Knockbride overcome defensive Kill outfit with 10 points to spare

JFC round 1

Knockbride 0-13

Kill 0-3

In the end, it was comfortable. But while hot favourites Knockbride had 10 points to spare at the finish, Kill kept them on their toes during the first half of this Junior championship opener in Mullagh on Thursday night last.

No doubt aware of the big totals that Knockbride had racked up in the league, Kill set their stall out from the start - when Knockbride were in possession, Kill had all 15 men back , making it difficult for the winners to penetrate the wall

And to a large extent this tactic worked, as the half time score of 0-4 to 0-1 meant that Kill were still very much in contention. The second half was a different story however, as Knockbride upped the tempo, and they had six more points on the board before Kill registered their first score.

A heavy rain shower shortly before the start left conditions slippery and the early exchanges were scrappy, with several wides before a Lorcan Reilly free opened the scoring in the 12th minute.

In this period, Kill won lots of kick-out possession with fine fielding by Liam Gaffney and Conor Bannon. Soon Knockbride were three ahead after Micheál Smith got the first score from open play and then Liam Fay kicked a stylish point from distance.

Kill had lots of possession, but they were well policed by the Knockbride defence, and their only score of the first half was a point by Niall McCaffrey from a retaken free. The first half scoring ended as it had begun, with Lorcan Reilly pointing a free.

The rain had stopped but it was still a grey, dank evening and the lights were switched on for the second half. Knockbride quickly extended their lead with three more points in the first five minutes, two Reilly frees, with a fisted point by Roy Donohoe in between.

Two of Knockbride's subs, Seanie Burns and Patrick Smith, weren't long on the field when they each pointed from play. At this stage Knockbride were totally dominant but were patient in holding on to possession as time ticked by.

Patrick Smith then pointed again from a mark to leave the winners ahead after 20 minutes. Kill then showed renewed energy and their opening score of the half was a point from play from sub Liam McCauley.

Knockbride responded with a booming point from Ben Mulvey and then Kill got their last score, a pointed free by Kevin O'Reilly. Two points (both frees) by Lorcan Reilly brought the scoring to an end.

Once Knockbride gained a foothold at midfield in the second half, the result was never in doubt and Kill's cause wasn't helped by missing some very scoreable frees. So Knockbride successfully negotiated a tricky hurdle on what they hope to be a long journey in this year’s championship, while the Shamrocks will hope to be paired against less strong teams in the next few matches.

Knockbride: James Lynch, Philip Nulty, Kyle McCabe, Philip Rogers, Micheál Clarke, Roy Donohoe (0-1), Daniel McGuinness, Paddy Rogers, Liam Fay (0-1), Micheál Smith (0-1), Matthew Traynor, Lorcan Reilly (0-6f), Niall McCabe, Ciaran Smith, Jordan McCabe

Subs: Fergal Smith for K McCabe, Patrick Smith (0-2, 1m) for D McGuinness, Seanie Burns (0-1) for R Donohoe, Ben Mulvey (0-1) for M Smith, Niall O’Reilly for Paddy Rogers

Kill Shamrocks: Lorcan Hammond, Darragh McMenamin, Brendan Brady, Ciaran O'Reilly, Mark Moffett, Gavin Fitzpatrick, Seamus O'Reilly, Conor Bannon, Liam Gaffney, Daragh Boyle, Barry McMenamin, Emmet Magee, Kevin O'Reilly (0-1f), Niall McCaffrey (0-1f), Colin McCauley Subs: Luke O' Brien for N McCaffrey, Liam McCauley (0-1) for D Boyle, Francis Hand for S O' Reilly

Ref: Brendan Sweeney