Gavin O’Connor reports from Castleisland yesterday, where the Strand Road side ensured their senior status by beating Kilcummin…

Kerins O’Rahillys 0-12

Killcummin 0-7

A LATE flurry of points secured senior championship football next year for Kerins O’Rahilly’s when they beat Kilcummin in this relegation playoff match.

Played out in front of a couple of hundred hardy souls in Castleisland on Sunday, if the Blues lost they would have had to face Currow for a final chance to maintain senior football for 2015.

“It’s great to get this game out of the way and not go down to the final game so we’re just delighted and I think we deserved it over all,” said Kerins O’Rahilly’s manager, Barry O’Shea.

“In the first half we were disappointed to be only a point up, but the guys showed great guts. In fairness, Cormac Coffey and David Moran had won All-Ireland medals this year, they could have taken it easy, but those were the guys that drove us on in the second half,” said O’Shea.

“To have the experience of John O’Connor coming off the bench was important. We knew it was going to be tight and tough, so you need those type of guys who are going to hold onto the ball and be smart with it,” said O’Shea.

“We’ve a young team, so hopefully we can keep them together now and not be in this type of situation again in the future,” said O’Shea.

For the first half, Kerins O’Rahilly’s had the breeze at their backs in treacherous conditions in Castleisalnd and it was clear on arrival this was not going to be a day for open football.

A number of stoppages as well in the first half sucked any momentum that was beginning to develop. On balance, O’Rahilly’s had the better of play, but their game was marred by numerous missed chances. In the first half, O’Rahilly’s racked up six wides to Kilcummin’s one, which tells its own story.

Despite this being a dogged affair, a bit of quality did break through. With five minutes left in the half,  Jack Savage notched up an excellent score. Getting onto a pass out of defence by Ross O’Callaghan, he judged the bounce well and with the Kilcummin defender stuck to him like glue he swivelled a few times to earn him the space to knock it over from 30 yards.

The half ended with O’Rahilly’s in front, 0-5 to 0-4.

At the break, John O’Connor was introduced for the blues. This would turn out to be a key move in the match. The forward used all of his experience and craft to gain O’Rahilly’s a real foothold in the match.

Tommy Begley got his first of two scores at the beginning for the Blues, the corner back energetically getting forward down the flank and clipping the ball over the bar.

Kilcummin’s, Jamie O’Sullivan was proving to be a real thorn in O’Rahilly’s side. The centre forward who kicked five of his team’s seven points, was in truth, their only real scoring threat.

After the some tit for tat scoring in the second half, the winning of the game came with five minutes to go when O’Rahilly’s  scored three points in three minutes to put them five clear.

First, Cormac Coffey came storming out of defence and played a one two with Sean Walsh and sliced the ball over the bar emphatically from 20 yards. This was followed by another score from Jack Savage and when Barry John raised his fist when after scoring the final score of the game it was clear their was no way back for Kilcummin.

Man of the match: Kerry All-Ireland winning minor, Cormac Coffey was outstanding from wing back. A bundle of energy, he attacked every ball with purpose and intensity right to final last whistle. Nabbed himself a well deserved score as well.

Game Changer: John O’Connor, coming off the bench swung the tide in O’Rahilly’s favour. Any bit of sloppiness they had was eliminated by his calming influence around the middle. He settled the blues and pushed them towards victory.

Referee: Castleisland’s Tom McCarthy, didn’t have a bad day and was determined to let the game flow as best he could, a tricky task, given the conditions and stakes involved.

Kerins O’Rahilly’s: G Kissane, M Tierney, G O’Grady, T Begley, D Murphy, R O’Callaghan, C Coffey, D Moran, K Walsh, J Ferguson, Jack Savage, K O’Mahony, G O’Connell, B J Keane, Ronan Quill.

Scorers: J Savage 0-5 (1f), B J Keane 0-2 (1f), T Begley 0-2, G O’Connell 0-1, D Moran 0-1, C Coffey 0-1.

Subs: J O’Connor for K O’Mahony, C Sayers for  G O’Connell, S Walsh for R Quill, M Donnelly for R O’Callaghan

Kilcummin: B Kealy, S Brosnan, D Maher, J Devane, C O’Leary, D O’Leary, T Cooper, K Gorman, D O’Leary, K Gorman, S McSweeney, K Teahan, J O’Sullivan, N Duggan, G O’Leary, K McCarthy, T Brosnan.

Scorers: J O’Sullivan 0-5 (2f), G O’Leary 0-1, K McCarthy 0-1.

Subs: I Devane for D Maher, E O’Sullivan for K McCarthy.