St Kevins dismantle Mattock with plenty to spare
St Kevins 1-13
Mattock Rangers 1-7
Having slumped to a disappointing loss to the O’Raghallaighs a fortnight ago, St Kevins had the bit between their teeth, as they dismantled Mattock Rangers with plenty to spare to advance to the IFC quarter finals as winners of Group 2.
Last year’s finalists needed to win by at least three points to progress, and the Phillipstown men meant business from the get-go, as they led by 1-5 to 0-2 inside the first quarter, with Mattock Rangers’ defence struggling to cope with a dangerous Kevins inside line, with Aaron Khan, Tom Mathews, and especially Cian Callan in sparkling form, hitting a personal tally of 0-7 from 8 shots overall.
Having lined out at corner back in their defeat to the O’Raghallaighs, Aaron Khan was moved into the inside line, and his pace and energy was a major thorn in the Mattock side, with the man wearing No2 on his back opening the scoring for the Kevins inside the opening minute.
Defensively St Kevins’ made life difficult for Mattock Rangers, with men blocking up the scoring zone, which contributed to Christy Grimes’ side coughing up possession 15 times in that first half, with many of these turnovers emanating from a Kevins defender breaking up a Collon attack, with Eoin McKenna and Finbarr Lynch deserving major plaudits in that department, part of a defensive unit forcing Rangers to shooting aimlessly, with the Collon side only managing 0-6 from 17 shots in open play overall.
One such turnover saw St Kevins grab their goal moments after Khan’s point, with the direct ball into the lively inside line causing havoc, with Cian Callan and Tom Mathews combining to set up Lee Crosbie who fired hard and true passed Stephen Smith for his side’s major.
Mattock Rangers were forced to move the ball from side to side against an organised defence, with captain Ronán Kilbane getting his side off the mark after 5 minutes.
Minutes later, a free was converted by the tightly marked Liam Flynn to make it 1-1 to 0-2 inside 7 minutes.
More precise footpassing, following a defensive turnover, led to the hardworking Brian Callaghan of St Kevins converting from play, before more splendid shooting from Callan, propelled Thomas Mac Namee’s side into that 1-5 to 0-2 lead.
Lee Crosbie (free) and Pauric Bannon traded scores, before another wonderful strike from the lethal Callan, stretched their lead to seven inside 18 minutes.
Struggling to keep up with their opponents, Mattock Rangers sprung Ben McKenna and JP Watters from the bench. Moments later, a sweetly struck ’45 on a dewy Darver pitch from Aaron O’Brien, and a point from Shane Hickey who worked hard, made it a five-point game with eight minutes left until the break.
More pinpoint passing from the Kevins, saw Seanie Crosbie find Darren McMullan set up influential Cameron Maher who fired agonisingly wide from close range, but another Callan free left it at 1-8 to 0-5 in St Kevins’ favour at the break.
Second Half:
With Tom Mathews, Lee Crosbie and Cian Callan also providing outlets on their own kickout, the Kevins were spoilt for choice when it came to options for restarts, as well as direct kick passing to the inside line.
Along with Evan Maher and Seanie Crosbie in the middle, the three forwards were a big part of their side winning 12 out of 15 of their own kickouts. This led to two further goal chances which went abegging, but one included an excellent save from Mattock keeper Stephen Smith to deny Tom Mathews.
Following these misses, Mattock eventually made the Kevins pay, as a precise passing move of their own, saw Brendan Leacy set up the tireless Ronán Kilbane to fire passed Danny Crosbie leaving things nervy for those of a Phillipstown persuasion.
The score now stood at 1-9 to 1-5 with 20 minutes remaining, but St Kevins pressed on, outscoring Collon by 0-4 to 0-2 in the closing quarter. Scores from Cian Callan (0-2), Evan Maher (0-1), and Lee Crosbie (0-1) sent the Kevins to the knockout stages. Two scores from Liam Flynn was the only response from Rangers. They now face a relegation play off against the O’Connells. The O’Raghallaighs advance with the Kevins from this group.
St Kevins: Danny Crosbie; Eoin McKenna, Finbarr Lynch, Shane Meade; Darren McMullan, Cameron Maher, Karl Martin; Seanie Crosbie, Evan Maher (0-1); Brian Callaghan (0-1), Lee Crosbie (1-2) (1f), Dylan Maher; Aaron Khan (0-1), Tom Mathews (0-1), Cian Callan (0-7) (3f).
Subs: Paul Duff for Khan (54), Joe McArdle for Duff (57).
Mattock Rangers: Stephen Smith; Shane Maguire, Cillian Hickey, Ben Markey; Ronan Kilbane (1-1), Ryan Leneghan, Caolan Nulty; Aaron O’Brien (0-1) (1’45), Cathal Fleming; Shane Hickey (0-1), Alan Carraher, Pauric Bannon (0-1); Oisin McKenna, Liam Flynn (0-3) (1f), Eoin McCloskey.
Subs: Ben McKenna for Bannon (21), JP Watters for Maguire (21), Brian Corcoran for Oisin McKenna (35), Brendan Leacy for Leneghan (35), Terry Donegan for McCloskey (52).
Referee: David J McArdle