The Kildangan senior team made the journey to the other side of Nurney last night as they faced off against St. Laurence’s. After last year’s encounter which saw a few sending offs there was an air of anticipation for what last night’s game would hold. Thankfully it was a different affair. 

The first sunny day of April gave the game a somewhat summer feel as the sun beamed down right throughout the game. Noticeably the Kildangan team were lining out in new attire as they sported their brand new away jerseys thanks to Grangecoor Farm.

Kildangan kicked off strong with a Killian Scully point in the opening play of the game. Similarly to last years game, two goals followed by the same two men as last year. A Mark O’Donovan goal first, followed by an excellently finished penalty by Oisin Irvin. Two points by star man Alan Donoher followed, including one insane outside of the boot shot despite the cries from the physio (Cian Murtagh) saying; “Don’t shoot!”. Laurence’s would go on to dominate the play for the next 15 minutes and despite their efforts only scored the 3 points in the first half. At a crucial point in the game when Laurence’s were dominating, an Adam Balmer goal line save saw Kildangan prevent a goal and kept us well in the lead. 

Kildangan went into half time up by seven on a scoreline of 2.04 - 0.03.

The second half opened with a Laurence’s goal which kept us on the back foot despite the advantage. Points from Luke McKenna and Daniel Gilbert settled us, followed by a Seán Fitzgearld save. Mark O’Donovan, Alan Donoher and fullback Adam Balmer all got scores to cement the victory however there was still some fight left in the dog as Laurence’s pulled a second goal out of thin air with a deflected shot. Kildangan substitutes, Kian Murray, Dermot Hickey and Conor Corrigan made a real impact in the final 10 minutes. John Kelly put in a great shift making interceptions left right and centre whilst Stephen Murtagh also played a stormer. A Mark O’Donovan goal, a couple of points from Daniel Gilbert and an outstanding 1.01 from Kian Murray cemented the victory for Kildangan in their first league game of the year.

Moment of the match: Adam Balmer’s goal line save to keep the gap at 6 instead of 3. Came at a crucial stage in the game. 

Man of the match: Alan Donoher; scored 3 points in the game whilst also providing some outstanding passes and link up play. Mark O’Donovan and John Kelly are also honourable mentions.

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