A failure to turn possession into scores on a consistent enough basis cost Kildalkey a place in the semi-finals of this year's Senior Hurling Championship and the opportunity to make amends for a very heavy defeat at the penultimate hurdle 12 months earlier. It will be painfully recalled by all involved with the Kildalkey club that Rathmolyon beat them by a whopping 5-16 to 0-7 in a semi-final last year - approximately 12 months after they had contested the 2005 final. That hurt, but there was an obvious desire to go places this year and they turned in some very decent performances in the divisional stages. Kildalkey were drawn in group B along with Killyon, Drumree, Boardsmill, Blackhall Gaels and Kilmessan and with the top team in each section going directly through to the semi-finals and the second and third-placed sides qualifying for quarter-finals, they appeared to have every chance of making it through to the business end of the title race. With Dave Foley filling the role of coach and Martin Carr and Mattie Murtagh acting as selectors, they commenced their group campaign with a match against Killyon at Athboy. When these sides met in the opening round the previous year Kildalkey won easily at Pairc Tailteann, but on this occasion it was much tighter as they shaded the verdict by 0-11 to 0-10. The teams were level on six occasions, including four times in the first half, and Killyon held a slender 0-5 to 0-4 advantage at the break. Kildalkey goalkeeper Gary McNally had made a great save to deny James Mitchell a goal after seven minutes. Kildalkey pushed ahead by 0-8 to 0-5 early in the second half, but Killyon recovered to be marginally in front at the three-quarter stage. The score stood at 0-10 each with seven minutes to go, but Padraig Geoghegan won it for Kildalkey with a superb point and they defended very well after that. Shooting difficulties were also a problem for Kildalkey in the second round of group matches and cost them victory against Kilmessan at Boardsmill. A tally of 13 wides did a lot of damage to their prospects and it was Kilmessan who made most of the early running, opening up a 0-5 to 0-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. However, with Noel Kirby proving inspirational at midfield, Kildalkey got moving, though they ruined much of their good approach play by hitting six wides in the final 13 minutes of the first half. A brilliant goal from Stephen Clynch helped Kilmessan to lead by 1-6 to 0-4 at the change of ends and when Nicky Horan pointed on the restart they were six points clear. Kildalkey were in trouble, but the introduction of Padraig Keogh to the attack gave them a lift and when he goaled they sensed real hope. That hope turned to optimism when Keogh then set up Nick Fitzgerald for a second goal and they were level with all of 25 minutes to play. Things got even better when Tony Fox (free), Padraig Geoghegan and Michael Potterton fired over points to leave Kildalkey ahead by 2-7 to 1-7 with 12 minutes remaining, but they failed to hit the target again as Kilmessan upped the tempo and scored the last four points to win by the minimum (1-11 to 2-7). To compound Kildalkey's misery, Maurice Keogh was sent off in the closing stages and Fox retired injured. A third round meeting with Drumree at Kilmessan appeared to afford Kildalkey the ideal opportunity to bounce back with a victory and that's how it worked out as Noel Kirby proved very influential in a 1-12 to 1-6 win. They conceded an early goal, but recovered to lead by 0-5 to 1-1 at the interval, before a goal from Nick Fitzgerald early in the second period pointed them firmly in the direction of the winning post. Kirby contributed a highly significant seven points to a success that kept Kildalkey very much in the mix for a place in the knockout stages. Kilmessan were on top of the group after three rounds with a maximum six points, followed by Kildalkey, Boardsmill and Killyon on four. So it was certainly all to play for. Dunderry provided the setting for a fourth round assignment against Blackhall Gaels and this game brought by far Kildalkey's easiest win of the championship when they triumphed by 17 points (2-15 to 0-4). It was always likely to be much tighter when they met Boardsmill in the last round of qualifiers at Longwood, especially as they were without a number of regulars. The final score of 1-16 to 2-12 in favour of Foley's men suggests a very close encounter, but that's somewhat deceptive. Kildalkey were the dominant team and led by 1-16 to 0-12 nearing the end, but Boardsmill hit back with late goals from Thomas Leonard and Eoin Dunne to set up