Kilcullen hold out as Croft come up just short
The Rags came out on top 4-10 to 3-11 in a crucial Group D fixture
Kilcullen 4-10
Suncroft 3-11
A late rally that saw Suncroft hit 2-3 without reply, spearheaded by two Conor Smyth goals, left Suncroft agonisingly short in their tie with fourteen man Kilcullen in The Auld Shebeen Athy IFC.
An opening point inside twenty seconds got things under way for Kilcullen before Fionn Dowling responded to level matters moments later.
Dave Marshall spotted Coughlan inside unmarked, chipping over Coughlan gathered before sending the ball low and across the face of Dave Sutton to raise the green flag.
A Jack Doyle point did little to stem the flow of Kilcullen scores as their second goal came moments later with Ciaran Melinn netting before Marshall converted a penalty four minutes later.
With Ciaran O’Brien being hauled to the surface Marshall dually dispatched the placed ball before Doyle was again on hand to keep the Suncroft scoreline ticking over.
Points from Marshall, Coughlan and O’Brien consolidated the advantage as the lead entered double digits on the stroke of twenty minutes.
Needing to respond, Suncroft's Fionn Dowling, gathering possession he burst into the Kilcullen end and with his back to the end line he swung his shot over his left shoulder to point.
From the kick-out Suncroft were again on the attack with Doyle gathering Cormac Barker’s effort in the middle of the field.
Spotting Dowling alone inside, Doyle send the ball over the top falling perfectly for the in-rushing Dowling. Keeping his composure as Barker looked to narrow his angle, Dowling slipped the ball beneath his body and into the net.
Trading points at either end, Suncroft were unable to build on this momentum and two late points from Tim Carey and Jamie Buckley left Kilcullen eight clear at the break.
Sennan Brannock hit two early points on the resumption for Suncroft but Kilcullen refused to give up their grasp of the tie and a miss-timed shoulder from Mark Brown gifted Kilcullen and Marshall a second penalty fifteen minutes from time.
Going left and low with his initial shot, Sutton did well to make the stop but unable to gather the ball broke back into the path of Marshall who made no mistake with the rebound and Kilcullen we’re again firmly in control.
Three final Kilcullen points separated by one from Eoghan Lawless had eleven between the sides with seven minutes remaining.
At this point the job looked done for Kilcullen.
In need of a goal to give them any hope in the tie, Symth appeared pouncing on a breaking ball in the heart of the Kilcullen defence he watched his strike find a path through a melee of defenders, catching Barker off guard.
A free from Dowling after Lawless was dumped to the turf by Buckley cut the gap to seven as Buckley picked up his second yellow and left the field of play.
Taking advantage of the numerical difficulties Kilcullen had Smyth roamed forward once more in a menacing poachers fashion. And with the tie entering stoppage time he pounced once more on a breaking high ball to net once more before Dowling was in to cut the deficit to three.
With a head of steam build Suncroft were coming forward in waves. A final attack saw Jack Setright in the heart of the attack, one-on-one with Barker he struck. Leaning back his shot grazed the top of the crossbar before cutting the deficit to two.
Unable to find the final goal, Suncroft fell at the final hurdle as Kilcullen held on to weather the storm and claim a hard fought victory.
Scorers: Kilcullen: Dave Marshall 2-1 (1-0 pen; 1f); Dan Coughlan 1-3; Ciaran Melinn 1-1; Ciaran O’Brien 0-1; Robbie Lee 0-1; Tim Carey 0-1; Jamie Buckley 0-1 (1f); Thomas Hickey 0-1.
Suncroft: Fionn Dowling 1-4 (2f); Conor Smyth 2-0; Jack Doyle 0-3; Sennan Brannock 0-2; Eoghan Lawless 0-1; Jack Setright 0-1.
KILCULLEN: Cormac Barker; Darragh Burke, Jack Dooley, Sean Knight; Robbie Lee, Conor Bolton, Tim Carey; Ciaran Melinn, Cathal Brophy; Franny Shortt, Jamie Buckley, Thomas Hickey; Ciaran O’Brien, Dave Marshall, Dan Coughlan. Subs: Tom Moloney for Knight, 27; Jack Redmond for Marshall, 53; Darragh Kelly for Hickey, 57; Scott Fleming for Carey, 60; Jack Jordan Doyle for Burke, 60.
SUNCROFT: Dave Sutton; Jack Setright, Sean Browne, Harry Dillon; Mikey Troy, Chris Philips, Tom Martin; Conn Keogh, Mark Brown; Darragh Malone, Eoghan Lawless, Sennan Brannock; Jack Doyle, Fionn Dowling, Mark Browne. Subs: Ross Brannock for Murphy, 10; Diarmuid Enright for Doyle, 46.
REFEREE: Killian Jones.