Kilbree 2-20
Kilbrittain 1-11
A GOAL at the start of each half proved crucial as Kilbree recorded their second consecutive win in the RCM Tarmacadam junior A hurling championship in summery conditions in Ahiohill on Friday evening.
When Ballinascarthy beat Clonakilty in the other Roinn 3 clash on Saturday, it confirmed that both Kilbree and Bal have advanced to the knockout stages with a game to spare – their clash on September 6th will decide who tops the group.
‘We targeted a good start tonight after our slow start against Clonakilty last time out,’ said Kilbree manager Timmy Byrne, as his side led by eight at the break, having built up a seven-point lead within the opening seven minutes.
‘We really went after the first ten minutes, and we got some good scores on the board. We were disappointed with the goal we gave away, but we responded well.
‘Darragh (Coakley) stepped in as free-taker and he did very well. We’d be pleased with 2-20 on the scoreboard. We went for the goal after half time as well and got that – it kept a good space between us for the rest of the game.’
Kilbree's Darragh Coakley cuts inside Kilbrittain's Eoghan Byrne to opening the scoring with a point in the RCM Tarmacadam JAHC round two tie at Ahiohill on Friday evening. (Photo: Paddy Feen)
Darragh Coakley, who was to be Kilbrittain’s main tormentor, opened the scoring with a point. In the third minute, Joseph O’Donovan’s 50-metre solo run ended in a belter of a goal. Points from impressive full forward Cillian Twohig (2) and Coakley had Kilbree 1-4 to nil in front after only seven minutes.
A lucky goal, when a long-range effort from Gavin O’Shea in the eighth minute bounced wickedly into the roof of the Kilbree net, was a real game changer as it got the Black and Amber going. They swapped points for the rest of the first quarter. Points from play and a free by Eamon Lyons were matched by points from Twohig and Martin O’Donovan. It was 1-6 to 1-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Kilbree regained control in the second quarter, as Kilbrittain’s tendency to foul under pressure was punished by Coakley’s accurate free-taking – he rifled over four points and Deasy added one from play in the second quarter. Kilbrittain’s only reply came from the strong Conor Ustianowski. It was 1-11 to 1-3 at half time.
Kilbree went for the jugular at the start of the second half and Kilbrittain goalkeeper Eoin McCarthy had to save smartly in the first minute. Two minutes later he could do nothing as Twohig hammered the rebound to the net after another brilliant save by the keeper from Don McCarthy. Eleven points to the good, Kilbree kept the pressure on as Coakley pointed twice from play, followed by a Twohig white flag. Kilbrittain’s only reply was a point from Dec Harrington.
Kilbree's Don McCarthy defending against Kilbrittain's Gavin O'Shea. (Photo: Paddy Feen)
Kilbree’s play began to get a little sloppy at that stage and Kilbrittain fought their way back into the game. Points from Lyons and Ustianowski sandwiched a point from Don McCarthy and it was 2-15 to 1-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Kilbrittain upped the pressure in the last quarter but found it hard to make headway against a solid Kilbree defence in which Joe Bailey, Shane O’Donovan, Kevin Keohane and Dylan Coffey were all impressive.
The Black and Amber were over-reliant on points from frees by Eamon Lyons, three in all, while Ustianowski had their only point from play. Meanwhile, Kilbree continued to pick off points with Joseph O’Donovan, Twohig, Coakley, free, Martin O’Donovan and impressive sub Jim Shanahan all finding the target.
OUR STAR: Special mention for Cillian Twohig and Brian Deasy of Kilbree, as well as Gavin O’Shea for Kilbrittain, but it was the classy hurling and pin-point accuracy of Darragh Coakley that stood out, scoring nine points.
Scorers - Kilbree: Darragh Coakley 0-9 (5f); Cillian Twohig 1-5; Joseph O’Donovan 1-1; Martin O’Donovan 0-2; Brian Deasy, Don McCarthy, Jim Shanahan 0-1 each. Kilbrittain: Eamon Lyons 0-7 (6f); Gavin O’Shea 1-0; Conor Ustianowski 0-3; Dec Harrington 0-1.
Kilbree: William Tyner; Joe Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Cian Murphy; Shane O’Donovan, Kevin Keohane, Dylan Coffey; Brian Deasy, Michael D. Keohane; Don McCarthy, Joseph O’Donovan, Martin O’Donovan; Eamon Shanahan, Cillian Twohig, Darragh Coakley. Subs: Liam Daly for D McCarthy (44), Jim Shanahan for E Shanahan (47), Oisín O’Sullivan for D Coffey (50), Eamon Shanahan for J O’Donovan.
Kilbrittain: Eoin McCarthy; Charlie Kenny, John Murphy, Adam Griffin; Ivan Burke, James O’Donovan, Eoghan Byrne; Séamus O’Sullivan, Gavin O’Shea; Paudie Brennan, Keith Hunt, Conor Ustianowski; Eamon Lyons, Cian O’Leary, James Ahern. Subs: Mark O’Shea for K Hunt (ht), Micolaj Kalitka for J Murphy (41), Gavin Kenny for S O’Sullivan (50), Cillian Harrington for E Byrne (58).
Referee: Alan Long (Argideen Rangers).
