This article is from page 66 of the 2011-09-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
O’Callaghan’s Mills 1-09 – Kildysart 1-08 at Shannon
WHITHER the big ball in the Mills and Kilkishen was the cry after they were pummelled by 14 points by Kilmurry Ibrickane in the opening round of the championship.
That was June; that was then; this is now as they’re now 60 minutes away from an historic first ever county intermediate final place after they edged past a determined and neversay-die Kildysart side on Saturday afternoon.
O’Callaghan’s Mills took control of the tie once Conor Cooney bagged a goal in the 12th minute – lead by four at half-time and by the same margin entering the last 15 minutes but in the end had to thank a last minute free from Bryan Donnellan to sneak through to a semi-final date against Clondegad.
Kildysart made a positive start with points by Damien Hill and Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly inside the first ten minutes, but Conor Cooney’s goal settled the east Claremen and in the final 20 minutes of the half they outscored their opponents by 1-4 to 0-2 to take control of affairs.
Cooney’s goal was followed by points from Eoin Pewter, Bryan Donnellan (2) and Jonathon Lyons, while points from Damien Hill and Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly left matters resting at 1-5 to 0-4 in the Mills favour at half-time.
That four differential remained after both traded four points between them with Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly and Niall Ginnane on the mark for Kildysart, with John Cooney and Bryan Donnellan finding the range for the Mills.
However, the game was thrown back into the melting pot in the 49th minute when a Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly point was followed immediately by a Damien Hill goal that left the sides deadlocked at 1-7 apiece entering the last ten minutes.
In the end it was Bryan Donnellan who came up trumps – he edged his side back in front with a point from play in the 54th minute, only for Kildysart to bounce back inside 30 seconds with the equaliser from Christy Clancy, but it was Donnellan who landed the decisive score with a 59th minute free to bring his tally for the hour to 0-6.