St Kiernans 1-20
Neasden Gaels 1-04
In a one sided encounter at a cold Ruislip, St Kiernans emerged victorious in this Danny Sullivan Senior Football Championship preliminary round match.
Despite the end result Neasden Gaels actually scored a goal and a point within the first three minutes, Andrew McMunn finding the net. It was a start they couldn't sustain as St Kiernans soon began to find their stride.
After fine work from Mike Donoghue, Liam McKenna found himself with space and time to register a score. It appeared to settle Kiernans down as they created plenty of scoring opportunities. It wasn't long before fine fielding from Kiernan's James Moron presented Adrian Moyles with his side's first goal opportunity and the corner forward didn't disappoint with a clinical finish.
Though Neasden’s David McDonagh pointed from what appeared to be an impossible angle, it was clear St Kiernans were now firmly in the ascendency as they scored four more points prior to half time. At the break, St Kiernans found themselves 1-9 to 1-2 up.
The second half began in a similar fashion to how the first half ended, with St Kiernans Mark Mulholland kicking a point. With the game slipping away from Neasden, David McDonagh embarked on a lung busting run before unleashing a ferocious drive which came crashing back off the crossbar and away to safety. It was a pivotal moment which may have sparked a comeback. Instead, St Kiernans continued to exert their authority.
While there was a fiercely competitive midfield battle between St Kiernans Tom Waters and Neasden’s Paul Geraghty, the breaking ball was consistently won by the St Kiernans support cast. As the game wore on, it was St Kiernans who appeared the fresher as first Waters and then McKenna extended the lead further, the pacy forward a constant menace for Neasdens back line.
Unwilling to take their foot off the pedal, St Kiernans continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over with Patrick Begley scoring the last and best of the points after making his way upfield from his half back position.
Scorers for St Kiernans: A Moyles 1-4 (2fs), L McKenna 0-3, M Donoughue 0-3, M Mulholland 0-2, P Finn 0-2, L Donoughue 0-1, S Brady 0-1, T Waters 0-1, J Moron 0-1, P Begley 0-1, S Curren 0-1.
Scorers for Neasden Gaels: A McMunn 1-0, M Toner 0-2 (1f), P Geraghty 0-1, D McDonagh 0-1.
St Kiernans: B Mulrooney; L Donoughue, I McGough, M O'Connor; P Begley, C Og Greene, C Healy; J Moron, T Waters; L McKenna, S Brady, M Donoghue; A Moyles, P Finn, M Mulholland. Subs: S Curren for A Moyles (40 mins), M Callery for C Og Greene (50 mins).
Neasden Gaels: F Kand; K Geraghty, D Crawford, J McAteer; D McDonagh, M Cunningham, R Wosser; A McMunn, P Fergas; D Breen, P Geraghty, S Doran; M Toner, N O'Carroll, D Carty. Subs: B O'Regan for D Crawford (38 mins).
