Aidan Bracken Building Design Offaly SHC Group 1
Kinnitty 4-20 ....... Ballyskenagh 2-8
Kinnitty encountered few problems as they disposed of the challenge of last year's intermediate champions Ballyskenagh in the opening round of the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship at Crinkill on Saturday evening last. Goals from Stephen Molloy either side of half time put paid to Ballyskenagh's hopes after they had fought back from a bad start to trail by just four points approaching the interval. Those goals put Kinnitty firmly in the driving seat and they never looked back from there. An 18 point victory is a satisfactory way to start any championship and Kinnitty will be pleased to have got their first win under their belts but they will feel they still have room for improvement. They shot 11 wides on Saturday and after a good start let Ballyskenagh back into the game before the interval before pulling away well in the second half.
After coming back up from intermediate ranks last year, this turned out to be a baptism of fire for Ballyskenagh. Only seven of the side which started last year's intermediate final, started Saturday's game and of those seven, regular goalkeeper Alan Franks was switched to a position in the forward line before the start. Minus half last year's team it would have been expecting a lot for Ballyskenagh to have won this game and they faded badly in the second half as Kinnitty pressed home their advantage. Kinnitty started well and were eight points up midway through the first half but Ballyskenagh fought back and two minutes before the interval had the lead down to four points. Had they kept it that way to the break it would have given them something to fight for in the second half but a Kinnitty goal in the 30th minute helped them to a 2-10 to 1-6 half time lead and Ballyskenagh were facing an uphill battle.
The toughness of that task increased three minutes after the restart when Kinnitty scored their third goal and they built on that lead opening up a 13 point lead midway through the second half. Kinnitty were dominant at this stage and went 20 points clear at one stage before a late Ballyskenagh goal helped reduce the final margin to 18 points. Kinnitty had the majority of the side which lined out in last year's county final against Birr and they will be looking to build on this victory as the season progresses. They face St Rynagh's next week and that will be a good test as Rynagh's had a good win over Kilcormac/Killoughey last weekend. A tally of 4-20 is good scoring and 4-15 of that came from play, spread amongst four of their forwards. Stephen Molloy finished with 3-4, which is a great personal haul, the McRedmonds, Matthew and Richie, scored some fine points, while Odhran Kealey also looked very lively.
Ballyskenagh looked like a disjointed outfit overall. They only managed five points from play, with both goals coming from placed balls. Only one point came from play in the second half when their challenge disintegrated. They had done well to fight back into the game in the first half but that goal before half time was probably the one that really broke their spirit. The Kinnitty defence did well in general but there were some hesitant moments around the goalmouth. Paul O'Donnell, Liam Brewer and James Rigney hurled well in this area, with Enda Grimes having a good game in the middle of the field. Stephen Molloy, Matthew McRedmond, Richie McRedmond and Odhran Kealey starred in attack. It was a disappointing return to the top flight for Ballyskenagh. Gerard Delaney, Derek Middleton and Shane Kirwan battled hard in defence. Brendan Murphy played well in the middle of the field while in attack Tadhg Maher and Timmy Hennessy, before his switch to defence, did well.
Kinnitty got the best possible start with a goal after a minute. Tom O'Toole was dispossessed as he tried to clear by Odhran Kealey and the Kinnitty man finished the ball to the net. Brendan Murphy scored a good point from the left wing for Ballyskenagh while Colm Coughlan was on target from a '65' for Kinnitty. Kinnitty scored five points in five minutes at the end of the first quarter. Matthew McRedmond and Richie McRedmond got two each with Colm Coughlan pointing a free. Ballyskenagh were thrown a lifeline after 17 minutes when Shane Carroll was fouled and Alan Franks fired the penalty to the net. Brendan Murphy quickly added a fine point from 60m. Odhran Kealey and Stephen Molloy steadied the ship for Kinnitty but Ballyskenagh were enjoying their best period of the game. Tadhg Maher drove a shot over the bar and after Stephen Molloy pointed again for Kinnitty, John Dooley (free) and Timmy Hennessy were both on target for Ballyskenagh to bring the gap down to four points two minutes before the break.
Kinnitty then stepped in and a poor clearance resulted in Stephen Molloy gathering the ball and he finished it to the net. John Dooley and Richie McRedmond exchanged points from frees to leave Kinnitty 2-10 to 1-6 in front at half time. Three minutes after the restart Kinnitty raised another green flag. A shot from Richie McRedmond was batted out by Tom O'Toole. John Clendennen won the ball, passed to Stephen Molloy and he shot low to the net. Odhran Kealey pointed for Kinnitty before Tadhg Maher scored Ballyskenagh's only point from play in the second half.
Colm Coughlan (free), Matthew McRedmond and Stephen Molloy all raised white flags for Kinnitty before John Dooley pointed a Ballyskenagh free. However that was just a brief interruption in a string of Kinnitty scores. Stephen Molloy, Odhran Kealey and Colm Coughlan (free) added further points before Stephen Molloy ended a good move with Kinnitty's fourth goal with seven minutes left. Richie McRedmond and Matthew McRedmond added further points to stretch the lead.With time almost up Ballyskenagh won a 20m free and Alan Franks fired his effort low to the net. Richie McRedmond had the last say with a Kinnitty point, which left them 18 points clear at the final whistle.
(C) Midland Tribune
Team and Scorers: Tom O''Toole; Ger Delaney, Phil Shanahan, Kevin Tuohy; Derek Middleton, Barry Keeshan, Shane Kirwan; Brendan Murphy (0-2), Emmet Middleton; Alan Franks (2-0, pen, free), Timmy Hennessy (0-1), Tadhg Maher (0-2); Ciarán Kirwan, John Dooley (0-3 frees), Shane Carroll.
Subs: Damien Carroll for Phil Shanahan; Cormac Franks for Shane Carroll
Ref. Martin Walsh
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