Match Report - Tir Chonaill Gaels v Kingdom Kerry Gaels
Match Report - Tir Chonaill Gaels v Kingdom Kerry Gaels
April 22, 2010
Tir Chonaill Gaels blow Kingdom away
Division One football
Tir Chonaill Gaels 1-19
Kingdom Kerry Gaels 1-4
By Tony Tighe, Irish Post
New manager, new players, same result. It may only be early doors in the 2010 season, but already Tir Chonaill Gaels have picked up where they left off last year.
On Saturday afternoon, at a sundrenched Greenford, the reigning league champions got their defence off to an ideal start with a ruthless 15-point mauling of a Kingdom Kerry Gaels side minus a host of players.
The disappointment of their All-Ireland club exit looks to be behind TCG, for whom no fewer than 10 players got on the scoresheet here. They simply ran their opponents ragged, the willingness of the half-back line to raid forward — coupled with the KKG’s half-forward line’s reluctancy to track back — meant the home side always had men in space, and how they took advantage.
What we were treated to was an exhibition in the art of scoring. TCG knocked over scores from all angles, with new Roscommon recruit John Collins excelling at centre half forward, scoring three points.
Collins and wing-back Niall Travers have taken over the Elphin representation from Conor Beirne, who is playing his club football at home this summer. And it’s a case of so far, so good.
Alongside Collins, David McGreevy and Kevin McMenamin were superb, with the latter the architect in a host of TCG’s scores. Brendan ‘Breaker’ Friel and Declan Alcorn marshalled midfield, while Paddy Callaghan and Stephen Boyle were able for anything KKG could muster in attack.
For the Kingdom, Ciaran McCallion worked his socks off without much reward. He did provide the assist for KKG’s goal, albeit unintentionally as his free came off the left post and fell to Daniel Downey, who scrambled the ball home.
However, Downey’s day would end on a sour note as he was dismissed late on after receiving a second yellow card for foul language.
And despite the stunning scores on display, this game had a dark underbelly, with Friel also departing for two yellow cards earlier on. A number of skirmishes off the ball took place during the game, with McMenamin coming in for some heavy-handed treatment.
Referee John Reape had an unenvious job as there was neither neutral linesmen nor umpires, making it very hard for him to cite the perpetrators, but the decision to allow play to continue while a row broke out at the opposite end of the field was an incorrect one.
With a patched-together side it was always going to be a tough day at the office for KKG, and their cause wasn’t aided by the loss of both Paul Kielt and Pauraic McDonagh to injury inside the opening half-hour.
It was Kielt who got KKG off the mark on three minutes in what was their first foray into the opposition half. But they were unable to shield the waves of TCG attacks at the other end as Collins quickly found his range. Alcorn then burst through from midfield to fire over a majestic point, but the lack of marking from the visitors was alarming.
Hughie Cunningham then galloped forward from cornerback to tee up McGreevy, and already the result looked beyond doubt. Alcorn fired his second point one minute before the break, before late scores from McMenamin and Friel put TCG 0-11 to 0-3 up at the short whistle.
With such a substantial lead built, TCG made some changes at the break with Sean Campbell and JP Boyle coming on — not a bad pair to have on the bench. McMenamin was taken off, a good move as the hits he was receiving were brutal.
Almost instantaneously, both made an impact. Campbell pointed within three minutes of the restart, before former Donegal star Boyle showed his true class with a free from outside the 45metre line. “Dropping short” was the call from KKG’s goalkeeper before the ball flew over with 10 metres to spare.
KKG were seeing more of the ball at this stage, but as they threw bodies forward they were left vulnerable at the back, and they were hit on the counter on 39 minutes when TCG raced upfield with Keith Morrow finding the net.
Downey did reply with a goal for KKG, and they were denied a second when Michael Greaney was adjudged to have picked the ball up off the ground.
Two late frees from Liam Gavaghan — TCG’s Young Player-of-the-Year — kept the imaginary scoreboard ticking over, and KKG’s miserable day was complete when Downey saw red late on.
Tir Chonaill Gaels: V Browne; H Cunningham, P Callaghan, D Donnellan; S Carr, S Boyle, N Travers (0-1); B Friel (0-1), D Alcorn (0-2); D McGreevy (0-3), J Collins (0-3), K McMenamin (01f); K Morrow (1-0), L Gavaghan (0-3f), N Quinn (0-1).
Subs: S Campbell (0-1); JP Boyle (0-3f); G Geraghty; L Gill.
Kingdom Kerry Gaels: S Howard; A Shanaghy (0-1), R McStravick, M Shanahan; A Murphy, P McDonagh, C Walsh; D McNamara (0-1), A Daly; P Kielt (0-1), A Kenny (0-1), C McCallion; J O’Sullivan, I Buckley, D Downey (1-0).
Subs: T Sullivan; M Greaney.
Referee: J Reape