Coolderry keep championship hopes alive with victory over Seir Kieran

COOLDERRY 1-22

SEIR KIERAN 1-12

COOLDERRY kept their hopes of making the knock out stages of the championship alive with a well deserved 10 point victory over Seir Kieran in the second part of a double bill at Grant Heating St Brendan's Park, Birr on Saturday evening.

It wasn't all plain sailing for Coolderry but they were the better team over the hour and showed far more sharpness in attack than their rivals and their first win of the campaign was well merited.

For Seir Kieran it was a fourth defeat on the trot and once more they face the agony of the relegation play off in an effort to maintain their status in the Senior A championship for 2024.

Coolderry started brightly and they looked more up for the fight in the early stages. They had five points on the board after just nine minutes but only added three more then in the remainder of the half. Seir Kieran gradually grew into the game and they hung on the coat tails of Coolderry and by the interval they had the gap down to a single point.

Coolderry started the second half well again but on this occasion they were able to maintain their advantage and once they got the gap out of six points 12 minutes into the second half, there looked likely to be only one winner. They were eight points up with nine minutes left but got a little warning when Seir Kieran hit back with a goal and a point to leave just four in it with six minutes to go, but Coolderry settled and pulled away again in the closing stages, hitting six points without reply to give them a 10 point victory margin.

Coolderry now know they still have a chance of making the knockout stages but will need to beat Belmont in their final group game in a couple of weeks time to give themselves a chance of staying in contention.

They will be pleased with aspects of this game. Kevin Connolly was very lively up front and scored 1-5 from play and overall five of the six starting forwards hit the target from play. 1-15 of their total came from play but they will also look at their wides tally, which came to 13 in the end, 10 of them in second half and some very poor efforts included in that.

Seir Kieran's real struggles came in attack where their six starting forwards only managed to score a single point from play among them. Four points came from midfield, 1-1 from sub Joe Bergin and 0-6 of their tally came from frees.

Coolderry will be pleased with their defensive performance. Stephen Corcoran made a couple of very important stops while Stephen Burke was excellent throughout at full back. Stephen Connolly, Billy Burke and David King also played well in defence while further upfield Kevin Connolly had a fine game with Daniel Miller and Eoin Ryan also having some good moments.

Stephen Gilligan, Kieran Connor and Conor Dooley worked hard in the Sir Kieran defence, James Mulrooney did well at midfield and later in attack, but they struggled to make a significant impact up front, despite having plenty of possession, with Adrian Hynes, Darragh Guinan and sub Joseph Bergin trying hard.

Coolderry were very quick out of the traps and from the throw in the ball was played forward to Kevin Connolly who pointed after just 13 seconds. Seir Kieran's response was swift as John Coughlan lofted over a point from 45m but Coolderry were back in front quickly when Kevin Connolly added his second point and they never subsequently lost the lead.

Coolderry had a great chance of a goal when Eoghan Parlon played the ball into the path of Eoin Burke but Joseph Connors spread himself brilliantly to pull off a great save. Burke did add Coolderry's third point and Eoghan Parlon scored another from a sideline cut about 30m out on the right. Daniel Miller pointed a free to make it 0-5 to 0-1 after just nine minutes.

Adrian Hynes pulled one back for Seir Kieran and Luke Carey had a goal effort from an angle saved by Stephen Corcoran. Eoghan Parlon stretched the lead to four again but Seir Kieran then hit three in a row from frees, two from Adrian Hynes and one from Joseph Connors, to cut the lead to one. Coolderry replied with two quick points from David King and Daniel Miller but Joseph Bergin, just on the field as a sub, struck one for Seir Kieran and late in the half Adrian Hynes pointed another free to leave just one in it at half time, 0-8 to 0-7.

Coolderry came out strongly at the start of the second half and Eoin Ryan, Kevin Connolly and Billy Burke all hit points in the first four minutes. James Mulrooney replied for Seir Kieran but Daniel Miller and Stephen Corcoran pointed frees before James Mulrooney was on target again. David King and sub Brian Carroll added further points for Coolderry as the lead stetched to six approaching the midway point of the half.

