Morgan Fuels Down SFC quarter-final: Kilcoo 0-11 Clonduff 1-8 (after extra-time, Kilcoo won 4-3 on penalties)
A SEA of black surged towards Niall Kane after Aidan Carr’s sudden death penalty kick rebounded off the Kilcoo ’keeper’s knees as the All-Ireland champions came perilously close to bowing out in the last eight of the Down championship last night.
Carr buried his head in his hands as jubilant Magpies flocked in Kane’s direction. All bar one. Away on the opposite 45 metre line stood Conleith Gilligan, hands in his pockets - just as he had done throughout the penalty shoot-out that settled an intense encounter between these neighbours.
“Once it gets to that stage there’s no point investing any energy into it because you’re so out of it,” smiled the Kilcoo boss.
“Once you’ve the five picked, there’s nothing you can do…”
Yet, for all the times games have been pulled from the fire – and this is another for the list – winning on penalties is something entirely new. At times it looked as though Clonduff might just do it, but Kilcoo did what Kilcoo have so often done.
There were moments, too, when it looked like they might kick on for the win but both proved as stubborn as each other. Only via penalties could they be separated in the end and, when the lottery concluded, it was the Magpies’ numbers that came up.
“There’s great relief to still be in the championship,” said Gilligan, who whose men await tonight’s semi-final draw after the clash between Burren and Warrenpoint.
“For long periods there it wasn’t looking good, but there was no panic. We’ve been down this road on numerous occasions – in the four years that I’ve been here, we’ve had extra-time every year in Down, twice in one of the seasons. We’ve had extra-time in All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, so it’s nothing new.
“The penalties bit was new, but I genuinely didn’t really think it was going to go there. Most games get sorted out before.
“Look, Clonduff will be very aggrieved there. They played really, really well - it was always going to be a dangerous game for us having beat them four weeks ago.”
There was silence from both sides coming into this game as a result, the 13-point margin of victory the last time never a true reflection of how these rivals matched up.
Last night could hardly have been more different as Clonduff had their noses in front for much of normal time, and Gilligan insists Kilcoo were under no illusions what would be coming their way.
“People were asking why I wasn’t happy [after the last game].
“It’s because I knew they would be back at us at some stage, whether it was quarter-final or whatever.
“They beat us, we beat them, there’s a point in it either way, through the league it was the same, so for the game to go that way, it was never really a true reflection of them, and I thought they’d be back.
“They obviously had three or four players back who didn’t play a month ago, so it left it a real even game here tonight.”
