Kilcullen edge by Ballymore Eustace to stride confidently into IFC quarter-finals

Ballymore Eustace 0-9

Kilcullen 1-11 Pittman Traffic & Safety IFC Group D round three Kilcullen were already assured of their place in the county quarter-final ahead of this clash, but they managed to maintain their momentum on Friday night as they edged by the challenge of Ballymore Eustace in Ballyteague. The losers had already been consigned to a relegation battle after losing their opening two games in the group games to Nurney and Kill, but they put in a spirited showing here as they stayed in the hunt right to the end. The scoreline flatters Kilcullen a little as they only pulled away near the end thanks to a stoppage time goal from substitute Sean Hurley. Darren Barker got Kilcullen up and running when he skipped through to clip over an excellent score on the run, while two minutes later Ballymore Eustace opened their own account as William O'Donoghue stroked over a free confidently a couple of minutes later. David Marshall and Shane Barrett then traded scores from frees as neither side could really wrestle control of the tie, but Kilcullen started to gain a stranglehold on proceedings after that as their lively attack began to click. Enda Dowling floated over a superb point for the Rags to push them into the lead, while Shay Pembroke smacked over a score from a free to double that advantage. Ballymore Eustace actually struck the post twice in quick succession before Michael Stewart Byrne did eventually raise a white flag with a today effort midway through the half. Pembroke struck back with another point from a free, before Marshall did likewise as Kilcullen made their dominance pay. Barrett responded with a point from a free for Ballymore Eustace, but Pembroke curled over a beautiful effort shortly before the break to leave the scores at 0-7 to 0-5 at the turnaround. Ballymore Eustace immediately bit into their opponent's lead after the restart as a blistering counter-attack started by defender Mark Barrett was excellently finished by Enda Stewart Byrne who sliced over an exquisite score from the right wing. The Rags responded well as they benefitted from being awarded a couple of fairly questionable frees, and Pembroke and Marshall punished their opponents by splitting the posts. Ballymore Eustace hit a purple patch then as a dour second half became a war of attrition, and they began to claw their way back into the tie. Barrett slotted over another point from a free before Joshua Burke Hayes floated over another couple of scores from placed balls to narrow the gap to just one. Marshall settled his side down when landing a brilliant point from a free, before Hurley made his late impact to settle the game. Scorers for BME: S Barrett 0-3f, J Burke Hayes 0-2f, W O'Donoghue (1f), E Stewart Byrne, M Barrett and M Stewart Byrne 0-1 each. Scorers for Kilcullen: D Marshall(4f) and S Pembroke(3f) 0-4 each, S Hurley 1-1 D Barker and E Dowling 0-1 each. Ballymore Eustace Patrick Murphy; Patrick Langan, Jordan Keegan, Tom Murphy; Sean McNally, Mark Barrett, John Doyle; Tadgh Grace, Enda Stewart Byrne; Michael Stewart Byrne, Shane Kavanagh, Shane Barrett; Aaron Deegan, Joshua Burke, Mark Slevin. Subs used: Mark Slevin for Doyle 20mins, Mark McCarville for Deegan HT, Niall Murphy for Slevin 45mins. Kilcullen Alan Wright; Jack Dooley, Francis Shortt, Tim Carey; Ronan Toft, Graham Lavin, Howard Peacock; Sean Fitzgerald, Ben Foran; David Marshall, David Neil, Paul Bell; Darren Barker, Enda Dowling, Shay Pembroke. Subs used: Steven Ryan for Lavin 20mins, Sean Hurley for Dowling 55mins.