Leixlip shock championship favourites Sallins
Many people's Championship favourites Sallins lost 1-13 to 1-11 in their Group A opener
Leixlip 1-13
Sallins 1-11
Leixlip handed many people’s Intermediate Championship favourites Sallins a loss in their Group A opening round fixture. The eventual winners were good value for their win too in what was a tight game throughout.
It did not look like that early on however with Sallins racing into an 0-3 to no score lead in the opening six minutes. A Colm Dalton free was followed by a huge goal chance for James Dalton, who blasted over the bar. The third in the sequence came Luke Killian, who fired over after a driving run.
Lexilip would take over for just shy of 15 minutes as they shut out Sallins while sending five points the other way. Paddy Meagher got them off the mark when he fisted over the bar from a tight angle.
Jack Barrett won and converted a free to open his account before Ben Travers hit the score of the game to level things up.
Travers then turned provider when he won a superb turnover and set up Paddy Meagher for his second point. Darren McDermott's super score off the outside of his boot was the last of Leixlip’s five uninterrupted points.
Sallins got their first point in 13 minutes when Colm Dalton knocked over a free. Leixlip’s two point lead was restored with a slick attacking move that ended with a score from Luke Mahon.
Dalton added another point to his tally from a set-piece which was again matched by Luke Mahon at the other end.
Leixlip’s lead as they crossed the 30 minute mark soon disappeared when Sallins hit the net. The then leading side were carved open when Sean O'Domhnaill ventured forward and slipped through Colm Dalton. The Sallins centre-forward delayed his handpass before finding Stephen Kelly who slapped the ball into the net.
A curling effort from Tommy Moolick two minutes into injury time sent the side’s in at the break level at 1-5 to 0-8.
Sallins, much like they had in the first, came out stronger after the restart. Two points from Colm Dalton put them a couple ahead.
Tommy Moolick then caused trouble for the Sallins backline with a long ball into the danger area. Jack Barrett came out with possession, but was fouled inside the box moments later and the referee signalled for a penalty.
Moolick stepped up to take the kick himself and slotted his effort into the bottom left corner. After the midfielder’s successful penalty, his side led 1-8 to 1-7 after 40 minutes of action.
Sallins levelled through James Dalton before Ronan Fitzsimons edged Leixlip back in front with 15 minutes to go.
The eventual winners had a chance to add another goal to their tally not long after but Darren O’Connor was brilliantly denied by Matthew Farrelly in the Sallins net.
Both side’s were wasteful coming down the home stretch, but it was Leixlip who crucially kept their noses in front. Luke Mahon’s third point pushed them two clear with five to go before Colm Dalton nailed a free at the other end.
Jack Barrett restored Leixlip’s two-point advantage before a Tommy Moolick point from range on the hour mark sent them three clear. It was of course a lead they would not relinquish.
Sallins’ undoing in this game was their wasting of chances late on, the losing side scored just once from play in the final 15 minutes of this game.
Criticism of Sallins’ lack of scoring late on must be paired with praise for the winning side, who looked a lot more at home with more defensive rigidity this time out. Leixlip’s preliminary round clash with Kilcullen raised a few eyebrows with the winning side needing a penalty four minutes into injury time to take home victory. Their more defensive approach this time around worked a treat and they got far more players on the scoresheet too with usual top-scorer Jack Barrett not shouldering most of the responsibility at the top of the pitch this time.
Scorers: Leixlip, Tommy Moolick 1-2 (1-0 penalty), Luke Mahon 0-3, Jack Barrett 0-3 (0-3 frees), Paddy Meagher 0-2, Ben Travers 0-1, Darren McDermott 0-1, Ronan Fitzsimons 0-1.
Sallins, Colm Dalton 0-7 (0-6 frees), Stephen Kelly 1-0, James Dalton 0-3, Luke Killian 0-1.
LEIXLIP: Niall McConnell; Liam Mahon, Ryan Doyle, Kevin Conneely; Ciaran Fadian, Jack Quinn, Luke Mahon; Tommy Moolick, Ronan Fitzsimons; Ben Travers, Jack Barrett, Darren O'Connor; Jack Travers, Darren McDermott, Paddy Meagher. Subs: Sean Jeffrey for Liam Mahon (44 minutes), Rory Flynn for Ben Travers (55 minutes).
SALLINS: Matthew Farrelly; Ruairi O'Domhnaill, Mark Moynihan, Conor Dalton; Sean O'Domhnaill, Paul Clifford, Luke Kelly; Emmet Ralph, Luke Killian; Sean Conway, Colm Dalton, Daniel Woulfe; Paul Farrelly, James Dalton, Stephen Kelly. Subs: Alan Marshall for Emmet Ralph (28 minutes), Cian Grimes for Daniel Woulfe (Half-time), Rory Gavin for Sean Conway (52 minutes).
Referee: Alan Lagrue.