Stars hold off 11-man Cavan Gaels

Senior Football Championship quarter-final

Kingscourt Stars 1-10

Cavan Gaels 0-9

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni

Kingscourt became the first side to advance to the semi-finals of the Senior Championship with this hard-fought win over 11-man Cavan Gaels at a blustery Kingspan Breffni.

The Gaels were competing strongly well into the second half but had a complete breakdown in terms of discipline, resulting in four players being red-carded in the final 20 minutes.

Kingscourt played against a strong wind in the first half but led at the break by two points thanks to a rocket of a goal from Peter Corrigan, set up by some ingenuity from Barry Reilly when he took a clever short free.

While the wind made things difficult for the players, the standard was poor regardless, with plenty of missed chances and poor execution of skills – the Gaels in particular were guilty of missing three scoreable frees in the first half, which had been a trend in some of their earlier matches.

The exchanges between these old rivals were niggly, too, with ref Pat Clarke flashing five yellow cards in the opening 30 minutes and two blacks as well as those four reds after the break.

The Gaels opened the scoring with a well-taken point from Jack Tully after he gathered an Andy Graham pass, with Barry Reilly opening the Stars’ account with a free.

Cavan Gaels almost got in for a goal, with Luke Molloy creating space with a neat dummy and beating James Farrelly only for the ball to be cleared off the line; O’Connor sent over a resulting free.

The best point of the half fell to Padraig Sexton, who flung over a super effort from 45 metres in tight confines.

After a foul on Padraig Faulkner, Reilly knocked over another free and then caught the Gaels defence napping with a smart short free which teed up Corrigan for an excellent finish.

Moments later, the Stars got through again but this time Jordan Morris’s powerful shot went over rather than under the bar, resulting in a 1-3 to 0-4 lead with 22 minutes played.

Evaan Fortune replied with a well-taken point and three minutes before the break, O’Connor landed a quality score after gathering an exquisite pass from Favour Shehu but the Gaels spurned another goal chance thereafter when he beat James Farrelly to a high ball but his fisted effort trickled the wrong side of the post.

A Reilly free concluded the first-half scoring and the Gaels began the second half on the front foot when Emmanuel Shehu found Jack Tully for a lovely score.

O’Connor, echoing Reilly’s play earlier, went quick with a free but Farrelly was equal to Sexton’s powerful effort, pulling off a great save.

Kingscourt also missed a good goal chance when Morris shipped out to Sean Burke, who was off target. When they lost Paddy Meade to a black card, it seemed as if Jason O’Reilly’s side could take control and even through a straight red card for Favour Shehu after an off-the-ball incident should have rocked them, a terrific Luke Molloy point on 42 minutes tied the game again.

But the Gaels’ discipline was letting them down. Twice, frees were moved up by the ref due to verbals and were converted by Reilly and when Faulkner intercepted a Gaels kick-out and drove through to point, the Stars had found themselves holding a three-point lead without playing particularly well.

But the Gaels, despite all their experience, were imploding.

A rash sliding tackle saw Emmanuel Shehu dismissed on a second yellow card, just as Meade prepared to come back on.

Both teams had wides; the Gaels pressed but Kingscourt were defending stoutly, with Barry Tully making some important plays. An excellent point from the right corner from Morris left four between the sides and they landed the insurance score when the impressive Shane Duffy did well and sub Cian Shekleton sent over a classy score.

The Stars missed a few good chances in this period – Reilly was off target with a lob attempt after intercepting a kick-out – and then lost Paddy Farrelly to a black card for felling O’Connor not long after he was introduced.

O’Connor sent over the resulting free but any hope of a comeback was dashed when Niall Murray was shown a second yellow card.

A deft pass from Morris to Reilly saw Shekleton add his second. As the clock ticked down, Tully, who caused Kingscourt bother all day, won and converted a free but the Gaels’ dismal second half was completed when Levi Murphy was shown a straight red card in the dying seconds.

Kingscourt Stars: James Farrelly, Shane Gray, Padraig Faulkner (0-1), Ciaran Roe, Barry Tully, Paddy Meade, Odhran Cunningham, Alan Clarke, Sean Burke, Ciaran Dermody, Barry Reilly (0-5f), Peter Corrigan (1-0), Jordan Morris (0-2), Joe Dillon, Shane Duffy

Subs: Cian Shekleton (0-2) for J Dillon (43), John Oates for A Clarke (inj., 50), Kevin Curtis for C Dermody (56), Paddy Farrelly for S Gray (60)

Cavan Gaels: Patrick Murphy, Andy Graham, John Fortune, Favour Shehu, Levi Murphy, Niall Murray, Emmanuel Shehu, Luke Molloy (0-1), Evaan Fortune (0-1), Paul Graham, Padraig Sexton (0-1), Luke Fortune, Paul O’Connor (0-3, 2f), Daniel Graham, Jack Tully (0-3, 1f)

Subs: Evan McIntyre for D Graham (49), Keenan Donohoe for A Graham (50)

Ref: Pat Clarke