Nolan fires Dunderry to huge victory over Kilmessan

Dunderry stunned Kilmessan in the SHC at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday

SHC

Dunderry 0-21

Kilmessan 1-17

Evan Nolan hit 10 points as Dunderry stunned Kilmessan in Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening in the SHC. It wasn't a classic encounter by any stretch of the imagination and Nicky Horan's side performed far below the standard they had set in their opening two games. Credit where credit is due, Dunderry were full value for the win as they hit 10 points in the final quarter to claim a huge scalp.

Dunderry's forwards were excellent on the day. Nolan was incredibly accurate from the dead-ball scenarios. Cathal Barron was a complete nuisance for the Kilmessan full-back line and Adam Kelly really came alive in the second-half and injected great energy into the Dunderry attack at a vital stage.

Dunderry came out of the blocks fast and they raced into an early 0-4 to 0-2 lead with a brace of scores from Nolan and one apiece for Barron and Rian Fay.

Shane Brennan pulled one back for Kilmessan before a superb ball from Liam Dempsey was well gathered by Mark Leavy and he tapped over for Dunderry's fifth point. Barron then made it 0-6 to 0-3 in favour of Tommy Leavy's side after 12 minutes.

Over the next 10 minutes, Kilmessan had a real bright spell as they hit six points in a row. Mark Horan was particularly good during this purple patch as he contributed two scores and set up two for the energetic Lorcan Byrne.

Lorcan O'Connor broke through the middle and finished off a fine individual score before Luke Horan made it 0-9 to 0-6 in favour of Kilmessan after 22 minutes.

Niall Darcy had a fantastic goal chance but he didn't get enough power behind his effort and it transpired to be an easy stop for Stephen Clynch to make.

Byrne hit a fantastic long-range effort for his third point but it was Dunderry who had the last say of the half and a brace of Nolan frees brought them back to within two of the lead. At half-time, Kilmessan led 0-10 to 0-8.

Harry Cahill had a goal opportunity early in the second-half but his shot on Jack Fagan's net was weak and the Dunderry keeper easily dealt with the situation.

Eoin Harkin, who was introduced at the interval, got Kilmessan off the mark in the second-half before Adam Kelly and Lorcan O'Connor traded scores.

Leavy and Darcy then rattled off two quick points for Dunderry and after 40 minutes of action, Kilmessan still led but only narrowly, 0-12 to 0-11. Dunderry were starting to believe that a massive victory was possible and the momentum shift was palpable.

Between the 44th minute and the 55th minute, Dunderry outscored Kilmessan by 0-5 to 0-2. All of Dunderry's scores in that period were dead-balls from the hurl of Nolan and with five minutes remaining of normal time, they led by 0-16 to 0-14.

Mark Horan tried to keep Kilmessan's head above water with a brace of scores either side of a Darcy point. In the final three minutes of normal time, Dunderry had their tails up and they hit three points in a row courtesy of Fay, Martin Jordan and Nolan. At that stage, Dunderry led 0-20 to 0-16.

In the 61st minute, Kilmessan were afforded a lifeline when Shane Brennan was fouled inside the large rectangle. Mark Horan calmly dispatched the sliotar to the net from the penalty spot, which reduced the gap back to one.

When Seanie Doyle scored a fantastic point to level the sides, Kilmessan thought they were after saving their blushes but with the very last strike, Leavy split the posts to seal all three points for Dunderry.

Dunderry - Jack Fagan; Darragh Fay, Fionn McHale, TJ Loughran; Niall O Laoire, Conor Leavy, Ronan Brady; Niall Darcy (0-2), William Treacy; Adam Kelly (0-1), Liam Dempsey, Rian Fay (0-2); Evan Nolan (0-10 eight free, one '65'), Cathal Barron (0-2), Mark Leavy (0-3). Subs - Martin Jordan (0-1) for Dempsey 44m, Donagh O'Laoire for Darcy 57m, Cian Coogan for Fay 61m.

Kilmessan - Stephen Clynch; Noah Conroy, Cathal Burke, Peter Farrell; Paddy Lally, Harry Cahill, Kyle Donnelly; Lorcan O'Connor (0-2), Cian O'Sullivan; Lorcan Byrne (0-3 one free), Darragh Horan, Finn Conroy; Mark Horan (1-6 four free, one penalty), Shane Brennan (0-2), Luke Horan (0-3). Subs - Eoin Harkin (0-1) for O'Sullivan half-time, Seanie Doyle for Conroy

Referee - Derek Argue (Cavan)