No joy for Longford as Killashee blow chance of a Leinster final spot

While Killashee failed in their bid to reach the Leinster Club Junior Football Championship Final for the second time, the Longford representatives have only themselves to blame as many costly mistakes were made against Fighting Cocks who produced a storming finish to emerge victorious at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday last.  

Fighting Cocks (Carlow) . . . 3-11    St Brigid’s Killashee . . . 2-9

The Carlow Junior ‘A’ Champions, thanks to a goal in the early stages of the semi-final clash from their outstanding young attacker Aaron Dowling (clocking up a total of 2-6 throughout the generally entertaining encounter), somehow managed to hold a slender 1-3 to 0-5 lead at the break as St Brigid’s were left to rue some very poor finishing.
Apart from shooting seven wides in the first half (as compared to none for the visitors), a couple of goal chances by Killashee were also missed with Tommy Killian having a point-blank shot well saved by the opposing keeper Darragh Byrne in the 21st minute.
Fighting Cocks were a lot more economical in the forward division and 18-year-old Dowling scored a deflected second goal with four minutes gone on the changeover, only for St Brigid’s to hit back immediately with a sweet strike from Paddy Mollaghan who planted a cracking shot into the roof of the net after receiving the perfect pass from Johnny Casey.
That left the sides all square but the tough battle turned in favour of the Carlow outfit when Alan Quigley landed a crucial two-pointer free in the 40th minute.
When Dylan Farrell was on target from a tight angle in the 54th minute, the gap stood at two points (2-7 to 1-8) before another scoring attempt from the same player dropped short in a wasted opportunity.
With 47-year-old Matthew Dowling after joining his 18-year-old matchwinner son Aaron on the pitch,
Fighting Cocks were determined not to let a memorable victory slip from their grasp against the Longford Intermediate Championship runners-up who brought on regular defender Ronan Kavanagh on his rapid return from injury.
In the space of a few glorious minutes, starting with a free converted by young Dowling in the 57th minute, the rampant visitors added another 1-4 to their tally which included a killer goal from Cillian Fagan and another two-pointer to earn a place in the provincial title decider against the Kildare Junior ‘A’ champions Grangenovlin.
That scoring burst left Killashee in a shattered state and the best they could manage was a late consolation goal from Dylan Farrell in a disappointing end to a long season.
Spurred on by their vociferous band of supporters, a well-worked goal in the 5th minute was a big boost for the Fighting Cocks who soaked up a lot of pressure for the remainder of the first half as Killashee became increasingly frustrated by their poor shot selection.

The absence of the long term injured Conor Clancy was a significant setback for St Brigid’s who were hoping to make the most of home advantage but were restricted to five points despite dominating most of the first half.
Paddy Mollaghan opened their account in the 2nd minute with Jack Magan, Michael Farrell (free) and Dylan Farrell (two frees) also on target while the points for Fighting Cocks came from Aaron Dowling (2) and Cillian Fagan.
While Dylan Farrell notched his first score from play to level matters in the early stages of the second half, another goal followed from the skillful Dowling before Paddy Mollaghan replied immediately to raise the green flag for Killashee.
A point apiece were then exchanged between the chief marksmen Dowling and Farrell before the visitors slotted over the two-pointer free.
Another Fighting Cocks score quickly followed to leave them leading by 2-7 to 1-7 and while the gap was closed with Dylan Farrell on the mark again, the fired up Fighting Cocks registered 1-4 in quick succession to make absolutely certain of their place in the Leinster Junior Final.
David Buckley produced a prominent display at full-back for Killashee but it was not enough to salvage the situation.

ST BRIGID’S KILLASHEE: Barry Geraghty; Shane Cosgrove, David Buckley, Keelan Cox; James Willis, Paddy Clancy, John Lee; Michael Farrell (0-1, free), Jack Magan (0-1); Colin Cousins, Dylan Farrell (1-6, 3 frees), Paddy Mollaghan (1-1); Tommy Killian, Johnny Casey, Niall McCormack.

Subs:- Darren Cosgrove for T Killian (48 mins); Ronan  Kavanagh for C Cousins (55 mins). 

FIGHTING COCKS: Darragh Byrne; Conor Ruane; James Hickey, Dylan Ruane; Billy Molloy, William Kelly, Billy Nolan (0-1); Cormac McElligott, Liam Sheppard (0-1); Trevor Watchhorn, Jack McDonald, Emmet Moran; Cillian Fagan (1-1), Alan Quigley (0-2, two-pointer free), Aaron Dowling (2-6, 1 two-pointer play, 1 free).

Subs:- Cian O’Byrne for T Watchhorn (40 mins); Matthew English-Hayden for B Molloy (41 mins); Matthew Dowling for A Quigley (51 mins); Moling English-Hayden for J McDonald (stoppage time). 

Referee: Enda Kenny (Westmeath).