The 2019 EMS Copiers Senior Football Leagues came to an end on Sunday (28th July) with the Division 1 & 3 Finals taking place.
Congratulations to the 2019 League Winners!
Division 1 – Naas
Division 2 – Castledermot
Division 3 – Monasterevan
Division 4 – Caragh
Division 4 Shield – Suncroft
EMS Copiers Senior Football League Division 1 Final
Naas 1-21 Carbury 1-17
After Extra Time
In the 100th edition of the Senior Football League it was Naas who took home the prize as they overcame Carbury after extra-time on Sunday afternoon.
For Naas it was their first League Title since 1995 as they starved off the threat of Carbury in a thrilling contest.
Naas started well but an Eoghan O’Flaherty penalty looked to have Phillip Wolfe’s outfit on course for the Title until Naas rather luckily found the net via Luke Griffin in the 37th minute and with Darragh Kirwan finishing with seven points they eventually got the lead.
Carbury though forced extra-time with O’Flaherty scoring with the last kick of normal time but it was a step too far for them in the extra period as Naas’s extra youth, energy and positivity won the day as they kicked clear with their subs having a huge impact.
Fresh from beating Sarsfields, Naas made the early running with two points from Darragh Kirwan and although Morgan O’Flaherty replied Eamonn Callaghan and goalkeeper Barry Reynolds with a free from range gave the County Town an early cushion.
Eoghan O’Flaherty soon kicked points from play and a free before Jimmy Dunne brought the sides level at 0-4 apiece.
Dunne was proving a big threat for Carbury and his second point gave his side the lead for the first time after Naas squandered a wonderful goal chance down the other end which they ultimately made a mess of.
O’Flaherty converted a free on the back of that miss before his same number on the opposite side and former county team mate in Eamonn Callaghan did likewise.
That Naas free came after Mark Cully bodychecked Ailin McDermott off the ball and a black card was shown to the Carbury youngster.
A goal was always going to be crucial and the first one arrived in the 23rd minute when after an O’Flaherty free rebounded off the post Jack Cully gained possession but he was brought down for a spot kick which O’Flaherty made no mistake in slotting home.
Naas were visibly shaken in the aftermath as a poorly directed kickout from Reynolds resulted in Derek McCormack bearing down on goal but the Naas keeper made amends with a good save.
Callaghan and O’Flaherty duly shared scores afterwards as Carbury brought a 1-7 to 0-6 lead into the break.
Luke Griffin kicked the opening point of the second half off his weaker right foot before Carbury sub James Kelly cancelled it out immediately.
Carbury looked pretty comfortable in defence but that all changed when a hopeful punt into the square from Eamonn Callaghan caused consternation with a poorly directed punched clearance from Wayne Cummins landing at the feet of Griffin and he fired a shot into the top corner.
Carbury steadied the ship with back to back points from O’Flaherty and Dunne to stay three clear while Darragh Kirwan kept the Naas scoreboard ticking over.
Carbury’s accuracy was unnerving however with O’Flaherty and Justin Reilly pushing the lead out to four at the halfway mark of the half.
Naas were nowhere near finished though and they kept driving on as they scored six points on the trot to retake the lead late on.
Kirwan and Callaghan were excellent throughout and they kicked a pair of points each with Griffin and Brian Kane also finding the target.
An O’Flaherty free with a minute remaining left just a point in it but when Colm Joyce kicked a cracking score under fierce pressure Naas looked to be home and hosed.
That wasn’t to be the case though as firstly a free from O’Flaherty was followed by a super score from the same player as the teams had to face up to extra-time.
Despite O’Flaherty and Kirwan sharing points Carbury soon ran out of steam in the extended period with Naas having the edge where Cathal Daly played a huge part in defence from the bench and up front a quickfire brace from Dean McHolmes gave them a two point advantage at the change of ends.
Carbury stayed competitive with a James Kelly point but after a few missed chances, Naas took the bull by the horns with points from Callaghan, Joyce and Kirwan crowning a stunning victory on a 1-21 to 1-17 scoreline.
Naas: Barry Reynolds 0-1 (0-1f); Johnny Heavey, Brian Byrne, Fiachra Pigott, Ailin McDermott, Eoin Doyle, Eoghan Bateman, David Gahan, Conor McCarthy, Ronan Joyce, Eamonn Callaghan 0-6 (0-3fs), Sean Cullen, Luke Griffin 1-2, Colm Joyce 0-2, Darragh Kirwan 0-7.
