Killeavy minors travelled to the Athletic Grounds for the All County Championship semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
Conditions were very pleasant for October, and there was no breeze to speak of. The big news, as far as selection, was
the unavailability of Kealan Downey for Killeavy due to injury. Sarsfields had the better of the opening exchanges, their full forward looking
lively as they moved into an early 3-1 lead. Killeavy were soon in front thanks to two nice points from Colm McAneany and another from Cathal O'Hara.
Killeavy were not playing at full tilt, tackling well in defence, but the handling was not nearly sharp enough to move the ball quickly at the Sarsfields
defence. Despite this, Killeavy finished the half stronger, with a free from Caolan Trainor backed up by two points in a minute from Conor King. Killeavy led by three
at the break.
Killeavy and Sarsfields in action in the semi-final.
Half Time: Killeavy 0-08 Sarsfields 0-05
The first fifteen minutes of the second half was a period Killeavy wil want to forget. They were forced deep into their backline, and really struggled to get any effective
ball up the field to their forwards. Despite this, they managed to largely stifle the Sarsfields attack, who had a ton of possession, yet could only muster two frees
during this spell of dominance. It took a fortuitous James Donnelly point to bounce over the bar from midfield to get Killeavy back on track. A great move followed and
Conor King rifled over a super point, and all of a sudden Killeavy were on top and looking dangerous. A free from King was followed by two magnificent scores from play by
substitute Ciaran O'Hanlon and Colm McAneany. During this spell, it was though Conor King could do no wrong, and a brilliant free from 50 yards was followed by an equally
emphatic point from play. Killeavy had apparently obliterated the Sarsfields comeback in tem minutes to lead by six points, but an uncomfortable ending was in store.
Two quick points for Sarsfields were followed by a goal, and with three minutes of injury time left, things looked dodgy. An excellent long range point from James Donnelly
saw Killeavy over the line and into next weeks final.
Well done to all involved with this game Killeavy outfit. The entire defence must be complimented on a great, cohesive display of marking and tackling, while the forward line
came alive in some deadly bursts of play. A large Killeavy crowd will make the trip to Armagh to cheer the lads on next week!!
Full Time: Killeavy 0-16 Sarsfields 1-09
Killeavy Team: David Mulholland, Donall O'Neill, Lonny Larkin, Ronan Dowdall, Darren Bennett, Michael Reel, Christopher McKnight,
Robert Hamill, James Donnelly(0-2), Conor King(0-7, 3F) , Niall O'Neill, Cathal O'Hara(0-1), Caolan Trainor(0-2, 2F),Colm McAneaney(0-3) , Paddy Faloon.
Subs: Ciaran O'Hanlon(0-1) for Cathal O'Hara(45 mins)
