Kilcullen hold firm to kick off championship campaign with a win

Kilcullen 0-11

Tom Cross Junior Football Championship round one

When you only have one player chipping in on the scoreboard for the opening 41 minutes of a championship game you are always going to be in for an uphill battle, but when the sole contributor to the scoreboard goes off with an injury that makes matters all that bit harder.

Oran Bergin scored all three of Grangenolvan's points before the 41st minute, but he left the pitch for a 15 minute spell after sustaining a head injury, before eventually coming back on to kick two further points in the closing stages. That contribution wasn't enough for his side however, as a defensively sound Kilcullen outfit held out for a two point win in their opening game of the championship.

The early exchanges were fraught with nerves and a number of errors were made by both sides, which is usually the norm when teams line out for their first championship matches of the summer.

The early Kilcullen nerves were eventually settled in the fifth minute when Colm Fox struck over a close range free with plenty of confidence, while midfielder Adam Phelan followed that effort up with a neat curling effort that sailed over from 30 yards out.

Bergin got the first of his three scores moments later when he slotted over a straight-forward free, before immediately repeating the act with a much more difficult effort from all of 40 metres out. Both sides seemed very evenly matched at this stage as both defences looked extremely well drilled and weren't allowing many chances for their opponents.

The best team move of the game came with 13 minutes played as centre-back Jamie Lambe momentarily left his defensive post to instigate an attack which culminated in Mark Brophy sweeping the ball over from close range. Bergin again responded with a fine point from play after a good solo run, but the scoring rate dropped for a number of minutes straight after. That would also prove to be Grange's last score for another 23 minutes of action.

That barren spell was ultimately what decided the game as the eventual winners clocked up six unanswered points as they assumed control of the tie. Ronan Toft and David Marshall both posted excellent scores from play before the interval for Kilcullen, while Fox tapped over another free to send his side in with a half-time lead of 0-6 to 0-3.

Kilcullen started the second half confidently too, as they fired over three points in the first 10 minutes to kick into a six point lead that Grange would never be able to claw back.

Marshall got the half underway in some style as he swung over a superb point from long range off the outside of his left boot, before displaying his free-taking prowess with a fine effort off the ground from distance. A John Whyte point made it 0-9 to 0-3 in favour of Kilcullen, as Grange looked to be dying out of the contest.

It looked like the south Kildare side would need a goal, and they could well have had one were it not for a superb last ditch block by full-back Franny Shortt on Nathan Doyle's goal-bound effort. That chance seemed to give Grangenolvan a shot in the arm, and despite losing Bergin for a 15 minute period they managed to get back into the game before the end.

A fine long range point from Mark Brennan was followed by a score from Dan Leigh, before Brennan found the target again with a neat effort off his left foot. Marshall stemmed the flow of scores at the other end by converting a free, but Bergin cancelled that out with a point of his own upon his re-introduction. Another score from Colm Fox gave Kilcullen the insurance of a four point lead, and despite Daniel Mackey and Bergin eating into that with further scores, they couldn't find a goal that would get make the vital difference.

Scorers for Kilcullen: D Marshall 0-4(2f), C Fox 0-3f, R Toft, A Phelan, J Whyte and M Brophy 0-1 each.

Scorers for Grangenolvan: O Bergin 0-5(4f), M Brennan 0-2, D Leigh and D Mackey(1f) 0-1 each.

Kilcullen

A Wright; D Fisher(G Kenny 15 mins), F Shortt, W Jones; P Bell, J Lambe, R Toft; A Phelan, J Burke; P Jones, J Whyte, M Brophy; D Marshall, B Foran, Colm Fox.

Grangenolvan

W Clynch; D Lambe, J Leahy, C McMahon; J Daly, T Nolan, R Dooley; J Lambe, P O'Brien; J Lambe, O Bergin, D Mackey; N Doyle, M Brennan, W Dooley.