Killeavy hosted St Peters on Saturday afternoon in front of a large crowd on Saturday afternoon. Conditions were fine and sunny,
if not a little cold. St Peters had breeze advantage early on, and raced out of the blocks with two excellent points. Killeavy were
struggling around the centre of the field, losing a lot of breaking possession, and were on the back foot for most of the half.
Kealan Downey settled things a little, with a magnificent point after a sixty yard solo run. Better followed as Conor King fed Niall O'Neill
to flick the ball home past the Peter's goalkeeper, who got a big hand on the shot, but it trickled over the line. If Killeavy thought
an onslaught would now follow, they were very wrong as Peters moved upfieeld to kick some great points. A goal wasnt long coming, worryingly
the ball was practically walked to the Killeavy net after Peters won their umpteenth breaking ball of the half.
As half-time approached, Killeavy were on the ropes, and with a five point deficit, had it all to do.
Niall O'Neill, about to score from the spot.
Half Time: Killeavy 1-02 St Peters 1-07
Killeavy's deployment of James Donnelly back to midfield from centre-forward for the second half had a huge bearing on the game. He won a lot of good primary possession
and was much more involved in the game. A fairly fortuitous penalty after five minutes was planted to the net by Niall O'Neill, and Killeavy were back in the game.
St Peters looked much less of a threat now, and Caolan Trainor, whose radar had been off for forty minutes, suddenly found his range to kick two points in a minute,
and bring the sides level. Another inspirational run from Downey saw him place King to finish another goal, and Killeavy had daylight.
Further scores from lively substitute Ryan Stokes and Caolan Trainor made it seem as though Killeavy were coasting home, but three late points from St Peters had the crowd
right on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.
Well done to Killeavy for a much improved second half show, and a better balanced team sheet. They will need to work hard on several aspects, especially around the midfield breaks
if they are to make the final. But at least we have a semi-final to look forward to next week!
Full Time: Killeavy 3-06 St Peters 1-10
Killeavy Team: David Mulholland, Paddy Faloon, Lanny Larkin, Kevin Dowdall, Darren Bennett, Michael Reel, Kealan Downey(0-1),
Kevin Byrne, Colm McAneaney, Niall O'Neill(2-0, 1 pen), James Donnelly, Cathal O'Hara, Caolan Trainor(0-3), Conor King(0-1), Christopher McKnight.
Subs: Ryan Stokes(0-1), Robert Hamilton, Mickey McAvoy.
