HARTE PEAT JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Clones 1-9
Killanny 0-6

It was only in the final 10 minutes of this gritty junior football championship round 4 game in Cremartin on Sunday afternoon last that Clones came to grips with matters and imposed themselves to the extent that they registered 1-4 without reply to work their way through to the semi-final. Played in blustery conditions this was a contest that bordered between the mediocre and the mundane but it was always interesting in that up until that final flurry very little separated the sides. Clones were forced to field without the services of captain Colm Connolly and John Jenkins was also ruled out and they sorely missed Connolly's creativity and score taking ability against a Killanny side that tackled ferociously and worked extremely hard. The strong wind that blew throughout definitely affected the course of this game in either half with Clones finding it difficult to come to grips with a Killanny side who crowded midfield and afforded them very little room with tight marking in defence. Tiernan Duffy, Ronan Duffy and Cian Wakely were often seen to good effect especially in the first half but ultimately it was a lack of firepower that cost Killanny and the fact that they failed to score from the 19th minute of the first-half for the remainder of the game tells it's own story. That is not to say they did not have chances as they did but too often moves broke down as Clones improved, their sporadic attacks resulted in players either taking a wrong option or dropping efforts short and one late attempt by Gavin Traynor came back off the crossbar. While Clones opened the scoring after six minutes they were playing second fiddle to Killanny for most of the first half with their defence which have marshalled by Colin McCaughey and Fintan Kelly having to work extremely hard. They struggled for long periods in midfield also where Conor and particularly Eamon Hoey won a lot of possession with the result that the supply in to the Clones attack was not of the quality or indeed the quantity that was required and that allied to some very effective tackling saw Clones restricted to a mere three points in the first half. Darren Freeman dropped deep in an effort to garner possession and ultimately Clones came to grips in the latter stages and once normal service was resumed Clones imposed themselves emphatically with target man Declan McKernan winning the vital possession, scoring the vital goal and setting up chances for those around him. Killanny's cause was not helped either by the fact that they had to make a number of substitutions through injuries in the first half and they also had to play the final 10 minutes with 14 players following the dismissal of Locky Byrne on a second yellow card. Adrian Alford opened the scoring for Clones with a point after six minutes but two minutes later Peter Dooley, who on this occasion operated on the '40, equalised with a point from a free for a foul on Conor Hoey. Killanny added points from Adrian Campbell in the ninth minute and another Peter Dooley free in the 10th following a foul on Campbell to open a two points lead. Darren Freeman pulled back a point from a free for Clones in the 13th minute but Killanny went on to add three unanswered points from Gavin Traynor in the 16th minute, a Peter Dooley free for a foul on Traynor in the 18th minute and substitute Eddie Walsh in the 19th when Clones had taken their eye off him as he was about to be substituted. Play became little scrappy at this stage with a number of yellow cards issued and the Killanny defence was still working hard with the result that 26 minutes had elapsed before Clones reduced the deficit to three with a point from a free by Darren Freeman following a foul on Declan McKernan. In the final minutes chances went amiss at both ends to leave the half-time score Killanny 0-6, Clones 0-3. Killanny had two early chances on the resumption to extend their lead but failed to convert and Clones were similarly guilty at the other end with the result that 10 minutes had elapsed before Kieran Kierans reduced the deficit to two when he capitalised on loose play. Further missed chances at both ends saw five further minutes elapse before Darren Freeman hit the point of the match at the end of a counter attack that was started by Ciaran Morgan after an effort from Killanny's Cian Wakely had dropped short to the Clones net minder. That left two points between the sides with the upright then denying Darragh Holland and another effort off target before Clones got the injection they needed when a long ball in by substitute Patrick McCarville broke in the Killanny area and Declan McKernan got the vital touch to fist home to put Clones back in the lead. Adrian Alford converted a free in the 22nd minute to put Clones 3 points in front and they went on to wrap up the result with points by Adrian Alford in the 25th and Darragh Graham in the 26th to open a five points gap. Killanny to their credit battled manfully and were off target from a couple of efforts while Gavin Traynor saw his shot come back of the crossbar before Kieran Kearns had the final score of the match with a point two minutes into stoppage time to leave six between the sides at the finish for a result that puts Clones through to the semi-final and Killanny out of the series. Prior to the start a minutes silence was observed as a mark of respect to the late Roseleen Shannon, mother in law of Colin McCaughey. Clones now play Cremartin in the semi final.
Teams and Scorers: Clones: Ciaran Morgan, Paul Connolly, Colin McCaughey, Michael Treanor, Declan McQuaid, Fintan Kelly, Darragh Holland, Ross Adamson, Fintan Cunningham, Adrian Alford 0-3 (1f), John McDonald, Darragh Graham 0-1, Darren Freeman 0-3 (2f0, Declan McKernan 1-0, Kieran Kierans 0-2. Subs: Patrick McCarville for F Cunningham.
Killanny: Caolan Duffy, Locky Byrne, Tiernan Duffy, Daryl Treanor, Cian Wakely, Ronan Duffy, Eddie Markey, Conor Hoey, Eamon Hoey, John Tumelty, Peter Dooley 0-3 (3f), Donal McArdle, Gavin Traynor 0-1, Adrian Campbell 0-11, Stephen McMahon. Subs: Eddie Walsh for J Tumelty, Martin Burns for E Walsh, Jim Peters for M Burns. Referee: Martin McGinn (Aughnamullen). Tweet

Most Read Stories