Allenwood get the better of Kilcullen, eventually
IFC pre-Quarter Final
Allenwood 2-15
Kilcullen 4-6
Kilcullen made Allenwood go to the well on more than one occasion before eventually securing their place in the quarter final of the Auld Shebeen Athy IFC where they will meet near neighbours Caragh. They came from 3 down after 32 minutes and they had to come from four points down midway through the second half to overcome a Kilcullen side who gave their more fancied opponents plenty of food for thought before the Caragh encounter.
After the previous weeks sunshine this felt more like January and with the persistent rain and wind it made for difficult conditions for the players.They adjusted well to provide a decent contest and with Ciaran O'Brien of Kilcullen hitting 3-1 and Aaron Dunne of Allenwood hitting 2-4 we witnessed two brilliant individual performances.
David Marshall, who was to the forefront of a lot of Kilcullen's play, opened the scoring with a first minute point from a free.
Allenwood were setting in and they hit the next four scores to open a three point gap. Aaron Dunne, firstly from a free, and then two points from play were quickly followed by a Johnny Doyle free.
From Cormac Barker's restart Kilcullen responded with their opening goal. Barker found Sean Knight from the kickout and his transfer to Jamie Buckley saw him in enough space to fire to the Allenwood net.
Cormac Denagher and a David Marshall free maintained party as we entered the closing 7 minutes of the half.
Both sides were guilty of some wayward shooting but Kilcullen were next to strike with the first of Ciaran O'Brien's three goals. Finding himself on the end of Robbie Lee's pass he slotted home calmly to open a three point gap and it was no less than they deserved for their endeavours.With the clock on 29 Kilcullen let their concentration slip and when Eoin Bagnall found an unmarked Aaron Dunne he fisted to the net before Cormac Barker could react.
As Conor Daly blew for half time both sides went to the dressing rooms level at Allenwood 1-5 to 2-2 for Kilcullen and still all to play for.
Ciaran O'Brien gave Kilcullen the perfect start to the second half.Sean Knight won the throw in and as he looked up he played a beautiful pass to the corner forward and his low centre of gravity took him past Sean Moran to fire past Stephen Carey.
Kilcullen would go 10 minutes without a score as Allenwood recovered from the shock of the Kilcullen restart.
The experienced Allenwood side didn't panic and after seven minutes they had moved ahead again. Johnny Byrne, two Eoin Bagnall frees and a beautiful effort from Darragh Malone left the minimum between the sides as we passed the 40th minute.
Kilcullen responded again and it was their turn to regain control in this end to end encounter. David Marshall levelled it on 41 from a free before Ciaran O'Brien completed his hat trick on 42.The forward showing all the skill that had him part of Kildare Minor and U20 teams over the last couple of years. David Marshall pushed Kilcullen four ahead and as we entered the last quarter, the Rags looked to have hit the front at the right time.
The closing quarter was all Allenwood though as they outscored their opponents 1-6 to 0-2.
The introduction of Darren Judge seemed to give Allenwood a bit of life and his three points seemed to settle Allenwood into a rthym we are more accustomed to.
Aaron Dunne pointed either side of Judges three before hitting home his second goal on 47.John Doyle and an Eoin Bagnall free completed the turnaround.
As we entered the last three minutes of normal time Kilcullen showed great resolve to get back within a score.David Marshall with his fifth and Ciaran O'Brien set up a grandstand finish.After four goals could Kilcullen find a fifth to force extra time.
The clock was against them and when Conor Daly signalled an end on 65 it was Allenwood who prevailed on a 2-15 to 4-6 scoreline.
ALLENWOOD: Stephen Carey, Fionn Moran, Sean Moran, Brendan Hanafey, Mark Delaney, Darragh Malone 0-1, Ronan Guilfoyle, John Doyle 0-2 (1 free), Rory Moran, Aaron Dunne 2-4 (1 free), Johnny Byrne 0-1, Colm Moran, Cormac Denagher 0-1, Eoin Bagnall 0-3 (3 frees), Eric Judge. Subs: Darren Judge 0-3 (1 free) for Colm Moran 40; Mark Byrne for Eric Judge 46.
KILCULLEN: Cormac Barker, Conor Bolton, Jamie Buckley 1-0,Jack Redmond, Tim Carey, Warren Kealy,Eoin Redmond,Sean Knight,Ciaran Melinn,Paul Bell,Dave Marshall 0-5 (4 frees), Cathal Brophy ,Ciaran O Brien 3-1, Robbie Lee,Dan Coughlan. Subs: Darragh Burke for Jack Redmond H/T; Thomas Hickey for Paul Bell 38; Darragh Kelly for Robbie Lee 50; Colm Byrne for Jamie Buckley 55.
REFEREE: Conor Daly