a tense finish. However, Kildalkey held out for a minimum margin victory and a place in the quarter-finals. An early goal from Dan Fagan had given Kildalkey a good start and helped them to a 1-8 to 0-6 interval lead and they pushed seven points clear, before Boardsmill left them sweating with those late goals. That victory left Kildalkey in second place in the section on eight points from a possible 10, two adrift of Kilmessan who had won their five games. Killyon filled the third qualifying place on six points, but were eliminated by Rathmolyon in the quarter-finals. Kildalkey suffered a similar fate at Pairc Tailteann on the last day of September when Kiltale edged them out by 0-14 to 0-13 after extra-time. However, this is a match Kildalkey will feel they should have won as they hit 19 wides over the 80 minutes, including a host in the first half of normal time. They led by 0-4 to 0-3 at half-time and pushed ahead by 0-10 to 0-7 in the second half, before Kiltale battled back and Peter Durnin forced the game to extra-time (0-10 each) when he fired over a point from a '65'. Substitute Colm Kane and Nick Fitzgerald edged Kildalkey two points ahead early in the additional period, but Kiltale were back on level terms (0-12 each) by the second interval. Noel Kirby regained the lead for Kildalkey with a point on the restart, but they didn't trouble the score board operator again as substitute Cathal Sheridan drew the sides level and Durnin scored the winner from a 60-metre free. It represented a very disappointing end to the championship for Kildalkey and signalled coach Foley's resignation. "Disappointing would be putting it mildly," said Kildalkey's Brendan Harmon after the defeat. "We always seem to get so far and then slip up. We reached the final two years ago. It was the semi-finals last year and the quarter-finals this year. We could do with a break, a bit of luck. "But we missed a lot of chances in the quarter-final against Kiltale. I think we had 14 in the first half alone. You don't deserve to win when you miss that many chances. "Tony Fox and Stephen Forde were big losses to us. Tony injured his cruciate ligament against Kilmessan and Stephen got injured playing football. They were both severe losses to us." FOOTBALL REVIVAL Kildalkey fielded a football team for the first time since the mid-'90s in 2007 and were graded at Junior Championship level where they managed to hold onto their status after something of a struggle. The competitive season opened on a positive note when they scored a 3-5 to 0-9 victory over Meath Hill in an A League Div. 5 match at Bohermeen in February and there was big interest in how they would get on once the championship started. Kildalkey had been bolstered by the transfer of 18 players from Ballivor, including Dan Fagan and Tony Fox, while Padraig Geoghegan, who also helped Ballivor to IFC honours in 2002, spent a subsequent spell in San Francisco and transferred from the Michael Cusack's club to aid Kildalkey. Unfortunately, the injury to Fox robbed the footballers of his services for a spell. They opened their Junior Championship campaign with a 0-8 to 2-11 defeat against Navan O'Mahonys at Athboy and it was back to the same venue where they suffered a heavy loss (1-4 to 5-20) to Drumbaragh. That was followed by a 0-4 to 1-8 defeat against Slane at Bohermeen and a narrow 2-8 to 2-10 reversal against Skryne at Dunderry. It got a bit better for Kildalkey when they drew with Ballinabrackey (3-6 to 2-9) in their final divisional match at Boardsmill, but they were still bottom of group C on a solitary point and faced into a battle for survival. St. Vincent's had finished at the base of group B and they were Kildalkey's opponents in a relegation play-off at Simonstown. It was Kildalkey who ensured their survival in the junior ranks with a 0-11 to 1-7 victory, but only after they were forced to sweat it out in the closing stages. They kicked eight wides before they managed to open their account, but still led by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval. Six more wides followed in the second half, but they succeeded in opening up a 0-11 to 0-7 advantage as the final whistle approached. It was then that the Ardcath side struck with a goal to reduce the Kildalkey lead to the minimum and that set up a tense finale, before they held out. Sean Heavey, Nick Fitzgerald, Padraig Geoghegan, Eoin Potterton and Ger Geoghegan played particularly well and, after surviving in the grade this year, Kildalkey will hope to make a greater impact at the second time of asking. Tweet

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