Defeat means that Cahir will drop down to Intermediate football ranks in Tipperary

Killenaule 3-14 Cahir 1-5

Killenaule came out on top in the County Senior Football Championship relegation semi-final against Cahir in New Inn, winning by 15 points.

Both teams fired into the opening stages of this encounter ferociously, with the sides eager to help their cause in retaining senior football status.

In the opening stages Cahir kicked ball inside to the pairing of Niall McKenna and Jack Buckley early and often, with Buckley breaking through for a goal chance within the first minute that was denied by John O’Dwyer.

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Killenaule’s physicality was clear to see early on, with big catches coming from Tom Stakelum and Paudie Feehan. However the first score of the day came off the left boot of corner forward Luke Ryan from open play. This was followed up in the seventh minute with another point from play, this time from Joe O’Dwyer, who gave a powerful performance throughout.

A miscue off the tee from Killenaule goalkeeper John “Bubbles” O’Dwyer landed into the hands of Stephen Grogan, who charged through The Robins’ defence and earned a penalty for Cahir. Jack Buckley stepped up to take the spot kick and “Bubbles” redeemed himself by making a great save low to his right.

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Cahir had to wait until the 15th minute to knock over their first score when Jack Buckley scored a free from an acute angle on the 21-yard line. This was quickly followed by another free, this time converted by Conor O’Brien. This left Cahir only a point down at the halfway stage in the opening half.

Possession was fairly even in the first half, with both sides working incredibly hard to make turnovers. Sloppy defending from Dean O’Connor earned him a black card and gave Cahir a free from distance, and Ger Quinn was able to hammer home the first two-pointer of the day with a great shot off the deck. Points from play from Luke Ryan and Tom Keavney saw Killenaule go into the half- time break three points up.

Having finished the first half the stronger side, Killenaule continued this vein of form into the second half, as they scored a further 2-2 without reply in the opening ten minutes. The goals came from full forward Tom Stakelum, who finished well, and another goal, from Paudie Feehan, came calmly from the penalty spot after Eddie Kendrick commited a foul inside the square and was shown a black card.

Cahir were given hope when Ian Flannery, who replaced Jack Buckley, was able to rifle the ball into the top left corner of the Killenaule net.

However, from this point on it was all Killenaule. Cahir moved Kevin Grogan in the hope of having an aerial threat inside but The Robins did well to cope with this change. Luke Ryan continued to look dangerous and after being given a pass by Joe O’Dwyer, who won a kick out, finished well as he put the ball low past Cahir goalkeeper Paddy O’Donovan.

Paudie Feehan converted his side’s first two-point score from a free to further boost their lead.

Cahir’s only point from play came from substitute Adam Hennessy after 59 minutes, but it was Joe O’Dwyer who put the final stamp on this encounter as he scored a two-pointer from play with great finesse for was the last score of the day.

Killenaule will now face Grangemockler in the relegation final, while Cahir will be playing Intermediate football next year after what was a very disappointing day for them.

Killenaule were backed by strong performances from Joe O’Dwyer, Luke Ryan and Paudie Feehan.

Despite coming out the wrong side of this one, Cahir had good performances from Jessie and Jake Kiely, as well as Eoin Wyse.

Killenaule: John O’Dwyer, Finn Nolan, Shane Ryan, Jack Hassett, Killian O’Dwyer, Ciaran O’Dwyer, Padraig O’Dwyer, Joe O’Dwyer, Tom Keaveney, Dean O’Connor, Paudie Feehan, Fionn Fitzgerald, David McCormack, Tom Stakelum, Luke Ryan.
Subs used: Cian Johnson Croke, Mark Stakelum, Gus Browne.

Scorers: Luke Ryan (1-2), Paudie Feehan (1-2, 1-2f), Joe O’Dwyer (0-4), Fionn Fitzgerald (0-3, 3f), Tom Stakelum (1-0), Tom Keaveney (0-1), David McCormack (0-1), Dean O’Connor (0-1).

Cahir: Paddy O’Donovan, Patrick Meehan, Eoin Wyse, James Walsh, Jessie Kiely, Craig Guiry, Colin McEinery, Eddie Kendrick, Stephen Grogan, Jake Kiely, Kevin Grogan, Ger Quinn, Conor O’Brien, Niall McKenna, Jack Buckley.

Subs used: Adam Hennessy, Ian Flannery, Dylan Butler, Eoghan Kelly.

Scorers: Ian Flannery (1-0), Ger Quinn (0-2, 1 two point free), Jack Buckley (0-1, 1f), Conor O’Brien (0-1, 1f), Adam Hennessy (0-1).

Referee: Donie Horan (Eire Og Annacarty Donohill).