Kildalkey cruise to victory in SHC opener
Kildalkey kicked off their bid to regain their SHC crown with a comfortable victory over Longwood on Thursday
Kildalkey 2-24
Longwood 1-11
Kildalkey may have been without the services of some influential players, but that didn't stop them from earning a comfortable victory over Longwood in the opening round of the Meath SHC on Thursday night in Trim.
Nick Fitzgerald's side were missing some big names in the likes of Nicky Potterton, Brendan McKeon and Brian O'Halloran. However, the men in blue were particularly impressive for 25 minutes in the first-half which included a brace of goals from Niall McNally which put a decent cushion between the two sides.
Patrick Conneely took some time to hit top gear but once he did he was immense and finished with 0-9. The midfield partnership of Patrick Potterton and Kelvin Lynch was the real game changer and the pair made hay as the sun shone down on Trim GAA
Credit where credit is due, Longwood themselves were numerically challenged, and at times they put up a stern test to the talented Kildalkey side. Anthony Healy was cool and collected in dead-ball scenarios. Stalwart Mickey Burke pulled the strings at centre back while Ryan Moore caused a lot of hassle for Kildalkey down the flank.
Longwood started well and after five minutes a long-range free from Anthony Healy handed the senior B champions a 0-3 to 0-2 advantage. Evan Fitzgerald did well to chase down a lost cause before setting up Gary Kelly for a point and this kickstarted a superb run for Kildalkey.
Ten minutes and two Kildalkey points later, Nick Fitzgerald's charges kicked five points clear after some good link-up play between Cian Colhoun and Lynch put Conor Fitzgerald through on goal and he played a perfectly weighted ball across to McNally for the game's opening goal.
McNally followed that score up with a point before Potterton made it 1-7 to 0-3 after 22 minutes. Sean Coloe ended the rot for Longwood but then Kildalkey hit another four points on the spin which included a well-worked through-the-hands move that was polished off by Potterton.
Again Coloe pulled one back for the men in white and black but on the stroke of half-time McNally pierced through the Longwood defence and scored his second goal. At the interval, Kildalkey led 2-11 to 0-5.
Longwood were not going to lie down and they came out with intent in the second-half. Anthony Healy commenced proceedings with his third point before Damien Healy set up Kevin Heagney for a goal which reduced the gap back to eight points.
Conneely got Kildalkey back on track again with a brace of scores before Evan Fitzgerald tapped over to make 2-14 to 1-6 after 35 minutes. Again Longwood refused to lie down and they hit three points in a row, two from Anthony Healy and one for Damien Healy.
That good run of form was wiped out when Kildalkey responded with four on the spin through a Conneely brace, Evan Fitzgerald and a McNally free.
With ten minutes remaining, discipline started to become an issue. Cian Colhoun and Sean Coloe were both giving their marching orders when the pair wrestled on the floor and pulled at each other's faceguards. This incident ignited a melee of sorts but eventually calmness was restored.
In the last five minutes, Kildalkey outscored Longwood 0-6 to 0-1 as they cruised to a comfortable victory in this SHC opener.
Kildalkey - Caemerhon Smyth; Jamie Kavanagh, Brin Kelly, Conor McNally; Martin Healy (0-2), Gary Kelly (0-1), Paddy Barnwell; Kelvin Lynch (0-2), Patrick Potterton (0-1); Luke Rickard (0-1), Evan Fitzgerald (0-3), Cian Colhoun; Niall McNally (2-4 two frees), Patrick Conneely (0-9, four frees), Conor Fitzgerald (0-1).
Longwood - Mark Kennedy; Bob Maguire, Conor M Dixon, Paul Gill; Joe Stenson, Brian Stagg, Niall Mulvey; Gavin Griffith, Damien Healy (0-1); Mickey Burke, Sean Coloe (0-3), Anthony Healy (0-6 six frees); Ben McLoughlin, Kevin Heagney (1-0), Ryan Moore (0-1). Subs - Conor Dixon for Gill 18m, Kevin Maguire for Conor Dixon 30m, Ross Healy for Stagg half-time, Thomas Dunne for McLoughlin 42m.
Referee - Bernard Heaney (Clann na nGael)