CLAN NA GAEL 1-7
KILKERLEY EMMETS 0-10
Kilkerley Emmets captain Shane Lennon landed a point from a free kick two minutes into injury-time to send the Intermediate Championship Final to a replay next Saturday night at Haggardstown.
Up to that score, it looked as if Mark McGeown's point 11 minutes from time would be enough to end the Clans' recent losing run in final, but they were unable to hold out in what proved to be a very disappointing final at McGeough Park on Sunday afternoon.
Throughout the hour both teams appeared to be gripped by the fear of losing and as a result the game never really burst into life. Even from the early stages of the second half, the teams looked as if they would be happy to settle for a draw and with neither willing to take the chance to force victory, there was certain inevitability about the outcome.
In truth neither side deserved to win and the large crowd that turned up for the game will be hoping that the replay produces a much better encounter.
The cagey nature of the game was obvious from the early exchanges and it was six minutes before Billy Smith broke the deadlock, only for Shane Lennon to level soon after.
James Fegan put Kilkerley ahead for the first time on ten minutes, before Clans, who were playing with the wind advantage began to get on top.
Robbie Curran equalised from a free on 12 minutes and straight from the restart his side won possession and Mark Newell burst through to score the only goal of the game with a composed finish.
Kevin Carroll pointed to put the Dundalk side 1-3 to 0-2 ahead but failed to press home their advantage as they missed a number of chances to increase the lead.
Kilkerley then had the better of the second quarter and with Lennon (2 frees) and Tadgh McEneaney pointing they had cut the gap to 1-4 to 0-5 at the break, with Conall McKeever replying for Clans.
The second half followed a similar pattern with neither team able to break free from the shackles to seize the initiative. Two long range points from Lennon and Cathal Bellew saw the game level at 1-4 to 0-7 six minutes into the second half, before McKeever landed a free to edge his side back in front.
Two well-taken efforts from Lennon and Daniel McKeown had the Emmets leading again at 0-9 to 1-5 and, with the wind in their favour, it looked as if they would push on from there.
However, the Dundalk men regained the lead after 19 minutes thanks to points from McKeever and McGeown and with the scores drying up, it looked as if that might be enough to bring the Seamus Flood Cup back to Castletown.
Kilkerley then regained the upper hand but this time it was their turn to miss chances but just when it looked as if they might run out of time, Lennon landed a free from 35m to send game to a replay.
As the game went into six minutes of injury-time, neither team was able to produce the winner. However, there was further drama before the end when JJ Quigley was given a red card, but his side held out in the final seconds for their fourth draw of the campaign.
CLAN NA GAEL: Gavin Neary; Kevin Carroll 0-1, Paul Gartland, Stephen Fitzpatrick; Robbie Curran 0-1, Paul Crewe, Leo Martin; Billy Smith 0-1, Ray McCabe; Gary Hoey, Paul Gore, JJ Quigley; Mark Newell 1-0, Conall McKeever 0-3 (3f), Mark McGeown 0-1. Subs: Stephen Coleman for M Newell, Craig Long for G Hoey.
KILKERLEY EMMETS: Rian Hand; Niall Mulholland, Cillian Mulligan, Alan McGeough; Neil Mulholland, Cathal Bellew 0-1, Ciaran Clarke; Ciaran Bellew, Andrew McGill; James Shields, Shane Lennon 0-6 (4f), James Fegan 0-1; Daniel McKeown 0-1, Tadgh McEneaney 0-1, Sean Hand. Subs: Shaun McElroy for J Shields, Fintan Clarke for A McGeough, Cormac Bellew for Niall Mulholland, Ronan Mulholland for A McGill, Conor Kirk for D McKeown.
REFEREE: Des McDonnell.
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