Cill na Martra cruise past Éire Óg to reach Senior A final

Cill na Martra 1-17 (1-3-11)

Éire Óg 1-13 (1-1-11)

The scoreline flatters Éire Óg. They were second best to Cill na Martra in almost every department of this Senior A Football Championship semi-final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening.

Cill na Martra are county final bound once more, but they will need to bring down last year’s runners-up Knocknagree if they are to reach the top flight.

A run of five unanswered points in the first half and a superb two-pointer from Jason Mac Carthaigh had the Gaeltacht men 0-11 to 0-5 up at the break. When Darragh Clifford pointed for Éire Óg three minutes into the second half, it reduced the gap to five – but they would not get any closer until the 70th minute.

Shane Ó Duinnín added to the lead before Cill na Martra struck for their only goal, a sweeping team move as Gearóid Ó Goillidhe fed midfield partner Antóin Ó Cuana, who palmed across for Tadhg Ó Corcora to finish from close range – 1-12 to 0-6.

Rian O’Flynn, one of the few bright sparks for Éire Óg, clipped a couple of fine points, but Daniel Ó Duinnín and two gorgeous two-pointers from Damien Ó hUrdail killed it off, the second the play of the night – Shane Ó Duinnín threading a pass into Cianie Ó Fóirréidh, who laid off for Ó hUrdail to raise the orange flag.

That made it 1-17 to 0-8 after 52 minutes, Cill na Martra’s largest lead of the evening. They would not score again, though their control of the contest was long since established.

There were worrying moments late on – goalscorer Ó Corcora had gone off injured in the third quarter, Antóin Ó Cuana’s departure came in the 52nd minute, before Ciarán Ó Duinnín was taken from the field on the medical cart after a serious injury that saw play delayed for six minutes. The board showed six, but the game ran closer to ten.

It was only then Éire Óg stirred. Substitute Daniel Goulding clipped four from placed balls, including a two-pointer, while Colm O’Callaghan drove at Cill na Martra with intent and saw two goal chances go narrowly wide. O’Flynn finally rattled the net in the 67th minute with a fine finish, but the outcome was long settled.

Twice level in the opening stages, the last time after 12 minutes when Clifford equalised, Éire Óg were soon blown away. Cill na Martra landed five different scorers in that 0-5 run to lead by the 20th minute.

Cill na Martra were far sharper and far more clinical in a half where their opponents had more wides than points.

Their fifth score in that spell came from Daire Mac Lochlainn, galloping upfield after a turnover from Daniel Ó Duinnín on Colm O’Callaghan, one of many defensive wins that summed up the gulf between the teams.

Éire Óg, for all their pedigree, were outmatched, outscored, and outfought. The flaws evident in their quarter-final win over Bishopstown resurfaced – and Cill na Martra punished every one of them. They will regret 13 wides, three of which came from Chris Kelly placed balls, while their opponents only hit three wide of the mark and five short.

The Ovens outfit would get the margin down to four after a lengthy 70 minutes, but Cill na Martra never looked in doubt.

Now, 60 minutes stand between the Gaeltacht side and a second promotion in three seasons.

Scorers for Cill na Martra: D Ó hUrdail 0-5 (2 tp), J Mac Carthaigh (1 tp 1 f), D Ó Duinnín 0-3 each, T Ó Corcora 1-0, S Ó Fóirréidh, S Ó Duinnín 0-2 each, A Ó Cuana, D Mac Lochlainn 0-1 each.

Scorers for Éire Óg: R O’Flynn 1-3, D Goulding 0-4 (1 tpf, 2 fs), D Clifford 0-3, C O’Callaghan, D Foley, C McGoldrick (f) 0-1 each.

CILL NA MARTRA: M Ó Deasúna; D Ó Conaill, T Ó Corcora, D Mac Lochlainn; C Ó Meachair, S Ó Fóirréidh, F Ó Faoláin; G Ó Goillidhe, A Ó Cuana; E Ó Conaill, D Ó Duinnín (c), J Mac Cárthaigh; C Ó Duinnín, S Ó Duinnín, D Ó hUrdail.

Subs: C Ó Fóirréidh for Ó Conaill (HT), C Mac Lochlainn for Ó Corcora (44 inj), A Ó Duinnín for Ó Cuana (52 inj), M Ó Duinnín for C Ó Duinnín (60+2 inj), A Ó hUidhir for S Ó Fóirréidh (60+6).

ÉIRE ÓG: C Kelly; C Clifford, M Brady, D McCarthy; M Griffin (c), C McGoldrick, H Murphy; D Clifford, R O’Toole; R O’Flynn, C O’Callaghan, E O’Shea; D Foley, J Murphy, B Hurley.

Subs: J Sheehan for J Murphy, M Corkery for McCarthy (both HT), D Goulding for Hurley (36), J Galvin for Sheehan (38 inj), D Dineen for Foley (52).

Referee: P O’Driscoll (Bride Rovers)

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