Subs used: Cathal Daly for Heavey h-t, Dallan Gallagher for McDermott h-t, Shane Bergin for Pigott 43 mins, Brian Kane 0-1 for Cullen 46 mins, Dean McHolmes 0-2 for R.Joyce 52 mins, Ailin McDermott for Kirwan 75 mins, Paul Sullivan for Bateman 77 mins.
Carbury: Wayne Cummins; Dean Cummins, Brian O’Flaherty, Andy Dermody, Willie Groome, Morgan O’Flaherty 0-1, Justin Reilly 0-1, Stephen McKeon, Tom Colleary, Aaron O’Neill, Jimmy Dunne 0-3, Derek McCormack, Mark Cully, Eoghan O’Flaherty 1-10 (0-7fs), Jack Cully.
Subs used: James Kelly 0-2 for M.Cully (Black Card) 20 mins, Ger Cunningham for J.Cully 38 mins, Alan Kearney for McCormack 55 mins, James Carey for Dunne 68 mins, Michael Gill for Dermody 75 mins.
Senior Football League Division 2 Final
Castledermot 0-14 Raheens 0-11
Castledermot captured the Division 2 Senior Football League Title after they overcame Raheens in a tightly contested affair on Saturday night.
Both teams sealed their promotion to the top tier a couple of weeks previous and it was the men from the South of the County that did enough with the free taking of Gavin Keating proving crucial as he finished with nine points in total.
Castledermot had more of a threat from play and dominated for three quarters of the game but a late Raheens surge had them under pressure until both David and Gavin Keating kicked insurance scores.
There was a number of players missing on either side with Castledermot’s Aaron Murphy who was brilliant in the Championship contest a couple of weeks ago absent as well as manager Damien Hendy while Raheens star forward Paddy Woodgate is currently stateside.
Castledermot started with plenty of intent and raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after only twelve minutes with Gavin Keating knocking over a trio of scores of which two came from play to add to an earlier effort from Emmet O’Keefe.
Rob Thompson from a free got Raheens on the board in the 7th minute with a free and team captain Alan Igoe followed suit a couple of minutes later.
It was a half where Raheens failed to score from play though and Castledermot kept up the pressure with Keating converting his second free although if Anthony Herbert had let the play go on a bit longer Paddy Whelan was in on goal but they had to be content with the point.
Igoe landed two further placed balls for Noel Mooney’s side but they went into the break trailing after Keating and Conor Nolan added to Castledermot’s tally.
Nolan was also out of luck when he fired a shot across the face of Declan Campbell’s goalmouth but after that chance passed Castledermot went in leading by four points.
Castledermot continued to control things at the start of the second half with points from Keating and O’Keefe pushing them clear on the scoreboard.
Raheens looked to be in real trouble but after Igoe landed another free they began to get a bit of momentum going with four points in a row getting them back within two points.
It was a long time coming but a 41st minute score from David Malone was Raheens first from play and just like buses a few more duly followed with Malone again on target before Igoe on the double had the Caragh based side within touching distance entering the final few minutes.
O’Keefe and Rory Donnelly then exchanged efforts and Raheens looked to have a real chance to get within a point when they were awarded a scoreable free but instead of going for a shot at the posts Tom Early tried to go short to work a goal but the move broke down.
Keating then kicked his ninth point to push Castledermot three clear and although Igoe responded it arrived too late with David Keating adding on an insurance score as Castledermot did enough to claim a deserved success
Castledermot: Shane Nolan; Vinny Dowling, Barry Nolan, Thomas Murphy, Willie Kelly, Paraic Murphy, David Dooley, David Keating 0-1, Bryan Nolan, Anthony Lawlor, Emmet O’Keefe 0-3, Jack Flood, Gavin Keating 0-9 (0-7fs), Paddy Whelan, Conor Nolan 0-1.
Subs used: Liam Cosgrave for Kelly 47 mins, Gary Hendy for T.Murphy 60 mins.
Raheens: Declan Campbell; Tom Early, Matthew Betts-Symonds, Adam Malone, Thomas Dore, Shane Crowley, Aidan Dunlea, Liam Power, Killian Thompson, David Malone 0-2, Rory Donnelly 0-1, Graham Waters, Alan Igoe 0-6 (0-5fs), Colm Power, Robert Thompson 0-1 (0-1f).
