St Josephs 0-08 Kilbeggan Shamrocks 1-18
Though the final margin of victory was comprehensive, it is somewhat flattering as St Josephs were very competitive in this game throughout and looked capable of getting a result certainly up until 10 minutes into the second half. Granted, Kilbeggan Shamrocks were more fluid in attack and once they got sufficiently ahead, they closed out the match in decisive fashion. In a tightly contested opening half, neither side managed a score until the seventh minute when Kilbeggan opened the scoring with a pointed free. A further score for the Shamrocks put them two ahead by the 9th minute but the next ten minutes were tit for tat as St Josephs with scores from Niall Moran(2) and Andrew Mc Cormack left scores at 0-3 to 0-4 by the 19th minute. St Josephs had the first of our three good goal opportunities in the 15th minute when Aidan Lennon's shot from close range trickled across the Kilbeggan goalmouth only to be cleared. A further Niall Moran point from a free completed our first half scoring as we trailed by 0-4 to 0-7 in what was a good game of football to that stage. The second half commenced in much the same vein with both sides swapping points inside the opening five minutes with Hugh Boyle on the mark for St Josephs with a terrific score. Kilbeggan moved 0-9 to 0-5 ahead in the 7th minute but the turning point came in the next attack. St Josephs put together our best move of the game in the 8th minute and when Andrew Mc Cormack went through on goals his shot cannoned off the inside of the right post and was cleared. It was an opportunity lost. Kilbeggan scored in their next move to go 0-10 to 0-5 ahead by the 10th minute and with three further scores from there to the 16th minute, our chances of gaining a win from this game had slipped by. Another burst of three points from the 20th to the 23rd minutes saw the margin move out to 0-16 to 0-6 as our challenge faltered. Two further points for St Josephs with Neil Keegans an impressive effort finished our scoring but Kilbeggan with 1-2 in the final minute and a half gave the scoreboard a distinctly lob side look. Lady luck certainly wasn't on our side in the goal scoring department as substitute Patrick Egan saw his punched effort late in added time skim off the line to safety. Overall while we are disappointed with the final result, there were many positives. We are at a crossroads in the development of the team with the mixture of youth and experience beginning to gel. It will take time to make progress but it is coming. Our next outing in the championship is against St Pauls on Friday 31 July at 7-30pm in Lakepoint Park.
Team: Andrew Meares,Neil Keegan,Brian fitzgerald,Enda Lynam,Thomas Moran,Brian Killian,Padraic Moran,Colm Mc Cormack,Wayne Mc Cormack,Hugh Boyle,Andrew Mc Cormack,Niall Moran,Andy Scally,Daire Lynam,Aidan Lennon. Subs; Michael Larrigy for Brian Killian, Pat Mc Cormack for Enda Lynam,Patrick Egan for Andy Scally,Aaron Mc Donnell for Daire Lynam,Darren Mc Cormack for Thomas Moran (all second half) Mark Mc Cormack,Jack Farrell,Daniel Daly.
Prior to the game a minutes silence was held in respect of Pat Keegan RIP who died during the week. Pat was a long time Kilbeggan GAA supporter who won Junior championships with Kilbeggan in 1959. Pat also played with Boher in the 1950's winning Junior championship honours with our forerunners in 1953. To his wife Betty, son Ronan, daughter Louise and his extended family, we in St Josephs extend our sincere sympathys.
Under 14's Win in Championship:
Kilbeggan/St Josephs Under 14's picked up their first win in the Division 2 championship with a 2-6 to 1-8 win over Caurly on Sunday 26 July. This team has had a good year to date but lost their opening round game against Milltownpass so this win was needed in order to keep in contention in the group.
Sponsored Car Wash:
The Underage Ladies club have a sponsored Car wash in Kilbeggan on Saturday 1st August from 9-00am to 6-00pm at the M6 Service centre so all support that you can give would be appreciated.
PRO