Kilcullen U21’s who beat Ardclough in Championship Q/FKilcullen’s U21’s travelled to Ardclough on Saturday for a championship quarter final after two months intensive training. Some big decisions had to be made by the selectors on the lead up to the match with such a big squad of 25 players at their disposal and the fact the competition is a 13 a side tournament meant there was always going to be some disappointed players.
It was a beautiful evening for a match on the well prepared Ardclough surface and Kilcullen elected to play with the hill and the breeze in the opening half. Kilcullen stormed out of the blocks and from the throw in Colm Byrne rattled the cross bar which was to set the early match tone and The Rags should have been 1-02 up after 5 minutes.
Alan Kenny eventually got the opening score after 6 minutes which served to settle the initial frantic nerves and Graham Lavin, Jamie Caples from half back tacked on additional points as the Kilcullen lads started to find their kicking boots.
The opening 20 minutes was all about Kilcullen but a barrage of wides and missed chances left the hosts with a lifeline after 20 minutes. After a slow start by his own standards Stephen Ryan got the game’s first goal on 22 minutes which opened a gap but a rare defensive mistake gave Ardclough their opening score, a goal on 21 minutes to leave the score 1-03 to 1-00.
It was at this point that The Rags really started to push home their superiority as Alan Kenny kicked another point before Thomas ‘Brown Bear’ Hennessy got his by now customary goal to put Kilcullen ahead 2-04 to 1-00. Superb defensive performances from Ben Phelan and Jack Dooley kept the hosts in check as Kenny, Byrne and Ryan added additional points to leave the half time score at 2-07 to 1-00.
With the wind and hill now against the Kilcullen lads the match itself was always going to be a real ‘game of two halves’. Stephen Ryan got the first score of the half before Ardclough got their first points of the match on 3 and 5 minutes. A lucky break for the visitors saw Ardclough deflecting the ball into their own net on 9 minutes but like a carbon copy of the opening halves opening goals Ardclough bounced right back to net themselves to leave the score at 3-08 to 2-02 in favour of Kilcullen.
Alan Kenny got another point before being substituted with an injured foot with Adam Phelan making his entrance. Unlucky to be left out of the initial line up Colm O Brien made his entrance at mid field in place of Ben Foran to make an immediate impact. Adam Phelan and a brace of long range points from Stephen Ryan cancelled out Ardclough scores before Colm O Brien rattled the net to leave the score 4-11 to 2-05 with 10 minutes to go. Tim Carey and David Sexton, making a welcomed return after months away through injury, made an impact off the bench late on.
Adam Noone from mid field got Kilcullen’s final score as the rags started to empty the bench and Kilcullen ran out deserving winners 4-12 to 2-08.
With only four players in their last year of U21 there were some extremely mature performances from what is a young team who have all benefited this year from a taste of senior and junior football.
Ben Phelan probably had his best game in a Kilcullen shirt at full back ably assisted by Jack Dooley, a pair of players who miss another year of minor by just a few weeks. Gary Kenny as captain led by example with another young man at mid field, Adam Noone proving a real star for the future.
Graham Lavin yet again proved a real handful at centre forward while Stephen Ryan was top scorer with 1-04. Colm O Brien was outstanding off the bench and has really given the selectors a massive headache ahead of the semi-final.
With the competition being a straight knockout The Rags can be content with a winning start but know there is a lot to improve on ahead of the semi-final.
“The start we got was a bit frantic but that was more down to the intensity the lads brought to the game as they were really up for it” said manager Kevin O Brien. “We have such a big squad that there were some tough selection decisions to be mad but the lads took that on the chin and those that came off the bench did themselves no harm today. It’s a very strong squad but also a young squad but I think we all know there is a lot of work to do now before our semi-final. To have scored 4-12 away from home thinking we could have scored more is not a bad position to be in.”
Kilcullen U21’s V Ardclough 24th October 2015
- Jamie Dunne, 2. Jack Dooley, 4. Ben Phelan, 5. David McMahon, 6. Gary Kenny (Capt), 7. Jamie Caples (0-01), 8. Adam Noone (0-01), 9. Ben Foran, 10. Stephen Ryan (1-04), 11. Graham Lavin (0-01), 12. Thomas Hennessy (1-00), 13. Alan Kenny (0-03), 15. Colm Byrne (0-01), Subs: 14. Adam Phelan (0-01) for Alan Kenny, 3 Colm O Brien (1-00) for Ben Foran, 18, Tim Carey for Thomas Hennessy and 21 David Sexton for Graham Lavin.
