylan Corrigan (0-4, 0-2 frees), Naoise McGarrigle; Matthew Lucey, Conor Staff, Adam Butler (3-2); Mícheál Cuddihy, Evin Kelly (1-0), Paudi Hartigan (2-2)

 

Subs: Liam Wilson for Mícheál Cuddihy (20 mins); Cathal O’Shaughnessy for Evin Kelly (3 mins); Aaron O’Donovan for Conor Staff (45 mins); Jai Chaudri for Jack Mullane (48 mins)

 

ALL-COUNTY HURLING DIVISION 3: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 1-12 Pallasgreen 1-12. In absolutely atrocious conditions in Pallasgreen, our hurlers finished out their league campaign. This was a game that we needed a result from to avoid relegation, and our players delivered a huge effort to earn a result. It was very tough to go back into competitive action just a week after having lost a county final, and we were also without a number of players for various reasons.

 

The rain was constant, the mud was everywhere and the pitch was cutting up underneath as the game played; certain players were asked to play unfamiliar roles but they delivered a performance which they can be proud of. Kyle Hayes struck an early goal from play which set us on our way but Pallasgreen did hit back with a goal of their own before half-time. There were also some great scores from the likes of Conor Staff, Mikey Dillon and Tony McCarthy. Pallasgreen did claw their way back into contention in the second half, but Adam Butler landed a late free to secure a draw. It was also great to see Ruairí Maher mark his return from injury with a score! A huge thanks to all the players for their efforts throughout the season, and another battling performance in our final league match of the season!

 

CLUB LOTTO: There was no winner of this week’s club lotto held in the Corner House. The numbers drawn were 8, 9, 19 and 32. Congratulations to our lucky dip winners, who won €25 each: 1. Dan Kelly; 2. Tom Fitzgerald; 3. Paul Gallagher and 4. Pat Hayes. Congratulations also to M&O Fitzgerald who were the winners of our Bank Holiday Bonus draw! The jackpot rises to €3,000 ahead of next week’s draw in Clancy’s. Please continue to support the club lotto as it is the main source of funds for our teams!

 

CLUB LIMERICK DRAW: Disappointingly, we had no winners in the Club Limerick draw for October, after having a winner earlier in the year! However, there is no better way to support our club and show our players that you are supporting them all the way! Kildimo Pallaskenry GAA is very fortunate to have a number of players involved with county teams in both hurling and football across a number of grades. Join the CLUB Limerick Draw online or with any club committee member. Support your club and county teams!

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