Rathkenny: 1-17 Walterstown: 1-10

And season 2023 comes to an end for our adult men. Rathkenny march on to the semi finals of the Meade Farm Intermediate Football Championship and for #TeamWalterstown, it’s the end of the road. 

And the latter can really have no complaints. Rathkenny, quite simply, were the better team in Páirc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon. From start until the finish. 

A goal, courtesy of David Curtis, with 29 minutes of the first half played, was the score that really consigned Walterstown’s fate. Before that the scoreboard read 0-9 to 0-5 in favour of Rathkenny and not all hope was lost. Perhaps an improved showing in the second period could have saved the Blacks’ bacon but when Curtis hit the net just before the break, it left them with a serious uphill struggle after the turnaround. 

And try as they did Walterstown just could never pull together that purple patch they needed to eat in to the Rathkenny lead. 

To give Rathkenny their dues, they kept the Blacks’ danger men, Barry O’Connell and Ruairí O’Dowd quiet and by nullifying the threat of those two men in the full forward line, Walterstown’s chances were seriously hampered. Meanwhile, Keith Curtis proved too hot to handle down the other end. 

With the older of the two O’Connell’s and O’Dowd curtailed, the younger, Barry, sure did step up to the mark for Walterstown. He had a superb performance and chipped in with four points from play, while young Ciaran Cox also had a great shift at corner back. 

Rathkenny kicked some excellent long range scores throughout, however on too many occasions, those shots were let fly without any opposition from Walterstown and they paid a heavy price for same. In addition, the concession of frees also cost the Blacks dearly in this last eight encounter. 

Indeed with just 30 seconds on the clock Rathkenny got off the mark from a free when Keith Curtis split the posts. However that was cancelled out by one from Brian O’Connell, who swung over having collected possession from midfield man Mark Foy. 

Rathkenny hit no less than six wides during the opening 30 plus minutes of play, while Walterstown had the same issues; hitting just one less in the first half. 

Three points from Curtis stretched Rathkenny’s lead to three by the tenth minute but Adam Quinn pulled one back for Walterstown when he converted a free after Brian O’Connell was impeded. 

That was to be the Black’s last score for 13 minutes, while the team wearing red, didn’t have the same issues at all. They scored three without response to open up a 0-7 to 0-2 lead before Barry O’Connell nabbed his first of the afternoon. 

A converted free from Curtis and a superb point from Max McKenna with 27 on the clock came before O’Connell’s second but then came that aforementioned goal that broke Walterstown hearts. It gave Rathkenny a 1-9 to 0-4 advantage and before the teams headed to the tunnel Barry O’Connell raised a white flag and David Curtis popped over a free to leave the score at 1-10 to 0-5 at the break. 

And it was more of the same after the break. Rathkenny kept the scoreboard ticking over. For every point the Blacks out on the board, they had a response. A late goal from Ruairí O’Dowd, which was excellently dispatched to the net, but a gloss on the final score but Rathkenny were full value for the victory and now head on to a semi final meeting with Navan O’Mahonys. 

For many of the Walterstown lads; the season is done and dusted. Some will turn their focus now to the forthcoming U19 Championship and indeed the Regional Championship too. 

SCORERS: Ruairi O’Dowd 1-1, Barry O’Connell 0-4, Mark Foy 0-2, Brian O’Connell 0-1, Adam Quinn 0-1 (1f), Aron McLoughlin 0-1. 

WALTERTSTOWN: John Davis; Ciaran Cox, Jack Wilson, Ross Reynolds; Jack Doyle, Conor Farrelly, Lorcan O’Connor; Mark Foy, Conor O’Sullivan; Adam Quinn, Barry O’Connell, Alan Wall; Breandan McGuinness, Ruairi O’Dowd, Brian O’Connell. SUBS: Aron McLoughlin replaced J Wilson HT, Paul Donnellan replaced A Wall 32 mins, Neil McGinley replaced C O’Sullivan 36 mins, Mark McCormack replaced R Reynolds 51 mins. 

REFEREE: Robert Purified (St Patrick’s). 

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