St Kevin's blaze past Muckalee in Leinster Junior Championship opener

St Kevin’s reached the quarter-finals of the AIB Leinster Club Junior Football Championship with a convincing win over Muckalee in Manguard Park, Hawkfield.

The Kilkenny Intermediate champions grabbed the first possession and were first to take aim at the posts but it was little more than a minute before St Kevin's had found the net. It was a moment of individual inspiration with Mark Grace seizing the space in front of him, beating two men, before blasting the ball into the roof of the net off the underside of the crossbar.

Kevin’s arrived into this game two weeks after their brilliant battle with Cappagh in the Kildare final but this Leinster JFC opener was Muckalee’s first competitive fixture since their county final victory over Piltown back on May 1.

Muckalee shook off the cobwebs and got the gap back to one in quick order with back-to-back frees. Sean Hunt struck first off the deck with Adam Morrissey’s left foot delivering the second.

The visitors had raised two white flags but the Kildare champions raised a second green one in the seventh minute after a brilliant team move. St Kevin’s put together a slick seven-pass sequence up the pitch which finished with Declan O’Flaherty setting up Kevin Ward to find the net.

Jamie O’Brien was denied the leading side’s third goal moments later but James Ralph struck a wonderful two-pointer to give St Kevin's a 2-2 to 0-2 lead at the 10-minute mark.

Kevin Ward continued his starring role in the first half with a point from out wide and his second goal with a finish to rival Grace’s blast in the opening minute as he found the far bottom corner with a superb effort following a Kevin McNamee turnover.

Michael Ruane doubled Muckalee’s tally with an elegantly struck two-point free which left his team eight back with 20 minutes played.

Kevin Ward pointed again and brought his tally to 2-2 after 22 minutes, he raised yet another white flag just another couple later.

Jamie O’Brien picked up Kevin’s fourth goal and, after being slipped in by Jamie Smyth, he found the roof of Kenneth O’Malley’s net. The Muckalee ‘keeper, who played a starring role in Mayo’s 2006 U21 championship win, was exemplary on the day with little he could do about Kevin’s goal-scoring habits.

Kevin Ward picked his side's final score of the half. He went in at the interval with 2-4, half of his side’s first half tally.

Michael Ruane put over his second two-point free for Muckalee to bring his team’s total to six points with none of those coming from open play. St Kevin’s led 4-8 to 0-6 at the break.

James Ralph restarted the scoring after the break with a well-taken free which was matched at the other end by Jamie Morrissey who registered Muckalee’s first from play.

Kevin Ward furthered his tally next but it was then time for Muckalee to find the net in the Milltown end of Hawkfield. A goalline scramble ended with a stray leg from a man in green and yellow being able to slide the ball into the path of Cormac Quirke who tapped into an empty net.

Cormac Noone picked up a second point and James Ralph his fifth before Muckalee found the net again. Micháel Keane found his captain Tadgh Gill in space who sidestepped one before drilling past Keith Fitzharris to make this game 4-12 to 2-7 after 38 minutes.

The goals were sloppy concessions early in the second half for St Kevin’s but to their credit the Kildare champs reassumed control after Muckalee’s second green flag.

Declan O’Flaherty, substitute Conor Brady and Man of the Match Kevin Ward added points before Mark Grace added to his earlier goal with a fine curling score from outside the arc. Grace’s orange flag meant St Kevin’s led 4-17 to 2-8 with 15 minutes to go.

Unsurprisingly the tide did not shift dramatically in the final quarter but Muckalee were tireless in their efforts to increase their half of the scoreboard. St Kevin's meanwhile continued to exercise their evident superior quality.

The Kildare Junior champions progressed in their province after a 4-20 to 2-10 win over Muckalee.

St Kevin’s: Kevin Ward 2-7, James Ralph 0-5 (0-1 frees, 1 x 2pt), Mark Grace 1-2 (1 x 2pt), Jamie O’Brien 1-1, Cormac Noone 0-2, Conor Brady 0-2 (0-2 frees), Declan O’Flaherty 0-1.

Muckalee: Michael Ruane 0-6 (0-6 frees, 3 x 2ptf), Cormac Quirke 1-0, Tadgh Gill 1-0, James O’Neill 0-1, Sean Hunt 0-1 (0-1 frees), Adam Morrissey 0-1 (0-1 frees), Jamie Morrissey 0-1.

ST KEVIN’S: Keith Fitzharris; Enda Keane, Diarmuid Smyth, Alan Bennett; Niall Keane, Mark Grace, Kevin McNamee; Jamie Smyth, James Ralph; Jamie O’Brien, Dylan Brereton, Tom Barron; Kevin Ward, Declan O’Flaherty, Cormac Noone. Subs: Josh O’Brien for Alan Bennett (36 minutes), Conor Brady for Tom Barron (36 minutes), Daragh O’Haire for Kevin McNamee (48 minutes), Cillian Casey for Cormac Noone (48 minutes), Ben Fitzharris for Kevin Ward (54 minutes).

MUCKALEE: Kenneth O’Malley; Noel Darcy, Paddy Nolan, Bill Dowling; Jamie Morrissey, Tadgh Gill, Matthew Bolger; Micháel Keane, Cathal Keegan; Cormac Quirke, Sean Hunt, Ollie Walsh; Adam Morrissey, James O’Neill, Michael Ruane. Subs: Aaron Farrell for Bill Dowling (Half-time), Bryan Byrne for Cormac Quirke (36 minutes), Daniel Comerford for Ollie Walsh (42 minutes), Tom Shore for Jamie Morrissey (55 minutes).

Referee: Lar Murphy