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Saturday October 2nd 2004
Kildangan 3-16
Burgess 2-18
(After extra-time)
It took over 140 minutes hurling to finally separate these evenly matched sides and in the end Kildangan won by a single
point.
In an enthralling contest and it was Liam Karol Flannery who popped up, in the ninth minute of the second period of extra
time, with the winning strike from 45 yards to settle this Nenagh Guardian North Tipperary Intermediate Semi-Final Replay
played at McDonagh Park, Nenagh last Saturday evening.
If Kildangan go on to win silverware this season, this victory will no doubt live long in the memory. Burgess too, must
be applauded for the part they played in two enthralling games but in truth, Kildangan thoroughly deserved their triumph.
On a day when character and heart was most required, it was the men in Gold and Blue had showed them in spades.
The game opened with a frantic start. Brian Hogan pointed in the first minute to open accounts on the scoreboard and on
two minutes Hugh Flannery, rose and picked the ball out of the air before setting off on a solo run through the Burgess defence.
He then handpassed the sliotar to Darragh Egan and the Tipp minor kicked to the net from eight yards.
Egan followed up with a free straight away and a minute later hesitation in the Burgess defence saw Egan gain possession,
before running a few yards and this time he netted to the right of the goal with a blistering shot, to give his side a six
point lead.
But, the crowd didn't have time to catch their breath. The resultant puck-out was moved upfield where it found Tony Scroope
and the Tipp Under-21 player set off on a solo run, before off-loading to Noel Gleeson who flicked the sliotar on the double
to the net from four yards. A minute later Scroope had to leave the field of play with a pulled hamstring and it took nine
minutes for Burgess to send on a substitute.
In the interim, the game settled into a pattern. Shane Maher pointed an excelled score from the left side of the field.
Then, Paddy Lynch responded with two scores, while John Maher also chipped in with a point. With Garrett Howard replacing
Scroope and Burgess again at fifteen, Lynch further extended Kildangan's lead with two efforts from placed ball.
With 23 minutes played, Kildangan took a nine-point lead when Conor Hayes stopped a Lynch free going wide by batting the
sliotar across the face of the goal, to where Egan was on hand to hit a first time swipe to the net, for a first half hat
trick. The sides then swapped frees as Leo Quigley was introduced in place of Timmy Hogan to try and halter Egan's scoring
prowess. Before the referee blew for half time Burgess scored three unanswered points, a brace from Nealon and a point for
Howard, as the gap was closed to five at the break. Kildangan should have been further ahead but for a succession of wides
compared to Burgess not hitting a single shot wide of the mark.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half saw the sides trade points, before Conor Hayes pointed the score-of-the-game,
with his over the shoulder effort sailing between the posts from an acute angle. Noel Gleeson then got his second point of
the half to keep five between the sides.
With ten minutes of normal time remaining, Kildangan missed various opportunities to put the contest beyond reach. Tommy
Connors was looking lively since being introduced at corner forward and pointed to put two goals between the sides. Then a
Damien O'Brien point was followed with scores from Gleeson and Maher. When Brian Hogan cut the gap to two with time almost
up, an injury time effort from Colm McGrath for Kildangan seemed like the final score.
But, Burgess got a free 40 yards out with the game at the death and Gleeson lobbed the sliotar into the square, where
Shane Maher doubled it to the back of the net to send the game to extra time.
Burgess opted to play with the wind advantage in the first period of extra time and Noel Gleeson followed a pointed free
with a pointed solo effort. The Burgess corner forward then added his third point of the first period. In the final minute
of the first period, Connors cut the gap to two with a point after good work by Gerry Slattery at wing back.
In the second period, Connors picked out Lynch who pointed and in the sixth minute of the second period, good control
by Egan saw the minor star pick and point to level the semi-final. At this stage both teams looked tired with exhaustion and
it took Liam Karol Flannery's pointed effort in the last minute to put light between the sides. Still, Burgess had one last
chance for parity when a free by Gleeson sailed wide of the goal at the end.
It was an enigmatic match for the large crowd that attended last Saturday and it is Kildangan who will now face Borrisokane
in the North Tipperary Intermediate Final.
Scorers :
Kildangan:
D Egan (3-2, 1f), P Lynch (0-8, 5f, 1-65), T Connors (0-2), J Maher, C Hayes, C McGrath, L K Flannery (0-1 each).
Burgess:
N Gleeson (1-7, 4f), S Maher (1-3), B Hogan (0-3), K Nealon (0-2), T Scroope, G Howard, D O'Brien (0-1 each).
Kildangan:
D Hogan; M Ryan, B Lawlor, J Flannery; L Kelly, D Hackett, G Slattery; K Hogan, J Maher; P Lynch, J Minehan; H Flannery;
D Egan, L K Flannery, C Hayes.
Subs: T Connors for Minehan (37 min), C McGrath for Hayes (60 min), Hayes for Hackett (63 min).
Burgess: N McGrath; T Hogan, D O'Brien, L Hogan; D Maher, C Quigley, N McDonnell; B Hogan, E Hogan; R Cremmin, S Maher,
N Quigley; T Scroope, K Nealon, N Gleeson. Sub: G Howard for Scroope (19 min), L Quigley for T Hogan (27 min), J Maher for
McDonnell (45 min), C O'Brien for Cremmin (49 min), T Hogan for E Hogan (76 min).
Referee: Willie Clohessy (Drom-Inch).
© Nenagh Guardian
& http://www.unison.ie/
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