UNIVERSAL GRAPHICS JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Clones came into this game as favourites to take the result and in the end they justified that tag with a performance that had the result wrapped up some time before the finish but in fairness to this Killeevan side they battled to the end even the was a lost cause and put a bit of respectability on the score board by the finish. The opening 20 minutes was a fairly even affair with the sides level on 3 occasions and some excellent passages of play, but Clones finished the 1st half strongly for an unanswered 1-4 to lead by 7 at the break. In the early stages of the second-half Clones laid the foundation for victory as they simply blitzed Killeevan out of this contest, hitting them with 2-3 in the opening 7 minutes, the goals coming within a minute of each other, leaving Killeevan facing a mountainous task of a 16 points deficit at that stage. To their credit they buckled down to some hard work and registered 2-4 without reply between the 8th and 21st minutes of the 2nd half to bring the margin down to the more manageable proportions of 6 points. In the end though they were unable to make any further inroads as Clones rallied in the closing stages to push the winning margin out to 8 points by the final whistle for a deserved victory.
Teams and Scorers: Clones: Christopher Cadden, Matthew Newell, Eugene Holland, Eoin McQuaid 2-1 (0-1f), James Mealiff 0-1, Fintan Kelly 0-2, Ryan Rooney, Adrian Alford 0-7 (3f), Fabian Beggan 0-1, Darragh Holland 0-1, Colum Connolly, Luke Rehill, Patrick McKenna 1-1, Emmet McEntee, Evan Mulvaney. Subs: Declan McQuaid for R Rooney, Jake Rehill for L Rehill, Dean O’Connor for J Rehill, James Gibson for J Mealiff.
Killeevan: Adam Langan 0-1, Martin McPhillips, Ciaran Burns 1-0, Finnian Smith, Killian Mooney 0-1, Iain McConnon, Maitiu MacUaid 0-1, Ryan Tierney 0-1, Kevin McGinn 1-0, Noel Smith 0-3 (3f), Ciaran Corr, Lorcan Kilpatrick 0-1, Edward McGinn, Darren Quigley 0-1, Nigel Quigley. Subs: Ciaran McGinn for M McPhillips, John McGuirk for M Smith, Johnny McGuirk for E McGinn. Referee: David Forde (Scotstown).
By Majella Boyd Tue 30th May
