Templenoe 0-12, Kilcummin 1-10.
Templenoe’s search for a first ever Intermediate title continues, after they were edged out by Kilcummin in a tight contest played at Legion GAA grounds last Sunday.
There was a large crowd in attendance for this Semi Final tie and it was Templenoe who played with the wind in the first half that opened the scoring through Killian Spillane inside the 3rd minute. The next 10 minutes saw both sides miss some chances and basically cancel each other out. Among the features in this period was a great defensive shoulder by Gavin Crowley on Gary O’Leary sending him out over the end line, to prevent a likely score for the East Kerry side. However, Kilcummin did eventually open their account on the 12th minute, courtesy of former Kerry Keeper Brendan Kealy who stepped up to land a free over the bar from just inside the 45 yard line. Two minutes later Brian Crowley with a fisted effort traded scores with Kevin McCarthy who cut through from the right corner, before a brace of points from Templenoe’s Brian Crowley, Cian Hallissey (free), Stephen O’Sullivan and Killian Spillane (2) put last year’s finalist ahead by 0-7 to 0-2 after 26 minutes of play. Despite gaining a grip on proceedings, Templenoe were dealt a blow on the 25th minute when Brian Crowley who contributed 2 points from play had to retire with a shoulder injury, although he did subsequently return to action towards the end of the match. Kilcummin finished out the first half strongly with Noel Duggan (free), Kevin McCarthy and Gary O’Leary all hitting the target to reduce their arrears to 3 points just before the interval.
Half Time Score: Templenoe 0-8, Kilcummin 0-5.
Kilcummin started the second half brightly with a pointed free from Noel Duggan. Templenoe had chances to increase their lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but they tended to overdo the passing, while good defending from the opposition also kept them out. Templenoe suffered another setback on the 35th minute, after Patrick Clifford picked up a knock and had to be replaced. Yet, two minutes later Killian Spillane did restore their lead to 3 points with an effort from play. Kilcummin responded with Kevin McCarthy getting his fist onto a high ball from Sean O’Leary to take it over the bar. Both sides were really upping their intensity levels at this stage and then in the 45th minute came the game’s most decisive score when Kevin McCarthy gathered the ball on the wing, before bearing down on goal to dispatch a shot to the net giving Templenoe Keeper Anthony Sheehan no chance. This put Kilcummin in the lead for the first time making the score 0-9 to 1-7. Although, they lost their corner back Chris O’Leary to a black card, momentum was now with Kilcummin who went on to hit the next two scores in a row thanks to Noel Duggan and Shane McSweeney. In between Anthony Sheehan had to make a good stop from Matt Keane. Having gone 16 minutes without a score Templenoe rallied again in the 54th minute with Killian Spillane and Teddy Doyle both raising white flags from placed balls. This set the game up for a tense finish. Noel Duggan thumped another free over the bar in the 57th minute before Templenoe in a move involving Sean Moriarty, Killian Spillane and Pat Spillane tried to engineer a goal, but the final shot was blocked. An injury time free from Killian Spillane did bring Templenoe back to within a point, but they were unable to win possession from the restart and with that the final whistle sounded.
Final Score: Templenoe 0-12, Kilcummin 1-10
Scorers:
Templenoe: Killian Spillane 0-6 (0-2f), Brian Crowley 0-2, Cian Hallissey 0-2 (0-1f), Stephen O’Sullivan 0-1, Teddy Doyle 0-1.
Kilcummin: Kevin McCarthy 1-3, Noel Duggan 0-4 (0-3f), Brendan Kealy 0-1 (0-1f), Gary O’Leary 0-1, Shane McSweeney 0-1
Teams:
Templenoe: Anthony Sheehan, Kieran O’Neill, Tadgh Morley, Mike Hallissey, Patrick Clifford, Gavin Crowley, John Spillane, Sean Sheehan, Adrian Spillane, Teddy Doyle, Killian Spillane, Danny Cahalane, Stephen O’Sullivan, Cian Hallissey, Brian Crowley.
Subs: Pat Spillane, Josh Crowley Holland, Sean Moriarty.
Kilcummin: Brendan Kealy, Chris O’Leary, Daniel Moynihan, Donal Maher, Sean O’Leary, Philip Casey, William Maher, Kevin Gorman, Kieran Murphy, Shane McSweeney, Gary O’Leary, Padraig Nagle, Kevin McCarthy, Damien O’Leary, Noel Duggan.
Subs: Matt Keane, Daniel O'Leary, John McCarthy
