Kildress breathed a heavy sight of relief at the end of the ten minutes of added time played at the end of this game as they just about hung on for a draw, 2-8 to 1-11 against Derrytresk, in the First Round of the Championship played in front of a big crowd in the splendid setting of Donaghmore this evening. The Tones played well at times early on, with Conor McAleer their outstanding player on the night, but they just never looked comfortable against spirited and well-focused opponents. Points from Matty McGuigan (0-3), Philip Lennon and Stephen Loughran (0-2 apiece) saw them marginally ahead at the break but they should have made more from the half-dozen good chances they kicked wide.
Philip Lennon’s early second half point was followed by a run of three goals, the first to Derrytresk and the next two palmed to the net by Caolan McNamee and then Marty McGurk after good, incisive Kildress moves. That put Kildress ahead by five with 20 minutes normal time to go but as a team they then seemed to die, struggling to win anything at midfield and rarely troubling the Derrytresk defence. Going down to 14 following a second yellow card didn’t help their cause but an inability to score even once in nearly 30 minutes, plus the Fir an Chnoic’s good use of their extra man, nearly cost Kildress the game. The Hill men meanwhile came forward in blue waves and kicked the five points in a row it took to send the contest to a replay. Just as telling however were the wides Derrytresk also kicked and ultimately it was those misses that allowed the Tones that sigh of relief.
