Courtesy of The Western People
Intermediate Quarter-final
BELMULLET 0-14 KILMAINE 1-5
Diarmuid Kelly in St Patrick’s Park, Westport
Belmullet booked their spot in the intermediate semi-final with an assured display that shone brightly amidst the madness in Westport on Saturday last. Three men were given their marching orders by referee Declan Corcoran amongst a gamut of yellow cards brandished by the Islandeady native, but the core of the Belmullet team rose above the mediocrity of it all to see the Erris men through. Billy Joe Padden, Shane Nallen, Paddy Barrett and Chris Barrett were all superior in their respective positions around the middle and formed a stable platform for Belmullet to manufacture the necessary scores.
Kilmaine got off to a brighter start on the perfect Westport turf, scoring a brace of points from the boot of Paul Doherty by way of two placed kicks. Belmullet soon stamped their authority around the middle of the pitch however, and started to deprive the Kilmaine forwards of consistent supply. By the 15th minute this pattern started to yield scores for the North Mayo men. Billy Joe Padden opened their account with an emphatic free kick yards from the Kilmaine dug out. Nallen and Pat Ginnelly soon had Belmullet in the lead thanks to two neat scores from play before Doherty replied for the Green and Red with another converted free after 21 minutes. Belmullet were in no mood to be drawn into a dogfight and two points from Nallen and another from Ginnelly reinstated the lead before Jonathan Donoghue got in on the scoring act as the half drew to a close. Nallen added his fourth point of the game just as the half-time whistle shrilled in the cool air to leave the Erris men 0-8 to 0-3 in front.
Kilmaine came out in the second half reinvigorated and looking to eat into the deficit but despite their honest efforts they couldn’t avoid Belmullet’s central partnership of Paddy and Chris Barrett, who mopped up all the loose ball with consummate efficiency. Soon Belmullet would be extending their lead even further. Eight minutes into the second half Darren Doherty pointed after a good move that Padden and Ginnelly both had hands in. Three minutes later Nallen scored the point of the contest and Belmullet were pulling away. As the game started to descend into personal duels off the ball, Corcoran did well to keep a lid on some questionable over exuberance. He brought the game to a halt near the sideline when Nallen was grounded but the excellent attacker punished the foul emphatically when he sailed the ball over the bar from the ground, all of 50-yards from the Kilmaine posts. The lead was now seven points and seemingly insurmountable. However, Kilmaine were offered a ray of hope after 47 minutes when Gerry Barrett was dismissed for two yellow cards. The Erris man wasn’t gone two minutes before he was joined by Gerard Doherty of Kilmaine who also attracted Corcoran’s attention and received his second yellow card. Following the sending offs some football broke out and it was no surprise to see Belmullet extend their lead even further. Donoghue and Nallen pointed to make nine points the difference before Doherty finally opened Kilmaine’s second half account. Second half substitute Brian Maloney then caused panic in the Belmullet ranks when he popped up to score an unlikely goal, drilling to the roof of the net. Suddenly the deficit was only five points again as Barry Cull pointed too. With some injuries and the sending offs incurred throughout the game, stoppage time was to be lengthy and Kilmaine set about making the most of it. When Thomas McDobagh was felled in the square Kilmaine could hardly believe their luck and now had a clear route back into the game when all seemed lost. David Padden, untested until then, made a large frame between the posts however, and was able to palm away Doherty’s penalty. In the melee that ensued the save, Doherty received his marching orders for clashing with Nallen off the ball. Corcoran had no choice but to send him to the sidelines and in the space of thirty seconds the Kilmaine challenge wilted. In the final moments Donoghue and Kenny O’Connor pointed to seal the wellmerited victory for Belmullet and with it, a semi-final spot.
SCORERS –
Belmullet: Shane Nallen 0-6 (2f), Jonathan Donoghue 0-3 (2f), Patrick Ginnelly 0-2, Darren Doherty, Billy Joe Padden (f) and Kenny O’Connor 0-1 each.
Kilmaine: Paul Doherty 0-4f, Brian Maloney 1-0, Barry Cull 0-1f
BELMULLET: David Padden; Shane Barrett, Anthony Mills, Roland McIntyre; Pat Barrett, Chris Barrett, Martin McIntyre; Paddy Barrett, Billy Joe Padden; Gerry Barrett, Shane Nallen, Stephen Carolan; Kenny O’Connor, Darren Doherty, Pat Ginnelly. Subs: Jonathan Donoghue (for Carolan), Shane Gaughan (for Mills), Andew Howard (for Nallen)
KILMAINE: Paul Higgins; Gearoid O’Dea, Derek O’Dea, Gerard Doherty; Padraig McDonagh, Padraig O’Dea, Jarlath McDonagh; Paul Doherty, Francis Burke; Bryan Mullin, Vincent McGrath, Thomas McGrath; Brian Shaughnessy, Andrew Casey, John McDonagh. Subs: Brian Maloney (for Casey), Barry Cull (for McGrath), David Hughes (for McDonagh).
REFEREE: Declan Corcoran (Islandeady)
