Newcastle West and St Kieran's play out nail-biting draw in Limerick senior football championship

TOP-OF-THE-TABLE honours were on the line in Group 2 of the Irish Wire Products Limerick Senior Football Championship on Friday evening.

However, there was no separating local rivals St Kieran’s and Newcastle West after they played out an exciting 2-7 to 1-10 draw in a fiercely competitive 60 minutes of football in an overcast Athea.

With their opening shot failing to find the target, Newcastle West found the net in just their second attack. Eoin Hurley was quickest to react after an Iain Corbett shot had rattled the upright to give the ‘Magpies’ a significant headstart on their oponents after three minutes.

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Hurley followed his goal with a well-taken point over his left shoulder just two minutes later. Alan Daly got St. Kieran’s on the scoreboard through a dead ball after seven minutes of action before John Hayes followed up with a free of his own.

An Alan Daly goal in the 11th minute put Kieran’s in front as a looping shot from Seán Ryan was allowed to bounce in the
Newcastle West square.

Daly rose above goalkeeper Mike Quilligan to punch to the net with the Kieran’s forward unfortunately sustaining an injury in the process.

Lee Woulfe crafted the ideal response for Newcastle West with a sweetly struck point before a brilliant strike by Corbett yielded an orange flag for the first time (and only time) in the contest after 16 minutes.

Hayes responded for Kieran’s with a nice effort from the right side while Woulfe notched his second of the evening just seconds later as the Magpies regained a two-point lead.

Liam Kennedy then reduced the lead back to one with a carbon copy of Hayes’ earlier effort. Corbett and Hurley fired over well-work points in quick succession before a John Hayes free closed out the opening proceedings. 

That left the half-time score, Newcastle West 1-7, St. Kieran’s 1-5.

It was an electric start to the second half for St. Kieran’s as an exquisite pass from Liam Kennedy found its way to Eoin McEnery who dispatched his effort to the top of the Newcastle West net. An calamitous error almost gifted Newcastle West a goal before Donie Nolan made an excellent save from Brian O’Sullivan after the St. Kieran’s defence had briefly switched off from a short free.

With scores difficult to come by, increasing wide counts had a strenuous effect on both teams. Seamus Mangan finally found the target for Kieran’s in the 55th minute with his effort curling expertly past the right-hand post.

An Eoin Hurley free reduced the gap to a point before Newcastle West looked toward the returning Cian Sheehan to make an impact off the bench. And what an impact it was from Sheehan whose lightning turn of foot salvaged two crucial points for Newcastle West in the closing stages. With injury time seeping away, John Hayes nailed the culminating free to grab St. Kieran’s a well deserved draw with their neighbours, 2-7 to 1-10.

SCORERS: Newcastle West: Eoin Hurley 1-3 (0-1 free), Iain Corbett 0-3 (0-1 2pt), Cian Sheehan, Lee Woulfe, 0-2 each. St Kieran’s: Alan Daly 1-1 (0-1 free), John Hayes 0-4 (0-3 frees), Eoin McEnery 1-0, Seamus Mangan, Liam Kennedy 0-1 each.

NEWCASTLE WEST: Michael Quilligan, Ruadhan O’Connor, Michael Cremin, Brian O’Sullivan, Seamus Hurley, Darren O’Doherty, Aaron Neville, Lee Woulfe, Sean Murphy, Todd Donovan, Iain Corbett, Brian Hurley, Brian Foley, Mike McMahon, Eoin Hurley. Subs: Bryan Nix for Brian Foley (41 mins), Cian Sheehan for Todd Donovan (50 mins)

ST KIERAN'S: Donie Nolan, Mossie Shine, Shane Fitzgerald, Mike Shanahan, Mikey Long, Brendan McCarthy, Sean Long, Darragh Treacy, Liam Kennedy, Eoin McEnery, John Hayes, Sean Ryan, Alan Daly, Adam Lacey, Kevin Meade. Subs: Seamus Mangan for Alan Daly (12 mins injured), Conor McMahon for Brian Meade (44 mins), Lorcan Murphy for Sean Long (47 mins), Cormac Mann for Adam Lacey (53 mins).

Referee: Alan Kehoe (ABK Desmonds)