Dowling Cup R1
Stephen O Rourke Park
14/02/26
Ballykelly 1-6 Kildangan 1-7
Our seniors made the short trip to neighbours Ballykelly a profitable one today with a one point victory in round 1 of the Dowling Cup. Though it was St Valentines Day, friendships were left aside and both sides served up a full blooded but sporting encounter.
The game commenced in cold and breezy conditions with Ballykelly having the advantage of a cross field breeze in the opening half. The difficulty of the breeze was highlighted in the opening minutes as two long range Ballykelly shots came back off the Kildangan crossbar. Ballykelly had the better of the opening early exchanges and went ahead from a free five minutes in. Mark O Donavan answered with a pointed free from outside the arc for Kildangan to draw the sides level. The Kildangan middle third grew into the game and began to dominate as the half progressed with Aaron Schofield, Cormac Finnegan and the returning Kevin Christie showing very well. It was Aaron Schofield that kicked Kildangan ahead 15 minutes in with a good point. Disaster stuck for Kildangan shortly after when a high ball into the Kildangan square was flicked to the net to put Ballykelly two points up. Mark O Donavan answered with a good point from play soon after to narrow the gap to the minimum and the same player shot low and just wide with a goal chance just after, following good setup play from Ryan Moran. With half time approaching substitute Devon Abbey broke through the Ballykelly cover and knocked over the equaliser off his weaker foot under pressure, to level the score at halftime Ballykelly 1-1 Kildangan 0-4.
The second half commenced with the breeze favouring Kildangan. Kildangan reasserted their earlier dominance built largely on a tight marking backline where Killian Scully, Eanna Sherlock and Daragh Murphy with giving no change to the Ballykelly forwards. Mark O Donavan got Kildangan on the scoreboard from a free after a foul on Kevin Christie. Cian Reilly kicked a massive two pointer for Kildangan after a pass from Devon Abbey to put Kildangan three ahead. Moments later Mark O Donavan blasted to the back of the Ballykelly net to put Kildangan in total control. This seemed to lull Kildangan into a sense that the job was already done. In the closing 15 minutes Ballykelly chipped away at the Kildangan lead and by the time the final whistle came the Kildangan lead was down to one point after five consecutive frees for Ballykelly. This left the final score Ballykelly 1-6 Kildangan 1-7.
A win in any local derby is always a good win. Kildangan were excellent in the open 40 minutes playing a fast passing style but will be disappointed to have allowed Ballykelly back into the game without having conceding a point from play. There were many positives with Kevin Christie and Damien Cairns back in Kildangan jerseys. With more players due back in the next few weeks things are on the up for the team. Come out and support the team who have a home game in the next round against St Kevins, which should be a very competitive encounter next weekend.
Also congrats to Kildangan U9 player Paidi Fitzpatrick from Riverstown who was the Kildare Mascot at the Kildare v Derry NFL game in St Conleths this evening. Definitely a memory to cherish for Paidi.
Stephen O Rourke Park
14/02/26
Ballykelly 1-6 Kildangan 1-7
Our seniors made the short trip to neighbours Ballykelly a profitable one today with a one point victory in round 1 of the Dowling Cup. Though it was St Valentines Day, friendships were left aside and both sides served up a full blooded but sporting encounter.
The game commenced in cold and breezy conditions with Ballykelly having the advantage of a cross field breeze in the opening half. The difficulty of the breeze was highlighted in the opening minutes as two long range Ballykelly shots came back off the Kildangan crossbar. Ballykelly had the better of the opening early exchanges and went ahead from a free five minutes in. Mark O Donavan answered with a pointed free from outside the arc for Kildangan to draw the sides level. The Kildangan middle third grew into the game and began to dominate as the half progressed with Aaron Schofield, Cormac Finnegan and the returning Kevin Christie showing very well. It was Aaron Schofield that kicked Kildangan ahead 15 minutes in with a good point. Disaster stuck for Kildangan shortly after when a high ball into the Kildangan square was flicked to the net to put Ballykelly two points up. Mark O Donavan answered with a good point from play soon after to narrow the gap to the minimum and the same player shot low and just wide with a goal chance just after, following good setup play from Ryan Moran. With half time approaching substitute Devon Abbey broke through the Ballykelly cover and knocked over the equaliser off his weaker foot under pressure, to level the score at halftime Ballykelly 1-1 Kildangan 0-4.
The second half commenced with the breeze favouring Kildangan. Kildangan reasserted their earlier dominance built largely on a tight marking backline where Killian Scully, Eanna Sherlock and Daragh Murphy with giving no change to the Ballykelly forwards. Mark O Donavan got Kildangan on the scoreboard from a free after a foul on Kevin Christie. Cian Reilly kicked a massive two pointer for Kildangan after a pass from Devon Abbey to put Kildangan three ahead. Moments later Mark O Donavan blasted to the back of the Ballykelly net to put Kildangan in total control. This seemed to lull Kildangan into a sense that the job was already done. In the closing 15 minutes Ballykelly chipped away at the Kildangan lead and by the time the final whistle came the Kildangan lead was down to one point after five consecutive frees for Ballykelly. This left the final score Ballykelly 1-6 Kildangan 1-7.
A win in any local derby is always a good win. Kildangan were excellent in the open 40 minutes playing a fast passing style but will be disappointed to have allowed Ballykelly back into the game without having conceding a point from play. There were many positives with Kevin Christie and Damien Cairns back in Kildangan jerseys. With more players due back in the next few weeks things are on the up for the team. Come out and support the team who have a home game in the next round against St Kevins, which should be a very competitive encounter next weekend.
Also congrats to Kildangan U9 player Paidi Fitzpatrick from Riverstown who was the Kildare Mascot at the Kildare v Derry NFL game in St Conleths this evening. Definitely a memory to cherish for Paidi.
