KILCOO aped a certain all-conquering rugby team as they booked a date with old adversaries Crossmaglen in this year’s Ulster Club SFC semi-finals.
Down’s very own all-blacks demonstrated power, panache and passion in equal measure at Kingspan Breffni Park as they extended Cavan football’s horrendous record in the province’s premier club competition. Any hope Kingscourt might have entertained of breaking Cavan’s duck at senior level was all but extuinguished by a move straight off the training ground.
It might never make a football purist’s video library, but Paul Devlin’s 25th minute palmed goal - after a patient though skilful eight-man move either side of Kingscourt’s 45-metre line - was as fluid as the nearby Kinnypottle River, but far more forceful.
Devlin oozed class. So too man-of-the-match Darragh O’Hanlon and corner-forwards Jerome Johnston and Conor Laverty but, in truth, Kingscourt were out-classed in every position on the field bar none. Even the most pessimistic Kingscourt fan couldn’t have forseen such a demolition job. Truth is, the second-half was not much more than a training session for the black brigade.
Although the Stars opened the scoring with a Barry Reilly free (5), the Mourne men were to leave their hosts seeing stars in double-quick time. Both sides stuck to type and packed their defences, relying on quick counter-attacks to reap a dividend at the business end of the field.
In perfect conditions, claustrophobia was the name of the game early on, with just classy points from Jerome Johnston (Kilcoo) and Barry Reilly (Kingscourt) adding some flavour as the sides shared six points by the 19th minute. County star Conor Laverty then regained the lead for his side before the game was turned on its head in the 25th minute when Kingscourt’s defence was torn apart, leaving Devlin to finish from almost on Kingscourt’s goal-line.
Defending a 1-7 to 0-4 half-time lead, Kilcoo refused to remove their foot from their hosts’ throat. Livewire corner-forward Jerome Johnston fired home a soccer-like goal (35) to add further salt into Kingscourt’s gaping wound. All around the park, Kingscourt heads began to fall with all the consistency of autumn leaves.
The bedraggled Cavan champions just couldn’t lay a glove on their better conditioned opponents and it was heads-in-hands time when Barry Reilly shot (41) over, instead of under, the bar. Reilly’s misdirected exocet was the cue for Kilcoo boss Paul McIver to begin to empty his bench, safe in the knowledge that their 2-10 to 0-5 lead was virtually unasaillable.
Kingscourt’s woes were multiplied by the dismissal (46) of their stand-out defender Pádraig Faulkner, before the strapping Paul Greenan notched Kilcoon’s third and final goal two minutes later to make it a 14-point game.
Daryl Branagan saw red late on, but it was the only black spot on a luminous day for the all-blacks.
MATCH STATS
Kingscourt Stars: G Sheenan; R Sheridan, P Faulkner, S Gray; B Tully, A Clarke, N McIntyre; B Reilly (0-3, 0-1 frees), C Gorman; P Tinnelly, P Corrigan, K McCabe; C McArdle (0-2 frees), C McGowan, R Carey; Subs: P Smith for C McGowan (28); K Smith for C Gorman (38); D Gunne for R Carey (44); T Reilly for P Tinnelly (44); M McGovern for N McIntyre (54); JP Reilly for S Gray (58).
Kilcoo: S Kane; N Branagan, A Branagan, D Branagan; A Branagan, D O’Hanlon (0-5, 3f), JJ McLoughlan; D McEvoy, A Morgan; R Johnston, P Devlin (1-2), M Devlin; J Johnston (1-2), P Greenan (1-0), C Laverty (0-5); Subs: J McClean for A Morgan (42); D Kane (0-1) for M Devlin (44); F McGreevy for D McEvoy (44); G McEvoy for J Johnston (48); Gerard McEvoy for R Johnston (50); Seán O’Hanlon for P Greenan (51).
Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).
