Fleming drives Kinnegad men to crucial win over neighbours

Coralstown/Kinnegad 1-12 The Downs 1-6

Coralstown/Kinnegad continue to shorten their odds of lifting the Paddy Flanagan Cup this October, recording a satisfying win over local rivals The Downs in TEG Cusack Park on Saturday evening.

The sides were locked at 0-3 apiece after 25 minutes, with what would normally be a pulsating clash between neighbours hampered by inclement weather conditions.

Suddenly, it burst into life when goals from Dan Leech (Coralstown/Kinnegad) and Tom Tuite (The Downs) made for an exciting end to the first half, at which point the Reds led by the minimum (1-5 to 1-4).

However, in a near identical story to Saturday evening’s opening game between St Loman’s, Mullingar and Tyrrellspass, the eventual winners kicked on and outscored their opponents 0-7 to 0-2. In this case, it was Coralstown/Kinnegad who had Shane Fleming to thank for five of those seven scores.

Fleming, the hero for Pascal Kelleghan’s charges in the recent drawn game against St Loman’s, brought his shooting boots again, and The Downs had no answer.

Lar Wall’s men scored only twice more by the 53rd minute, by which time they still trailed by only two points, but Kinnegad – driven on by Fleming’s accuracy – consolidated their lead in the closing minutes and sealed the win.

Miserable conditions made for a forgettable first 25 minutes. With two gone, Fleming opened the scoring for Kinnegad after latching on to a tremendous ball from James Maxwell and attempting to lob The Downs ‘keeper Trevor Martin. Tom Tuite equalised for The Downs with a free, and the Black and Ambers moved ahead minutes later thanks to Dean Egerton.

Two well-drilled defences and the prevailing conditions meant that scores were at a premium, but by the 25th minute The Downs still had their noses in front after Tuite and Kinnegad’s Darren Giles traded frees. It was at that moment that Coralstown/Kinnegad forward Brían Cooney began to impose himself on the game. Fleming found him galloping down the left with an inch-perfect ball, and Cooney did well to equalise with a powerful shot over the bar.

As the game began to open up, Luke Loughlin restored The Downs’ lead with a fine individual effort, but the sides were level again moments later when Cooney caught a superb long ball from David Giles and shot over.

Cooney had a key role in Kinnegad’s subsequent goal on 28 minutes, climbing high to collect a long-range pass and, despite losing his footing, laying the ball off for the inrushing Dan Leech to net from close range.

The small attendance had barely caught its breath when the green flag was called into action at the other end. A rare defensive lapse from Coralstown/Kinnegad saw Luke Loughlin set free through the middle, and he unselfishly shipped to Tuite, who despatched a low drive to the net.

With half-time looming, there was still time for another score, and after a fluent passing move by the Reds, Eoin O’Brien divided the posts to give them a slender lead at the short whistle. Within ten minutes of the restart however, Kinnegad were well on top. Shane Fleming added two beauties – including a ‘45’ – inside the first three minutes, before O’Brien kicked another superb score off his right to make it 1-8 to 1-4.

Ian Martin pointed for The Downs with 43 minutes gone to remind the Reds that for all their dominance, there was still just a kick of a ball between the sides. Black and Ambers sub Jack Carroll reduced the arrears to two 10 minutes later.

However, their brightest and best stood tall in the closing minutes, particularly Fleming, who notched up three fine scores, taking his tally to six. The first, a 59th minute free off the ground, was followed moments later by a spectacular individual effort from the right flank.

Wayne Fox, who came on as a sub for Kinnegad early in the second half and gave them an extra dimension, also got in on the act, finishing off a magnificent stoppage-time move with a point from play.

Scorers - Coralstown/Kinnegad: S Fleming 0-6 (1 ‘45’, 1f), D Leech 1-0, B Cooney and E O’Brien 0-2 each, Darren Giles (free) and W Fox 0-1 each. The Downs: T Tuite 1-2 (0-2f), Dean Egerton, L Loughlin, I Martin and J Carroll 0-1 each.

Coralstown/Kinnegad: Stephen McNevin; David Giles, Daniel Woods, Jason Lynch; James Maxwell, Jason Macken, Josh Gahan; Shane Fleming, Podge Quinn; Eoin O’Brien, Darren Giles, Ciaran Daly Jnr; Dan Leech, Brían Cooney, Liam Daly. Subs used: Wayne Fox for Quinn (33), Ciaran Daly Snr for C Daly Jnr (42), Eoghan Bracken for L Daly (46), Callum Cruise for Leech (49).

The Downs: Trevor Martin; Darragh Egerton, Peter Murray, Éanna Burke, Oisín Raleigh, Oisín Murphy, Joe Moran, Charlie Drumm, Jonathan Lynam, Ian Martin, Liam Moran, Kevin O’Sullivan, Dean Egerton, Luke Loughlin, Tom Tuite. Subs used: Philip Martin for Raleigh (h-t), Jack Carroll for Dean Egerton (45), Trevor Fitzpatrick for Murphy (inj., 54), Oisín Loughlin for I Martin (57).

Ref: Damien Maher (Ballynacargy).