ST PATRICKS 1-17
COOLEY KICKHAMS 2-5

St Patricks retained the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup after scoring a comfortable victory over neighbours Cooley Kickhams in Dowdallshill on Sunday afternoon.

After a rather ill-tempered first half ended with Cooley reduced to 14 men the result was never really in doubt as the Pats cruised home with a competent second half display in what was a largely forgettable affair.

The first period, which produced little in the way of good football, was punctuated by all too regular flare-ups and nasty challenges. Yellow cards were being dished out on a regular basis and the only surprise was that it took until the 25th minute for referee Stephen Murphy to produce a red.

Conor Rafferty was the man who received his marching orders following an incident that left the impressive Paddy Keenan requiring lengthy treatment on a nasty facial injury.

The referee, who didn't help matters by failing to stamp his authority on the game early on and being inconsistent in administering cards, redeemed himself somewhat when he used the break in play as an opportunity to speak to both captains.

The message was then relayed to both sets of players and had the effect of bringing a degree of calm to proceedings.

It also effectively signalled the end of Cooley's hopes of victory as having struggled to match the Pats in the opening period, they appeared to have lost their self-belief when playing with a numerical disadvantage.

It was a disappointing climax to a game where Cooley were hoping to gain some consolation for their Senior Championship Final loss. The game had started in encouraging fashion for Kickhams as they found the net on six minutes when Michael Kane forced the ball home after a Conor Rafferty effort came back off the bar.

However, against a tight defence, Cooley were unable to build on that advantage and were made pay as Pats took control in a devastating six minute spell.

After Eamon Carroll opened his side's account from a free on 11 minutes, his side won possession from the kick-out, allowing Ray Finnegan and Danny O'Connor to set up Eoin O'Connor to slap the ball to the net.

Points from Karl White, Danny O'Connor and Eamon Carroll had the Pats 1-4 to 1-0 ahead on 17 minutes.

Cooley pointed through Paddy Sheelan and Brian White either side of Rafferty's dismissal, before Karl White and Brian White exchanged scores in injury time to see the Lordship side lead by 1-5 to 1-3 at the break.

The Pats made sure there was to be no dramatic 14-man comeback by dominating possession in the third quarter and using the extra player to good effect. There reward came in the form of six unanswered scores from Eamon Carroll (2), Paddy Keenan, Eoin O'Connor, Ray Finnegan and Danny O'Connor to lead by 1-11 to 1-3 after 45 minutes.

It took a point from corner back Richard Brennan on 46 minutes to open Cooley's account but with Carroll adding to his tally, the Pats extended the gap to 1-14 to 1-5 by the 53rd minute.

Cooley were given some hope when Brian Donnelly fisted to the net after a Michael Rafferty centre, but the Pats finished on top and points from Keenan, Danny O'Connor and Aidan McCann sealed an impressive win.

ST PATRICKS: Barry Corcoran; Kevin Toner, Dessie Finnegan, Darren O'Hanlon; Ray Finnegan 0-1, Colin Goss, Owen Zamboglou; Paddy Keenan 0-2, Paudie Mallon; Eamon Carroll 0-6 (5fr), Eoin O'Connor 1-1, Aidan McCann 0-1; Evan White, Karl White 0-3, Danny O'Connor 0-3. Subs: Eoghan Laverty for E White, Martin Breen for E O'Connor, Jamie O'Hare for K Toner, Colin McCann for K White, Conor Grogan for D O'Connor.

COOLEY KICKHAMS: Neil Gallagher; Richard Brennan 0-1, Keith White, David Reilly; Conor Rafferty, Alan Page, Darren Marks; Brian Donnelly 1-1, Brian White 0-2; Michael Kane 1-0, Michael Rafferty, Patrick Mc Grath; Patrick Sheelan 0-1, Shane Marks, Ciaran Sheelan. Subs PJ Mc Givern for S Marks, Jason Long for C Sheelan, Sean O'Neill for M Kane, Emmet Page for P McGrath. Tweet

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