Tom Dooley did point a Seir Kieran free but the Coolderry goal came after 46 minutes when Kevin Connolly's ball from the right wing bounced in the square and into the roof of the net with Brian Carroll challenging for it. There was some confusion initially over whether the ball had crossed the line or if there was a square ball but after consultation with his umpires the referee awarded the goal.

Tom Dooley pointed another free and after Daniel Miller hit a good point from the wing, James Mulrooney scored his third of the half for Seir Kieran. Then with six minutes left Adrian Hynes lobbed a free from the left into the square and Joe Bergin rose highest to get a touch and divert it to the net to leave just four in it.

However Coolderry responded well and scored the last six points of the game with Stephen Corcoran pointing another long range free, Kevin Connolly adding two more from play, Daniel Miller two from frees and Brian Carroll picking off the other to give them a ten point victory margin at the end.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

COOLDERRY: Stephen Corcoran; Paddy Maher, Stephen Burke, Stephen Connolly; Cathal Burke, Billy Burke, David King; Cian Burke, Conor Molloy; Eoghan Parlon, Gearoid McCormack, Daniel Miller; Eoin Ryan, Kevin Connolly, Eoin Burke. Subs. William Malone (for Conor Molloy, 37 mins), Brian Carroll (for Eoin Burke, 41 mins), James Tooher (for Gearoid McCormack, 57 mins), Cian O'Connor (for Cian Burke, 57 mins).

SEIR KIERAN: Joseph Connors; Stephen Gilligan, Sean Coughlan, Donal Coughlan; Kieran Connor, Conor Dooley, Barry Kealey; James Mulrooney, John Coughlan; Tom Dooley, Pat Gilligan, Kevin Dunne; Adrian Hynes, Luke Carey, Darragh Guinan. Subs. Joseph Bergin (for Tom Dooley, 21 mins), Eanna Murphy (for Luke Carey, 43 mins), Tom Dooley (for Pat Gilligan, 43 mins).

REFEREE: Joey Deehan (Clara)

MAN OF THE MATCH

From the very start Kevin Connolly was a thorn in the side of Seir Kieran, scoring his first point after just 13 seconds. He was lively and effective throughout and ended with a total of 1-5 from play, was fouled for a number of the frees which led to scores, and caused countless problems for the opposition.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Kevin Connolly's goal midway through the second half put real distance between the teams and gave Coolderry breathing space coming into the home stretched. Seir Kieran did get it back to four with their goal but Coolderry scored the final six points of the game to seal a comfortable win.

REFEREE WATCH

Joey Deehan handled the game very well. He consulted well with his umpires before awarding Coolderry's goal and he kept good control throughout, and didn't have to dish out any cards.

WHAT’S NEXT

Coolderry will face Belmont in their final group game knowing that only a win will likely be needed to give them any chance of remaining in the championship. Seir Kieran have finished all their games and are bottom of the group and will be in the relegation play off against the bottom team from the other group.

VENUE WATCH

This was the second part of a double header in St Brendan's Park and considering all the rain that fell the night before, the pitch held up remarkably well. There was a fine crowd in for the two games, although the majority of them seemed to have gone home before the end of this game, particularly after a heavy shower in the second half virtually cleared the terrace. The host club had plenty of stewards on duty to look after everything and hosted the game well.

STATISTICS

Wides; Coolderry 13 (3 in first half) Seir Kieran 10 (6 in first half)

Yellow Cards: None

Black Cards: None

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Coolderry; Kevin Connolly (1-5), Daniel Miller (0-6, 0-4 frees), David King, Brian Carroll (0-2), Eoghan Parlon (0-2, 0-1 sideline cut), Stephen Corcoran (0-2, frees), Eoin Burke, Eoin Ryan, Billy Burke (0-1 each).

Seir Kieran; Joseph Bergin (1-1), Adrian Hynes (0-4, 0-3 frees), James Mulrooney (0-3), Tom Dooley (0-2, frees), John Coughlan, Joseph Connors (free) (0-1 each).