Kyle Hayes impresses as Kildimo-Pallaskenry surge past Ballylanders in Limerick senior football championship

“GOOD result after a tight first half. That purple patch after the break really told,” was manager Declan Nash's reaction after Kildimo-Pallaskenry got their Limerick senior football championship campaign off to a flying start with a thumping 2-17 to 0-7 victory over Ballylanders under the continuous rain in Kilmallock on Saturday evening.

Although they were held by Ballylanders in a fiercely contested first half, a goal right on the short whistle moved Kildimo-Pallaskenry into a somewhat flattering lead but any accusation of good fortune was demolished by their total mastery of the second period.

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Getting his first taste of action after a long absence through injury, Cathal Downes proved to be the catalyst that drove his side forward when his physical presence at the edge of the square rounded off his side's fearsome spine up the middle where he linked up with positional mastery and distribution of Tony McCarthy, the towering strength of Limerick senior hurler Kyle Hayes and the play-making and opportunism of Peter Nash.

For all their efforts at containment earlier, the conversion of a three aces into a fearsome full house proved to be a step too far for the gallant but ageing legs of Ballyanders once the full force of the opponents clicked into place.

Up to Downes' introduction, the South Limerick side were able to retain their shape and overturn Kildimo-Pallaskenry's early attempts to run through them before winning most of the primary possession before the break.

But it was always a case of squeezing the maximum out of what was available and, once the team from the estuary turned up the juice, they also had a speedy support cast featuring three senior debutants to contend with.

Kildimo-Pallaskenry made the early running, pouring forward in numbers despite playing into the wind and got off the mark with Peter Nash's point off a short '45'. the score was was followed by Cian O'Sullivan's fisted effort off a solo in from the right.

However, fortunes changed once Ballylanders got out of their own half and, after wasting hard-won possession on rash shots on goal, they got their act together when Ciaran Kelly sent a cleared '45' back between the posts.

The 'Kenry side eased the pressure when Tony McCarthy finished a move up the middle but they were still struggling to to find the kickout target as the breeze picked up strength and saw their advantage narrow as Liam Dennehy pointed on the run and disappear when Jimmy Barry Murphy coverted a close-in free going into the second quarter.

After Pa Holian cleared Jose Azzopardi's shot on the goal line, Steven Fox kicked over a majestic two-pointer to put Ballyanders ahead. The score was followed by Murphy's pointed free.

Nash then replied in kind at the other end before a long free dropping short was punched to the net by Danny Frewen only to be pulled back for a square infringement and Ballylanders' misfortune was compounded in added time when the rebound off Declan O'Connor's save from Ethan Brown was fisted to the net by Azzopardi to leave the winners leading 1-4 to 0-6 at the break.

Downes made an immediate impact after his half-time introduction, pointing on the run off Hayes' pass, bursting out to score on the turn and then blast his side into the comfort zone by deftly collecting Nash's lay-off to blast an unstoppable shot beyond O'Connor's reach.

Although Shane O'Donoghue broke the sequence off a breakaway attack, Downes picked it up again with another point and, when he was followed by Azzopardi, Seanie Hartigan and Azzopardi again, the Kildimo-Pallaskenry lead had stretched to nine points by the three-quarter mark to end the game as a contest.

Undeterred, the winners' onslaught continued, albeit at a reduced intensity, not just up front where Browne, Azzopardi and Ciarán Galvin added to their tally, but also at the back where every Ballylanders attempt at a reply ended in dispossession, misplaced passes or forced shots missing the target.

And when the final acts of resistance were ground down, all that was left to round off their victory was a dazzling pair of two-pointers from Nash.

SCORERS: KILDIMO-PALLASKENRY: Peter Nash 0-6 (2 2x, 2 frees), Jose Azzopardo, Cathal Downes 1-3 each, Cian O'Sullivan, Tony McCarthy, Seanie Hartigan, Ethan Browne, Cian Galvin 0-1 each; BALLYLANDERS: Jimmy Barry Murphy (1 free), Danny Frewen (2x) 0-2 each, Liam Dennehy, Ciarán Kelly, Shane O'Donoghue 0-1 each.

KILDIMO-PALLASKENRY: Kevin Walsh; Eddie McLoughlin, James Ranahan, Shane O'Sullivan; Ethan Browne, Tony McCarthy, Cian O'Sullivan; Davy Fitzgerald, Kyle Hayes; Ciarán McMahon, Peter Nash, Seanie Hartigan; Jose Azzopardi, Seán Kavanagh, Ciarán Galvin. SUBS: Cathal Downes for Seán Kavanagh (half-time), Dylan Moloney for Davy Fitzgerald (46 minutes), Ross Allen for Ethan Browne (51 minutes).

BALLYLANDERS: Declan O'Connor; Jordan Sheehy, Pa Shanahan, Pa Holian; Darren Frewen, Cillein O'Brien, Liam Dennehy; Jason Leigh, Oisín Browne; Thomas McDonnell, Steve Fox, Danny Frewen; Ciarán Kelly, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Shane O'Donoghue. SUBS: Dan Blade for Jason Leigh (half-time), Cian Browne for Liam Dennehy (45 minutes), Tom O'Dwyer for Oisín Browne (45 minutes), Daniel Murphy for Jimmy Barry Murphy (45 minutes), Robbie Downey for Shane O'Donoghue (50 minutes).

REFEREE: Timmy McGrath (Oola).