Kilcullen seal their place in JFC final at the expense of last year's beaten finalists Rheban
Kilcullen 0-10
Rheban 1-5
Tom Cross JFC semi-final
Kilcullen became the first side to seal their place in the 2016 Tom Cross JFC final after they got by the sizeable challenge of last year's beaten county finalists Rheban. Played under a blanket of heavy rain, it was a real team performance from Kilcullen as seven different players contributed to their rather low score tally, while they also had goalkeeper Alan Wright to thank for a superb performance on the day.
It was a game that was largely dictated by the conditions, and although there were some neat passages of play, those were punctuated by handling errors, loose passes and numerous stoppages to allow for physios to come on and give treatment to players who had picked up knocks.
It was unsurprising that there was just seven points scored in the first 30 minutes of action, with Kilcullen getting the better of that share and going in with an interval lead of 0-4 to 0-3.
They opened the scoring inside the first two minutes as David Marshall confidently stroked over a free from close range, but this was soon cancelled out by Dean Carthy at the opposite end as he dissected the posts with a free of his own. There would be no score for another 12 minutes, but that dour period was eventually concluded when Brandon Shaw curled a beautiful shot just inside the post from 40 metres out to give Rheban the lead.
Shaw almost followed that up with a goal soon after, but Kilcullen goalkeeper Alan Wright got down fantastically well to deny the centre-forward who unleashed a low effort from 15 metres out.
Kilcullen then leveled matters as Darren Barker slotted over a neat point following a quick exchange with Paul Jones, but the lively Dean Carthy responded with a fine score after he superbly claimed a high ball at the edge of the Kilcullen penalty area. However, it was Kilcullen who kicked the next two scores before the end of the half to ensure they went in with a one-point lead.
Colm Fox got the first of those scores on 29 minutes, before Barker fired over his second of the afternoon with a fantastic effort from the left wing two minutes into injury time at the end of the half. Rheban still found the time to conjure up a goal chance before the break as they worked the ball through a succession of players, but when it eventually fell to Chris Casey he saw his close range shot brilliantly saved.
The second half followed much the same pattern as the first, but it was the blues who got off to the better start with Carthy slotting over a fine score from distance, but Marshall quickly restored the Kilcullen lead with another point from a free.
Rheban then got the breakthrough that looked as if it could be vital in this game when Stephen Lawlor finally broke Alan Wright's resistance and found the back of the net. The midfielder exchanged passes with Shaw before throwing an expert shimmy and thundering the ball into the far corner of the net. That put them into a 1-4 to 0-6 lead, but they would fail to score for another 15 minutes as Kilcullen got their second wind and took control of the game.
They outscored Rheban by four points to one for the remainder of the tie, and it was a free from Fox that got their purple patch underway. Graham Lavin followed up with a good scored two minutes later to re-establish Kilcullen's lead, and when substitute Brian Bell fisted over a point from a tight angle it appeared that it would be their day.
They finished out the game strongly, with both John Whyte and Paul Bell slotting over scores either side of a pointed free from Lawlor at the other end, and they were well worth their two-point victory. Rheban's cause was only hampered further late on when Kealan McConville received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Franny Shortt, and Kilcullen used all of their experience to see out the game and book their spot in the county final.
Scorers for Kilcullen: D Marshall(2f), D Barker and C Fox 0-2 each, J Whyte, P Bell, B Bell and G Lavin 0-1 each.
Scorers for Rheban: S Lawlor 1-1(1f)D Cathy 0-3(1f), B Shaw 0-1.
Kilcullen
A Wright; B Fox, F Shortt, W Jones; P Bell, J Lambe, H Peacock; D Barker, S Byrne; P Jones, J Whyte, G Lavin; D Marshall, C Fox, R Coughlan(B Bell 45mins).
Rheban
C Byrne; K O'Shaugnessy, E Owens, D Kelly; N Brennan, D Lawlor, K McConville; C Germaine, S Lawlor; C Casey, B Shaw(J Morrissey 56mins), A Ryan; D Carthy(N Owens 53mins), B Foy, D Renehan(D Fitzsimons 38mins(D Byrne 60mins).