Kennedys get Gaels off the mark as Dalton's are denied

Lough Lene Gaels 1-23, Fr Dalton's 1-14

By Paul Hughes

Without ever showcasing the best of their ability, Lough Lene Gaels recovered from their opening day defeat to Castletown Geoghegan with a comfortable win over Fr Dalton’s in a low-intensity clash at TEG Cusack Park last Sunday afternoon.

There were nearly as many wides posted as there were scores as neither side looked anywhere near their championship best, with the Gaels, as expected, prevailing thanks to some fine displays from Aaron Kennedy, Marcus Kennedy and David Williams.

The Collinstown outfit burst out of the traps but with seven minutes to go in the first half, Fr Dalton’s cut the deficit to two. The Ballymore men failed to build on this and the Gaels tacked on three scores to lead by five (0-11 to 0-6) at half time.

From there, the Gaels established a comfortable lead and when Aaron Kennedy netted on 41 minutes, it was all over bar the shouting. When Fr Dalton’s raised a green flag themselves in stoppage time, it served only to take the dirty look off the scoreline.

The purple and golds got off to a flyer, building up a 0-6 to 0-1 lead within the first ten minutes thanks to Derek McNicholas, Shane Williams, David Williams (2), Marcus Kennedy and Aaron Kennedy, with Patrick Kiernan opening the Fr Dalton’s account after five minutes.

A rout looked on the cards but the Ballymore men settled down and gained a foothold. Conaire Martin had a shot deflected wide and Owen McCabe expertly converted the resulting ‘65’, and McCabe tacked on two wonderful scores, including a spectacular sideline ball, to reduce the arrears to two.

The Gaels came back with scores from Marcus Kennedy and David Williams (a free), but Fr Dalton’s stayed in contention when Martin pointed in space and McCabe converted another free.

A Fr Dalton’s goal at this stage would have set up a tantalising second half, but Eamon Gallagher’s charges lost the momentum and before the break, the Gaels raised another three flags.

Shane Williams could have had a goal on 24 minutes but his powerful shot went over the bar, while John Egan and Aaron Kennedy also contributed scores as the Collinstown men led by five at the interval, with McCabe missing a free for Dalton’s.

The wide count ballooned as both sides missed their fair share of chances but such profligacy came at a greater cost to Fr Dalton’s, as the Gaels went on to outscore them 1-3 to 0-1 in the opening 11 minutes of the second half.

Marcus Kennedy pointed superbly on the turn, and this was followed by a brace of dead ball efforts from David Williams, as the Gaels led 0-14 to 0-6.

Owen McCabe responded with a well-taken free for Fr Dalton’s that was initially waved wide by the umpires, but it provided scant comfort as with 41 minutes gone, Aaron Kennedy cut inside from the left to breach the green wall and fire a low drive to the net.

By the 50th minute, the Collinstown contingent led 1-18 to 0-9, with scores from Marcus Kennedy (two, the second coming after a magnificent cross-field ball from Derek McNicholas) and David Williams (frees) answered only by a dead-ball brace from McCabe. In between, Fr Dalton’s had a couple of decent chances but Noel Conaty, who had a fine day between the sticks for the Gaels, was equal to shots from McCabe and Jack Duncan.

The game was effectively over as a contest but Fr Dalton’s still had some hurling in them in the closing stages, outscoring the Gaels 1-5 to 0-5. Conaire Martin, Jack Kearney (a long-range free) and Owen McCabe (also a free) found their range but the Gaels continued to rack up their own scores, with Eoin Daly coming off the bench to puck three decent efforts, David Williams taking his tally to eight points and McNicholas adding his second.

However, the Ballymore men had the final say, with McCabe tacking on another free for his ninth point, and Connaire Martin sweeping the sliotar to the net deep into stoppage time amid a scramble for a high ball.

Scorers - Lough Lene Gaels: D Williams 0-8 (4f, 1 ‘65’), M Kennedy 0-5, A Kennedy 1-2, E Daly 0-3, D McNicholas and S Williams 0-2 each, J Egan 0-1. Fr Dalton’s: O McCabe 0-9 (6f, 1 s/l, 1 ‘65’), C Martin 1-2, P Kiernan, E Nally and J Kearney (free) 0-1 each.

Lough Lene Gaels: Noel Conaty; Daire Daly, Dan Higgins, Daragh Qamar; Philip Reilly, Micheál Daly, Shane Williams; Brendan Doyle, Jason Malone; Derek McNicholas, David Williams, Aaron Kennedy; John Egan, Tommy Doyle, Marcus Kennedy. Subs used: Eoin Daly for Malone (44), Jordan Williams for A Kennedy (51), Thomas Kennedy for S Williams (56).

Fr Dalton’s: Eoin Moran; Eoghan Bannon, Kenneth Kincaid, Liam O’Neill; Eoin Ryan, Jack Kearney, Ronan Hanley; Ciaran Clear, Conaire Martin; Owen McCabe, Enda Kincaid, Ronan McLoughlin; Jack Duncan, John Gilligan, Patrick Kiernan. Subs used: Ivan Smyth for E Kincaid (h-t), Eoin Nally for McLoughlin (45).

Ref: Barry Nea (Turin).