Kildress made it across the line in their LCC GROUP Junior Championship Semi-Final with Cookstown by two points in the end earlier today, 1-12 to 2-7, and overall deserved their victory in a game admirably refereed, as always, by Sean Hurson and played in Edendork’s perfect setting. It was a game that went one way and then the other, and both sides will be regretting mistakes made at crucial times in the contest, with both in turn spurning good chances and coughing up possession a bit too easily at times.
The Fr Rocks started the stronger and although Eoin Brannigan’s thumping goal put Kildress ahead, for most of the first half it was Cookstown who looked that bit better. Despite that, it was Kildress who led, rather fortunately, at the break, by 1-5 to 1-4. In the second half Kildress had Gerard Grimes to thank for a brilliant early point blank save and this seemed to shake his team who went on to play their best football of the day, scoring four points in a row. Breaking up the field at pace they created, but too often failed to take, a number of chances, with Matty McGuigan a constant threat to the Fr Rocks defence. The introduction of Corey Holland sharpened Kildress, and he quickly scored two fine points and also hit the base of the post with a goal effort. By now the Tones were a deserved steady four/five points ahead which was all the better for them, as a late penalty goal from the classy James McGahan left them with finish that was more nervous than maybe it should have been.
Kildress will be delighted to return to the LCC GROUP Tyrone Junior Final a year after last year’s thriller with The Rock. It took a sound all-round team performance to get them there but they also had stand-out performers in Callum Holland, Marty Loughran, Shea Murphy, Conor Quinn, Stephen Loughran and probable ‘men-of-the-match’ Stephen McGurk and Matty McGuigan.
As an aside, it was our delight today on our travels to Edendork, to come across Gaelic Tyrone’s man-of-the-moment, Pedro Gomes: ‘Failte romhat a Phedro, agus do mhuintir fosta, agus go bhfaga Dia suas sibh i dTír Eoghain!’
Kildress: | Gerard Grimes | Aaron Loughran, Callum Holland, Marty Loughran | Eoin Brannigan (1-0), Dean McNally, Stephen McGurk | Enda McAleer, Shea Murphy (0-2) | Stephen Loughran (0-1), Des Treacy (0-1), Conor Quinn | Philip Lennon (0-2), Caolan McNamee, Matty McGuigan (0-4) | Corey Holland (0-2), Pauric Lagan, Frank McGurk, Niall Connolly
