Paul Whyte in possession against St Brendans Jamie Power during their County Senior Football Championship clash at Kilmacthomas GAA grounds. | Photo: Michael Kiely
Kilrossanty 2-14 St Brendans 0-9
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Kilrossanty went a long way towards guaranteeing their qualification for the knock-out stages of the Senior Football championship when they easily disposed of a disappointing St Brendans side at Kilmacthomas last Saturday evening. Once again this talented St Brendans side failed to live up to expectations and have now been easily beaten in every game of this year’s championship.
Excellent work by wing-back Niall Walsh led to the opening score of the game for Kilrossanty centre forward Michael Walsh in the very first minute of the game. This score was quickly cancelled out by a score from St Brendan’s veteran attacker, Ray Hennessy. Kilrossanty’s impressive midfielder Tommy Prendergast put his side into the lead again, but once again St Brendans drew level, this time from a Riche Walsh free.
Both teams looked to be evenly matched during these early stages and a close game was promised. However, Kilrossanty soon settled down and Stephen and Tommy Prendergast began to dominate in the centre of the field. The possession they gained was put to good use and they added three Paul Whyte frees to put a bit of daylight between the sides. A point from full forward Colin Dee stretched this lead before a quick free from Ray Hennessy lead to an exquisite score from Waterford hurling physio, Peter Kirwan.
St Brendans forwards were completely starved of possession while Kilrossanty’s were having a bountiful evening, particularly the youthful Paul Whyte, whose free taking on the night was a joy to behold. St Brendans did manage to add on a free from Ray Hennessy before the half time break. At half-time, Kilrossanty led on a scoreline of 0-9 to 0-4.
Goals
Another fine point from Peter Kirwan narrowed the deficit to just 4 points. However, any thoughts St Brendans had of making a comeback were quickly banished when a long ball from Alan Quinn found Joey Veale at the edge of the square. Despite the best efforts of goalkeeper, Tomas Wall, Veale managed to finish to the net to give his side a seven-point lead.
Paul Whyte showed he could score from play as well as from frees to stretch Kilrossanty’s lead. Ray Hennessy from a free and Michael Kirwan traded points before St Brendans enjoyed their most productive period of the game, adding points through Conor Hennessy and through two Ray Hennessy frees. Indeed, Conor Hennessy almost had a goal during this period but was unlucky to see his shot come back off a post.
However, that was as good as it got for St Brendans. Captain Andy Hubbard was sent off for a second yellow card after a late challenge on Paul Whyte. Whyte picked himself up off the ground to tap over another two frees to cap a fine evenings work for the youngster.
In the final minute of the game, a long ball form Michael Kirwan was gathered by Colin Dee and finished to the back of the St Brendans net to finish the scoring.
This was an impressive performance from a revitalised Kilrossanty side who must now fancy their chances of having a good season. In Mark Prendergast they have one of the most stylish centre backs around while the midfield partnership of Stephen and Tommy Prendergast is as good as any in the county. Paul Whyte is an exceptional free taker and also contributes greatly from play. Whyte is ably assisted in the forward line by former Kilmacthomas player, Joey Veale who could have had three goals in this game.
As for St Brendans, this is a campaign that they would rather forget. They have now completed all of their championship matches for this season and have lost by an average of 10 points in each game.
Being an amalgamation of three clubs presents its own problems and one wonders if this is now the end of the group team experiment in Waterford. This observer has a feeling that this is the last we will see of St Brendans for some time which is unfortunate when you consider the talent they have at their disposal.
Kilrossanty: D Mulhearne, P Lennon, C Hayes, M Power, N Walsh, M Prendergast, B Mansfield, S Prendergast, T Prendergast, M Kirwan, M Walsh, A Quinn, J Veale, C Dee, P Whyte. Subs: P Hayes for P Lennon, C Keating for M Power, M Kiely for A Quinn.
Scorers: P Whyte 0-8 (0-7f), J Veale 1-2, C Dee 1-1, M Walsh 0-1, T Prendergast 0-1, M Kirwan 0-1.
St Brendans: T Wall, S Cummins, G Hayes, D Crowley, R Kirwan, G Dunphy, F Whelan, A Hubbard, N Hennessy, A Kiely, R Hennessy, C Hennessy, T Dunphy, P Kirwan, R Walsh. Subs: B Gallagher for T Dunphy.
Scorers: R Hennessy 0-5 (0-4f), P Kirwan 0-2, R Walsh 0-1f, C Hennessy 0-1.
