Kilcullen 0-14
St Patrick's(Carlow) 1-10
Leinster JFC quarter-final
Kilcullen's adventure through the Leinster Junior Football Championship continued amid brilliant excitement on Saturday afternoon as a point from substitute Shay Pembroke deep into stoppage time tipped a very evenly matched contest in their favour.
They were not without fault however, and it could have been a very different game had it not been for the numerous interventions of Kilcullen goalkeeper Alan Wright, while they also kicked a plethora of wides in a disjointed shooting display.
St Patrick's came into this game on the back of a loss in their last championship game, losing the Carlow junior county final to Éire Óg's second team, but qualifying for the Leinster Championship due to the fact that club's can't put forward a second team to represent the county.
You wouldn't have thought that this was a side that failed to win the Carlow junior title as they attacked intelligently throughout the first half and their side was peppered with individuals who could make a telling impact.
It was a lively start to the game, and Kilcullen couldn't have settled into it in more confident fashion as they eased into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after five minutes. David Marshall got things underway with a free, while Ross Coughlan and Brian Bell added a point apiece, before Marshall again split the posts with a tidy score following an excellent team move.
St Patrick's solitary response was a pointed free from Jack Kennedy, but the managed to gain a foothold in the tie once Kennedy and Lorcan O'Toole landed a pair of exceptional long range points within a minute of each other. A splendid effort from the boot of Marshall at the other end appeared to have quelled the St Patrick's uprising, but they soon took a stranglehold on proceedings midway through the half.
Four points from play in the space of six minutes put them firmly in control of the tie, with the likes of Willie Doran, Paddy Tobin and Kennedy all exerting a considerable influence on the tie. Kennedy was the undoubted star however, and the quality of his scores were exemplary. He scored two fine long range points that arrived between scores from Tobin and Doran, and matters could have been worse had it not been for Alan Wright's splendid save on a goalbound shot from Eoin O'Toole.
Marshall eventually halted St Patrick's momentum with another exquisitely struck point off his left from an acute angle, but they were soon dealt a blow as midfielder Sean Byrne was shown a black card for hauling a Pat's player to the floor. It took referee Chris Dwyer less than three minutes to even things up on the black card front as he sent St Patrick's midfielder Willie Doran to the line for pulling down Marshall as he bore down on goal. There was time for a late point from Kennedy however, which sent the Carlow side into the break with a 0-8 to 0-6 lead.
Kilcullen would have been keen to start the second half on the front foot, but the game looked almost beyond them when St Patrick's plundered a goal and a point with 90 seconds of the restart. Both scores came from Jack Kennedy, with the goal arriving after some poor communication in the Rags defence led to the chance for the wing-forward after a kickout strategy broke down.
Rather than deflating the Kilcullen challenge, that goal seemed to invigorate it, and they were superb over the course of the next 15 minutes.
The Rags seemed to rid themselves of any shackles and began to play with pure and utter fearlessness as they attacked without abandon and wiped the Pat's lead out.
Darren Barker began the six-point salvo with a fine point, before scores from Chalky Whyte and a couple from Colm Fox cut the gap to two. Another free from Marshall left the minimum between the two, before Barker finished off the comeback with a fine long range point.
Once they went level however, Kilcullen's incisiveness in attack dropped, and the amount of turnovers in the final 15 minutes of the game was astonishing. St Patrick's finally managed to get forward on occasion once Kilcullen pulled level, but they missed two or three gilt-edged opportunities before Eoin O'Toole eventually restored their lead with a point.
Despite kicking 11 wides in the second half, Kilcullen managed to raise the white flags when it mattered most, and Whyte clawed them level with a coolly struck effort with two minutes of normal time remaining. In the 63rd minute it was Pembroke who stepped forward, and after being found by a brilliant pass from Colm Fox, the substitute split the posts with a composed finish.
Scorers for Kilcullen: D Marshall 0-5(3f), C Fox(1f), D Barker and J Whyte 0-2 each, R Coughlan, B Bell and S Pembroke 0-1 each.
Scorers for St Patrick's: J Kennedy 1-7(2f), E O'Toole, P Tobin and W Doran 0-1 each.
Kilcullen
A Wright; R Toft, F Shortt, W Jones; P Bell, J Lambe, H Peacock; D Barker, S Byrne(B Fox bc 30mins); D Marshall, B Bell, P Jones; R Coughlan(S Pembroke 48mins), C Fox, J Whyte.
St Patrick's
J Tobin; J Ansbro, L Kavanagh, A Maher; S Rohan, A O'Neill, J Ryan; W Doran(J Purcell bc 33mins), E Doyle(P Tobin ; J Kennedy, J Fitzgerald, P Murphy; E O'Toole, P Tobin(A Campbell 50mins), L O'Toole.
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Kildare Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 045 409350. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 729 0010. Or you can email content@kildarenow.com at any time.