Subs used: David Fitzpatrick for R.Thompson h-t, Barry Winder 0-1 for Power 36 mins.
EMS Copiers Senior Football League Division 3 Final
Monasterevin 3-11 Sallins 1-10
Monasterevin captured the Division 3 Senior Football League Title with a commanding victory over Sallins in St.Conleths Park.
Both teams had secured their promotion to Division 2 in 2020 a few weeks back but silverware was on offer here and Monasterevin were the ones who took it with a polished display where Paul Maloney, Kevin Mulpeter and Cormac Brady got the all important goals.
Sallins were without star forward Conor Herbert and his absence was keenly felt as Sallins struggled to run up an adequate tally even if Jack Sharkey and Alan Marshall made a pretty good attempt at it.
It was a tightly fought opening to the contest with Black Cards the main topic of discussion as referee Billy O’Connell gave one to each side with Monasterevin’s Lennie Havens getting one for a pull down while just a few minutes later Sallins midfielder Fergal Swan got the same faith for a bodycheck off the ball.
Monasterevin were the one’s to open the scoring as Padraig Nash converted a free before Sallins equalised with a well taken Alan Marshall score from distance.
Monasterevin had the superior attacking threat up front and they soon used it to the full effect with Nash and Ryan Bannon both knocking over frees before Kevin Mulpeter who was a substitute for the black carded Havens kicked in a 14th minute goal after Sallins goalkeeper Dan Sweeney had originally batted away a shot from Kevin Fitzpatrick.
Sallins replied with a point from Jamie Cox but further scores from Nash and Kevin Fitzpatrick had the Blues six points clear.
Sallins really struggled for scores in the opening half and after Ben Caulfield had a shot blocked on the line by Cormac Stapleton, Monasterevin went up the other end and found the net for the second time with Paul Maloney stroking home on the back of a Kevin Dunne pass inside.
Maloney and Bannon then kicked consecutive points and while Sallins rounded off the half’s scoring with Cox they still had a mountain to climb at the break trailing by ten points.
Sallins did their best to start a comeback at the start of the second half when they kicked three points in as many minutes with a pair of Jack Sharkey efforts followed up by Marshall registering his second point.
It was joy that was short lived though as Ryan Bannon sold a lovely dummy in the process of scoring which came before Nash added a brace.
Sallins responded with Sharkey, Marshall and sub Adam Kane but they needed a goal if they were to reel Monasterevin in and after Sharkey was denied close in by Aaron Bannon, last years beaten Intermediate finalists took full advantage with Cormac Brady kicking in their third goal after he was found by a quick exchange from Bannon and Nash.
Sharkey and Nash then shared points before Sallins got their long awaited goal when David Foley found the net in stoppage time.
Sallins did end the game well as Ben Caulfield had a shot saved and after an effort from Kevin Foley was going towards goal it was blocked by a foot and a penalty was awarded but with the last kick of the game Sharkey was denied by Bannon as Monasterevin took the win.
Monasterevin: Aaron Bannon; Rhys Heavey, Gavin Worrell, Cormac Stapleton, Kevin Dunne, Tristan Kennedy, Mark Kelly, Sean Kavanagh, DJ Earley, Lennie Havens, Paul Maloney 1-1, Adam Kavanagh, Kevin Fitzpatrick 0-1, Ryan Bannon 0-3 (0-2fs), Padraig Nash 0-6 (0-3fs).
Subs used: Kevin Mulpeter 1-0 for Havens (Black Card) 6 mins, Cormac Brady 1-0 for Maloney 44 mins, Daryl Dunne for Kelly 45 mins, Dylan Kavanagh for A.Kavanagh 51 mins, Stephen McFadden for Fitzpatrick 56 mins.
Sallins: Dan Sweeney; Eoghan Walsh, David Foley 1-0, Ruairi O’Domhnaill, Justin McLoughlin, Oisin Byrne, Daniel Caulfield, Emmet Ralph, Fergal Swan, Ben Caulfield, Alan Marshall 0-3, Kevin Foley, Jamie Cox 0-2, Jack Sharkey 0-4 (0-2fs), Sean Corley.
Subs used: Craig Johnson for Swan (Black Card) 10 mins, Adam Kane 0-1 for O’Domhnaill 43 mins, Paul Moynihan for Corley 45 mins, David Murphy for Cox 52 mins.
Thanks to Robert Cribbin (Kildare Now/Post) for the Match Reports
