Potterton points Kildalkey to safety

Kildalkey3-18

Kilmessan1-23

If somebody had dropped into Boardsmill and didn’t know what was up for grabs in this SHC encounter on Sunday they would surely have come to the conclusion that a much sought after trophy was the prize on offer such was the intensity of the play.

There was no trophy on offer, of course, in this final group game but there were other rewards – and both teams had reason, when all the drama was over, to be satisfied with the way things turned out.

With this narrowest of victories - secured by a Nicky Potterton point in injury time – Kildalkey avoid a potentially treacherous relegation play-off against Na Fianna – while Kilmessan, despite this setback, can look forward to a final against either Kiltale or Ratoath, their first in 13 years as they bid to add to their record number of Jubilee Cup titles.

Of course Kilmessan will be disappointed that they didn’t maintain their unbeaten run in this year’s campaign especially as they looked like they had secured a draw when Sean Doyle popped over a point in the second minute of injury time.

However, in a frantic finish Kildalkey launched one more attack, and Martin Healy passed to Potterton who swept the ball over the bar to secure the narrowest of wins for his team and make sure of their safety.

It was a sweet victory indeed for Mike Cole’s side but some of their supporters must have been left wondering how the championship would have fared out if their team had produced this level of performance on a more regular, consistent basis.

While they trailed 2-8 to 1-14 at the interval and slipped further behind, 2-9 to 1-18, inside the opening six minutes of the second-half, Kildalkey dug deep and upped their performance considerably to take a one-point lead they held going into injury time until, that is, Doyle levelled.

At that stage a draw looked the most likely result (which wouldn’t have made either side unhappy) but then Potterton applied the coup de grace.

Once again Potterton was a major influence for his side firing over nine points in all, seven frees. He also bagged the opening goal of the game on six minutes after superb approach work by Niall McNally and Cian Colhoun.

It was Colhoun who turned from provider to finisher himself to land his team’s second goal on 10 minutes with McNally and Jamie Kavanagh involved in the build up.

Kildalkey’s third goal, and how vital it turned out to be, was the end product of sizzling, fast paced, attach that ended with Conor Fitzgerald unleashing a shot from close range on 42 minutes.

Earlier, in another demonstration of how Kildalkey could create openings in the Kilmessan defence, Sean Power produced a first-rate save to prevent Luke Rickard from notching up a goal.

Fitzgerald’s strike left the teams level, 3-12 to 1-18, and from then on the contest swayed this way and that until Kildalkey sealed the deal in those dramatic closing moments.

While Jamie Kavanagh, Patrick Conneely, Patrick Potterton, Niall McNally, Brian Conneely and Potterton all landed points for Kildalkey there were other little cameos that helped secure the win.

For instance in the closing minutes Kevin Keena looked destined to find the net for Kilmessan until Healy bravely intervened and got block in. Such moments can mean a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Kilmessan's goal was the product of a long ball played into the Kildalkey goalmouth with Keena passing to Jack Cottrell who fired to the net.

Doyle was a big player for them contributing 10 points, eight frees, while the excellent Kris Gorman, Cian Maguire, Keena, Lorcan Byrne, Darragh Horan and Mark Horan were others to raise white flags.

It was just that Kilmessan showed a fraility in defence that was exploited this time by Kildalkey and succumbed to their first defeat of the campaign. Still, despite this setback, they can look forward to another appearance in a final. Kildalkey were left to ponder what might have been.

Kildalkey: David Harmon; David Conneely, Brin Kelly, Edward Dunne; Martin Healy, Niall McNally (0-1), Patrick Barnwell; Jamie Kavanagh (0-1), Cian Colhoun (1-1); Patrick Conneely (0-2), Luke Rickard, Brendan McKeon; Nicky Potterton (1-10 eight frees), Patrick Potterton (0-2), Conor Fitzgerald. Subs – Gary Kelly for B Kelly, Evan Fitzgerald (1-0) for Kavanagh both 35m, Brian Conneely (0-1) for C Fitzgerald 55m, Kelvin Lynch for P Conneely 60m.

Kilmessan: Sean Power; Lorcan O’Connor, Shane Brennan, Chris Green; Kris Gorman (0-3), Kyle Donnelly, Jack Cottrell (1-1); Cian Maguire (0-1), Finn Conroy; Kevin Keena (0-3), Lorcan Byrne (0-2), Darragh Horan (0-2); Mark Horan (0-1), Sean Doyle (0-10 eight frees), Alex Smith. Subs – Noah Conroy for Green 23m, Robbie Johnson for F Conroy 47m, Peter Farrell for Maguire 53m, Conor Horan for Cottrell 59m.

Referee: Kevin McDonnell (Dublin).