Kilcar continued their push for the league title as they ran out deserving winners against St Eunans at O’Donnell Park on Saturday evening.
St Eunan’s 1-6 Kilcar 1-11
By Jonathan Foley
Not the most exciting of games that anyone will ever see but a comfortable one for the Kilcar men on a night where their sense of organisation and clinical finishing proved too much for St Eunans.
Proceedings got underway with the home side opening the scoring when Conor Gibbons slotted over a free in the third minute.
For the remainder of the first half, however, the men from the Cathedral Town were very much under the cosh. Kilcar settles the better and after Mark McHugh levelled things up with a free of his own, the visitors took the lead when a sweetly struck shot by Ciaran McGinley sailed over the St Eunan’s crossbar.
Although Eunans got back level again, the majority of the opening half belonged to the men from Townie.
They hit four points without reply; two of which were particularly eye-catching. Andrew McLean broke through a fairly congested area of the field to score from a tight angle and that was followed up, almost immediately, by a powerful run and finish from Ciaran McGinley. Eunans did respond with an excellent score of their own.
Gibbons improvised superbly and with his back to goal, struck one on the turn that spun over the bar but as the interval loomed, McHugh’s free stretched Kilcar’s lead to four points. In a similar fashion, the second half was pretty much dominated by Brian O’Doherty’s men.
It certainly wasn’t one for the purists to watch but that won’t bother the league leaders in the slightest. Mark McHugh added another brace of successfully hit dress and even when Conor Doherty struck the net in the 43rd minute, it was already beginning to feel like Kilcar had the victory secured.
A point by Andrew McLean from distance added further to the tally and despite a late surge from Eunans, when substitute Jamie Doherty bagged a goal and a point late on, the prospects of a comeback never looked likely.
St Eunan’s: Conor Harley; Sean Ryan, Conor Morrison, Conor Parke; Brian MacIntyre, Rory Kavanagh, Daragh Mulgrew; Conor O’Donnell (0-2), Sean McGettigan; Peter McEniff, James Kelly, Conor Gibbons (0-3, 2f); Conor O’Donnell (0-1), Jordan O’Dowd, Eóin McGeehin.
Subs: Michael Miller for Peter McEniff (39mins), Sean Halvey for Conor O’Donnell (39mins), Sean McVeigh for Brian MacIntyre (53mins), Niall Hannigan for Rory Kavanagh (53mins), Jamie Doherty (1-1, 1f) for Conor Gibbons (53mins).
Kilcar: Eamon McGinley; Brian O’Donnell, Conor McShane, Barry McGinley (0-1); Barry Shovlin, Michael Hegarty, Pauric McShane; Mark McHugh (0-4, 4f), Ciaran McGinley (0-2); Andrew McClean (0-3), Conor Doherty (1-0), Paddy McShane; Mark Sweeney (0-1), Odhran Doogan, Daire O’Donnell.
Subs: Dylan O’Gara for Daire O’Donnell (46mins), Padhraic Carr for Odhran Doogan (59mins) Referee: Jimmy White (Killybegs)
