Sean O'Mahonys dramtic one point victory over St Kevins 

CTI Buisness Solutions Intermediate Football Championship 2023

Sean O’Mahonys 2-9

St Kevins 2-8

The Sean O’Mahonys proved once again that when it comes to grinding out a result from the jaws of defeat, the men from the Point Road are still very much Grade A material, following this dramatic one point victory over St Kevins after extra time.

With six survivors from their 2016 senior championship triumph starting on Saturday, seven including manager Liam Dullaghan, O’Mahonys are a team who know how to go to the trenches, becoming the fourth group stage runners up, to go through to the semi finals of the Intermediate Championship.

Having earlier cancelled out a Kevins’ goal from Cian Callan, thanks to a fortuitous goal from Ben McLaughlin, the O’Mahonys’ powers of recovery were there for all to see, when a marvellous Stephen Kilcoyne strike on the turn deep into second half added time, meant that extra time was needed to separate the sides, after the Kevins’ had regained the lead through a fisted effort from Evan Maher, which looked to be enough to send the Phillipstown side through to the semi-final.

Dejected at being denied victory, the Kevins responded to the huge physical pressure brought to the table by the O’Mahonys, when Tom Mathews latched home their second major, and a wonderful score from the impressive Karl Martin, gave them a 2-8 to 1-8 lead in extra time.

However, just before the ET first half interval, the O’Mahonys once again hit back, when Stephen Kilcoyne who was a thorn in the Kevins side throughout, wriggled his way through to poke the ball to the bottom corner on the second attempt, to once again draw the sides level.

The second half of extra time saw just one more alteration to the scoreboard, when O’Mahonys sub Robert Clarke ghosted inside the Kevins cover to fire over the bar with the goal at his mercy, following a clever kick pass from Ben McLaughlin, to see his side over the line.

With defences on top early on, scores were at a premium, with Stephen Kilcoyne setting up Rob Galligan for the opening score of the game, before a Conor Martin mark put the Dundalk side 0-2 to no score ahead, a period which also saw St Kevins’ Finbarr Lynch produce a last ditch intervention to cut out a Terry Kelly pass across the square.

With players behind the ball, the sustained physicality of the O’Mahonys made life difficult for the Kevins in attack, having forced the Phillipstown side to lose possession 19 times in the first half, and 35 times over the hour, including kick passes into the inside line which flew over the endline, and players like Rob Galligan and Chris O’Neill leading the charge with dogged aggression.

It took St Kevins 13 minutes to raise their first white flag in a patient move which saw Dylan Maher find the range. Maher was one of several Kevins players who certainly did not deserve to be on the losing side, alongside Darren McMullen.

Maher finished with 27 possessions over the hour, with McMullen having 30 touches, while Finbarr Lynch, Brian Callaghan, Karl Martin, Evan Maher and Seanie Crosbie also fought hard for their side.

Ben McLaughlin cleverly flicked on an Eddie Maguire kickout to Stephen Kilcoyne for the O’Mahonys’ third score.

St Kevins then enjoyed a purple patch, with a hattrick of consecutive points, with a well taken Karl Martin effort from play, coming either side of two Cian Callan frees, giving last year’s finalists a 0-4 to 0-3 lead inside 24 minutes.

That lead could have been more, with Evan Maher palming the ball agonisingly wide from a Lee Crosbie kickpass, before Crosbie himself was denied by keeper Eddie Maguire, at the same end where he netted against Mattock Rangers a few weeks ago.

Sean O’Mahonys had the last say of the first half, thanks to a superb long range Thomas Rice effort, leaving both teams level at half time.

Second Half:

With both defences continuing to be on top, scores continued to be as rare as hen’s teeth. The lively Terry Kelly did put the O’Mahonys ahead, ten minutes after the restart.

Despite only scoring 0-7 from 26 shots in open play including ET, St Kevins kept in contention thanks to Cian Callan, as he levelled things up with another free.

This was one of only 11 frees awarded to St Kevins, including extra time with the O’Mahonys awarded 22.

You got the feeling that a goal for either side would go a long way to deciding things, and Cian Callan managed to collect a looping Evan Maher pass, to fire to the net to give the Kevins the upper hand, heading into the final quarter, at 1-5 to 0-5.

Another key moment saw Eddie Maguire deny Kevins’ Shane Meade from close range, after he had dummied his marker, to keep his side in the game.

With the likes of Chris O’Neill continuing to fight for the O’Mahonys’ cause, they were always in contention.

Thomas Rice converted a free, before a defensive mix up saw Ben McLaughlin capitalise to land the O’Mahonys’ green flag, to put them ahead by a point with 8 minutes remaining, in a dramatic end.

Shellshocked, the Kevins fought back, thanks to a wonderful score on the wing from Darren McMullen.

Deep into added time, the Kevins hemmed the O’Mahonys into their own half, patiently keeping the ball, waiting for an opening. That opening came when Karl Martin set up Evan Maher to fist the ball over the bar, for what looked like the winner.

However, you just cannot keep that O’Mahonys’ side down, and after referee Stephen Johnson allowed play to continue, a wayward Terry Kelly effort, fell to the right man in the right place, Stephen Kilcoyne to send the game to extra time, with a sweet point on the turn.

Extra time came, and a beautiful finish from Tom Mathews following a delightful Seanie Crosbie footpass, and a terrific effort by Karl Martin seemed to set the Kevins on their way.

But when you have Stephen Kilcoyne on your side, you always have a chance, and the forward poked the ball to the net at the second attempt to level things up again, before sub Robert Clarke’s heroics in the second half, mean that the O’Raghallaighs await the Dundalk side in next week’s semi-final. Who would bet against this dogged, battle hardened O’Mahony’s side?

Sean O’Mahonys: Eddie Maguire; Rob Galligan (0-1), Chris O’Neill, Stephen Kettle; Keith McLaughlin, Kian McEvoy, Sean Cassidy; Conor Martin (0-1) (1 advanced mark), Tiernan Cassidy; Thomas Rice (0-2) (1f), Conor Finnegan, Ben McLaughlin (1-0); Terry Kelly (0-2), Stephen Kilcoyne (1-2), Barry O’Brien

Subs: Kyle Carroll for Keith McLaughlin (24), Robert Clarke (0-1) for Sean Cassidy (HT), Brian Gartland for Martin (10 ET), Gareth Hall for Tiernan Cassidy (10 ET)

St Kevins: Danny Crosbie; Eoin McKenna, Finbarr Lynch, Shane Meade; Dylan Maher (0-1), Cameron Maher, Darren McMullen (0-1); Seanie Crosbie, Evan Maher (0-1); Brian Callaghan, Lee Crosbie, Karl Martin (0-2); Cian Callan (1-3) (3f), Tom Mathews (1-0), Aaron Khan.

Subs: Joe McArdle for McKenna (13 ET), Keelan Maher for Khan (19 ET), Adam Cromwell for Callan (20 ET)

Referee: Stephen Johnson (Glen Emmets).