*Cian O’Rourke battles with Eoin Fitzgerald
INAGH/KILNAMONA are back in the hunt for the Canon Hamilton, qualifying for the last eight along with Wolfe Tones despite overcoming the Shannon side.
Inagh/Kilnamona 0-21
Wolfe Tones 2-12
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis
A response was needed from last year’s beaten finalists following their shock second round loss to Smith O’Briens. Though, it was not emphatic Inagh/Kilnamona kept their aspirations alive by recording a narrow three point win against Wolfe Tones.
Championship intensity was lacking in this contest, the high tally of wides throughout was a factor in taking from this and the spectacle itself. Wolfe Tones had 19 wides compared to Inagh/Kilnamona’s nine
Aidan McCarthy was to the fore for the winners, he was the chief scoring threat and one Wolfe Tones were unable to nullify. Assigning Darragh Lohan to the former Young Hurler of the Year nominee went someway towards limiting his influence but it came too late and still McCarthy managed to come up trumps, he along with Keith White hit the winning scores.
For the most part, it appeared that Inamona were going to come out on top but a strong finish materialised from Wolfe Tones to make them work for their buck.
Wolfe Tones had trailed by seven points approaching the final quarter but the aerial ability of Aron Shanagher reared its head and caused Inamona some headaches. Shanagher raided for goal on forty nine minutes to cut the gap to two points.
Moments previously, Shane Woods had made an excellent run up along the sideline but ran out of room before offloading where an excellent Daithí Lohan and Darragh Lohan turnover kickstarted the move which finished with Aaron Cunningham scoring the opening goal of the game on forty seven minutes.
With two points inside the opening forty seconds through David Fitzgerald and Niall Mullins, there was a sense that Inagh/Kilnamona could wreak havoc but this scenario never materialised with Wolfe Tones earning a foothold in the contest with Kevin McCafferty and Billy Connors getting them back to within a point on ten minutes. The lead doubled before Ben O’Gorman and Cian O’Rourke helped to steady the Tones and leave a gap of four points at half-time.
For the winners, Aidan McCarthy was immense and caused problems, he was central to all positive aspects of their play. Defensively they struggled with the height of Shanagher which is something other clubs will look to capitalise on if Keith White is not fit enough for sixty minutes. Their tendency to drift in and out of games is as strong as ever and will need to be tackled over the next four weeks in preparation of a quarter-final.
Daithí Lohan was very impressive for the Tones with Ben O’Gorman also catching the eye. While they will be disappointed for their winning streak to end, Ray Diviney’s side are confident of causing a major upset in the knockout stages and have the firepower to do so if they are shooting on all cylinders.
Scorers Inagh/Kilnamona: Aidan McCarthy (0-11 7f), Niall Mullins (0-02), Sean Rynne (0-02), David Fitzgerald (0-01), Shane Vaughan (0-01), Darren Cullinan (0-01), David Mescall (0-01), Ronan Mescall (0-01), Keith White (0-01)
Scorers Wolfe Tones: Aaron Cunningham (1-02), Billy Connors (0-05 4f 1’65), Aron Shanagher (1-01 1f), Ben O’Gorman (0-02 1f), Kevin McCafferty (0-01), Cian O’Rourke (0-01).
Inagh/Kilnamona:
1: Eamonn Foudy
4: Colin Shannon
2: Cathal McConigley
7: Damien Lafferty
8: Darren Cullinan
5: Shane Woods
6: Jason McCarthy
9: David Fitzgerald
19: Niall Mullins
25: Eoin Fitzgerald
18: Shane Vaughan
12: David Mescall
14: Aidan McCarthy
11: Sean Rynne
13: Josh Guyler
Subs:
29: Ronan Mescall for Guyler (27)
3: Kevin Hehir for E Fitzgerald (43)
23: Conor Tierney for Vaughan (46)
24: Keith White for Lafferty (53)
17: Shane McInerney for D Mescall (60)
Wolfe Tones:
1: Pa Freeman
2: Liam Murphy
4: Darragh Lohan
9: Daithí Lohan
7: Stephen Donnellan
6: Rory Hayes
5: John Guilfoyle
8: Ben O’Gorman
10: Cian O’Rourke
15: Dean Devanney
11: Dylan Frawley
12: Aaron Cunningham
13: Aron Shanagher
14: Billy Connors
17: Kevin McCafferty
Subs:
21: Daithi O’Connell for Frawley (44)
Referee: Rory McGann (Newmarket-on-Fergus)
