Rathkenny 2-15 St. Michaels 0-07

A strong start ensured Rathkenny came away from Nobber on Sunday evening with 2 points and a seat at the top of the table following victories against Dunderry and Ballinlough respectively in earlier rounds.

Caoloch Halligan got Rathkenny off the mark inside one minute after good work by the Rathkenny rearguard to turnover St. Michaels at the other end. Rathkenny added a goal two minutes later, a long ball into the square found James Macken who managed to break it, and find the net after an initial effort was blocked by the St. Michaels goalkeeper. Halligan added a second point from play on 9 minutes, driving at the Michaels defence before cutting inside and sticking over a fine effort off of his weaker right side.

Keith Curtis opened his account 1 minute later, adding a point from distance while under pressure from a defender. The Rathkenny defence was dominant throughout the encounter, making it difficult for St. Michaels to gain any momentum in the early stages of the game. Adam Byrne and Ross Gore both forced turnovers early on eventually leading to scores at the other end. Donal Keogan set Halligan up for another point on 11 minutes after fielding a ball in midfield before Curtis widened the gap further with the addition of a pointed free a minute later and another after the water break. Rathkenny added a second goal late in the half after a driving run from Keogan led to a chance for Curtis who calmly dispatched underneath the goalkeeper.  

HT: Rathkenny 2-7 St. Michaels 0-02

Rathkenny opened the scoring in the second with a point from Curtis inside one minute before St. Michaels replied with a free a couple of minutes later. Brian Meade added a point on ten minutes, punching over from close range after good Rathkenny build up. Halligan and Curtis continued to add to their tally with a point each prior to the water break. St.Michaels continued to battle and added 5 points of their own in the second period but Rathkenny finished strongly with the aforementioned duo of Halligan and Curtis making use of the good ball coming in to add scores before the game drew to a close.

Rathkenny can now look forward to a Quarter-Final encounter in a couple of weeks after a great start to the campaign.

Rathkenny; Cathal McCabe, Adam Byrne, Thomas McGuiness, Mark Byrne, Ross Gore, James O'Hare, Robbie Garry, Brian Meade (0-01), Donal Keogan, James Macken (1-00), Caoloch Halligan (0-07), Keith Timmons, Will Gore, Andrew Bellew, Keith Curtis (1-07): Subs; Niall Brannigan for K Timmons, Charlie Cullen for M Byrne

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