Gaelic Games

Kilcormac/Killoughey book semi-final spot with comfortable win

Offaly champions prove too strong for Westmeath’s Castletown Geoghegan

Ciarán Slevin scored eight points in Kilcormac/Killoughey’s victory over Castletown Geoghegan in the AIB Leinster club SHC quarter-final at O’Connor Park in Tullamore. File photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho
Ciarán Slevin scored eight points in Kilcormac/Killoughey’s victory over Castletown Geoghegan in the AIB Leinster club SHC quarter-final at O’Connor Park in Tullamore. File photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho
Sun Nov 05 2017 - 16:49

Kilcormac/Killoughey (Offaly) 2-15 Castletown Geoghegan (Westmeath) 1-12

Kilcormac/Killoughey left plenty in the tank when doing just enough to beat Castletown Geoghegan in Sunday’s AIB Leinster club SHC quarter-final at O’Connor Park in Tullamore.

While the Offaly champions have plenty of room for improvement, they will be quietly content at their victory, especially as they played the second half with 14 men following the loss of Stephen Leonard to a second yellow card.

The Westmeath visitors were without their star player, Aonghus Clarke, and they were competitive, without ever looking like they would pull off a shock.

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Castletown were very heavily reliant on Niall O’Brien who scored 1-8 of their 1-12, while the victors had a much greater source of scores.

Castletown had first use of the wind and got off to a fine start with an O'Brien penalty goal giving them a 1-1 to 0-1 lead in the fifth minute. Their good work was undone when Peter Healion netted a goal at the other end after a mistake by Paddy Maloney in the Castletown goal. K/K led by 1-2 before five fine points without reply gave Castletown a 1-6 to 1-2 lead after 21 minutes.

K/K finished the half well with a super goal from Dan Currams giving them a 2-6 to 1-8 interval lead. They scored six of the opening seven points of the second half and this gave them the cushion to get home and easily repel Castletown's late efforts.

KILCORMAC/KILLOUGHEY: Conor Slevin; K Leonard, G Healion, E Grogan; K Grogan, D Kilmartin, J Quinn; C Kiely (0-2), Ciarán Slevin (0-8, six frees); J Gorman (0-3), C Mahon, S Leonard; T Geraghty (0-1), P Healion (1-0), D Currams (1-0).

Subs: P Geraghty (0-1) for Gorman (46 mins), S Guinan for P Healion (58 mins).

CASTLETOWN GEOGHEGAN: P Maloney; N McKenna, D McDermott, E Og Clarke; C Kane, S Clavin (0-2), L Varley; J Bermingham, D Lynch; J Clarke (0-1), E Quinn, D McCormack; N Kirby, N O'Brien (1-8, 1-0 pen, three frees, one sideline), P Maxwell (0-1). Subs: P Doody for Kirby, A Corbett for McCormack ( both 43 mins).

Referee: J Heffernan (Wexford).