St Kevin’s 2-9
Monasterevan 0-15
Pittman Traffic & Safety IFC semi-final
Lennie Havens proved the hero for Monasterevan deep in injury time as he landed a superb point to earn his side a replay at the end of a thrilling semi-final.
St Kevin’s held the most delicate of leads in overtime as the south Kildare side went in desperate search of an equalising score, and it was midfielder Havens who popped up to land a brilliant point from 40 metres out to save the day.
It was just reward for a Monasterevan side who led for long stages in this game, and it was Padraig Nash who was the star of the show as he kicked eight points in a brilliant showing that provided the platform for his side’s challenge.
St Kevin’s looked out of ideas at stages when going forward, but crucial goals in either half from Declan Flaherty and Ross Carew kept them in the hunt throughout.
This game lived up to its billing from an early stage as both sides launched probing attacks in the first couple of minutes, and while Monasterevan started the better with a beautiful Padraig Nash point after just 10 seconds, Kevin’s hit back with a goal just over a minute later. It was route one style as Barry Noone speculatively launched a sideline ball into the Monasterevan square, and as it dipped just below the crossbar and Declan Flaherty palmed it to the net.
That would prove to be their last score for the next 14 minutes however, and Monasterevan went on to assume control as they tagged on four points on the trot. Nash got that purple patch up and running with his second point, before Ryan Bannon angled over a superb point from the left wing shortly after. Wayne Fitzpatrick soon got in on the act as he clipped over a free before curling over another sublime score as they raced into a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mick Kenny finally got St Kevin’s first point of the game with a close range effort, but a huge point from Nash followed by a Fitzpatrick free kept Monasterevan ticking over, and in the 23rd minute Nash turned over possession deep in opposition territory before slicing over his side’s eighth point.
St Kevin’s began to come more into the game for the final five minutes of the half, and with Ryan Casey slotting over a couple of points in quick succession they started to close the gap. Monasterevan were also starting to kick some poor wides as their shooting became slightly haphazard, and they probably should have had more than their nine-point tally at the break. Late scores at either end from Nash and Tom Barron left the blues with a 0-9 to 1-4 interval advantage, but there were signs that Kevin’s were growing into the game.
St Kevin’s started the second half in fine fashion as Declan Flaherty shimmied his way into space to split the posts from the left wing, but the big full-forward missed a superb opportunity to get his side’s second goal when he galloped through to encounter Darragh Forde one on one, but he pulled a low shot wide of the left upright.
Nash kept Monasterevan in the game during a rather rocky spell as he blazed over a quite sensational point off balance before stroking over a handy free shortly after.
The game was blown wide open 10 minutes into the second half when Barry Noone cut in from the left handside of the square and passed to the unmarked Ross Carew who showed good composure to roll the ball home from close range. Noone followed up by firing over a fine point from the left wing shortly after, and the same player showed good confidence to smack over a ’45 to push Kevin’s into a 2-7 to 0-11 lead with 45 minutes played.
Monasterevan regrouped well however, and they managed three points in a row to wrestle back a measure of control. Once again it was Nash who was leading the charge as he floated over a score before winning a free which was converted by Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick soon rifled over another eye-catching score to put his team back into the lead as the game remained finely poised entering the last seven minutes.
Substitute Cormac Noone pushed St Kevin’s back level with his solitary score of the afternoon, and when Nash uncharacteristically missed a close range free it looked like Monasterevan might let this chance slip. Dean O’Regan looked to have won the tie when he slotted over a point in the 59th minute for St Kevin’s, but Havens held his nerve in stoppage time to smack over a sensational late score and earn his side a replay.
There were frantic scenes in the final play of the game as both sides launched attacks in search of a winning score, but neither side could manage one. Nobody watching in the stands will complain if the replay is as entertaining.
Scorers for St Kevin’s: D Flaherty 1-1, R Carew 1-0, B Noone(1’45) and R Casey 0-2 each, D O’Regan, C Noone , T Barron and M Kenny 0-1 each.
Scorers for Monasterevan: P Nash 0-8(1f), W Fitzpatrick 0-3(1f), R Bannon and L Havens 0-1 each.
St Kevin’s
Brian Elliott; Alan Bennett, Jason Brosnan, Paddy Walshe; Jamie Smyth, Tom Barron, Brian Fogarty; Mick Kenny, Mark Grace; Jack Kenny, Ryan Casey, Ross Carew; Conor Murray, Declan Flaherty, Barry Noone.
Subs used: Dean O’Regan for J Kenny HT, Trevor McDonald for Smyth 50mins, Cormac Noone for Casey 51mins.
Monasterevan
Darragh Forde; John O’Toole, Eoin Stapleton, Cormac Stapleton; Cian Harrison, DJ Earley, Kevin Dunne; Gavin Worrell, Lennie Havens; Paul Kelly, Padraig Nash, Paul Maloney; Wayne Fitzpatrick, Ryan Bannon, Kevin Fitzpatrick.
Subs used: Sean Kavanagh for K Fitzpatrick 50mins, Mark Kelly for P Kelly 53mins, Tristan Kennedy for Dunne 56mins.
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