Davitts v Kiltimagh – Intermediate Quarter Final
Kiltimagh 0-11, Davitts 0-10.
Anyone who travelled to Claremorris for this Intermediate Championship quarter-final, in the hope of seeing a tough hard match between two old rivals, were not disappointed as Kiltimagh edged Davitts by a single point in a very exciting tie. Davitts started in whirlwind fashion and raced into a five point lead after 9 minutes with scores from Michael Conroy, two from Aidan McTigue and two monsters from Ronan McNamara. Kiltimagh replied via Ciaran Charlton and David Lydon but Davitts added two further scores from David McDonagh and Paul Carey to restore their five point lead going into injury time. Charlton and the impressive Brian Gallagher pointed in the 5th and 6th minutes of added on time to leave Davitts ahead 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval.
A minor incident as the teams left the field resulted in Davitts midfielder Paul Carey receiving a second yellow card before the start of the second half, and this proved to be the games turning point. Points from Charlton (2) and Gallagher narrowed the gap to a single point ten minutes into the second half but Davitts showed tremendous spirit to extend their lead with points from David McDonagh and Fergal McGrath. Kiltimagh then began to make their numerical advantage tell resulting in excellent points from Gallagher (2), sub Tom Keegan and Noel Lydon to go three up but again Davitts responded via Keith Glynn and a superb Jonathon Clarke point to leave just one between them as time ran out.
Davitts were on top at this stage and most people agreed that a draw would have been a fair outcome but Kiltimagh will not be complaining. They held on in those dramatic final moments and will be tough opponents in the semi-final. They had star performers in Ciaran Charlton, Conor Heneghan, Thomas Morley, the Lydon brothers David, Liam and Noel, John McNicholas and the elusive Brian Gallagher. Davitts best players were Jonathon Clarke and Colm Boyle (both magnificent in the second half), Ronan McNamara, Pat Coyne, Fergal McGrath, Aidan McTigue and sub Keith Glynn.
Kiltimagh: Ian Corry, Damien Gallagher, Johnny Murtagh, Philip Larkin, Ciaran Charlton (0-4), Conor Heneghan, Matthew Cummins, Thomas Morley, Paul Regan, David Lydon (0-1), Noel Lydon (0-1), Liam Lydon, Brian Gallagher (0-4), John McNicholas, Sean Mallee. Subs used: Tom Keegan (0-1), John Mulhern, Ronan Mallee.
Davitts: Paddy Kirrane, Tommy Nolan, Frankie Barrett, Kevin Gallagher, Jonathon Clarke (0-1), James Cummins, Colm Boyle, Ronan McNamara (0-2), Paul Carey (0-1), Pat Coyne, Fergal McGrath (0-1), Colm Roche, Aidan McTigue (0-2), David McDonagh (0-1), Michael Conroy (0-1). Subs: Keith Glynn (0-1), Martin Cosgrove, Josh Ronayne and Keith Prendergast.
