Early Saffron goals put neighbours Kinnegad in trouble

Westmeath SFC: Killucan 2-8, Coralstown/Kinnegad 0-7 -- Two first half goals and some wonderful flowing football were the foundations for a well merited win for Killucan against near rivals Coralstown/Kinnegad in Cusack Park, Mullingar on Sunday evening last.The blitzkrieg from the Saffron's totally overwhelmed a very porous reds defence and in truth if they had their shooting boots on they could have been out the gate at half time.Kinnegad were poor throughout and after two losses in a row Colm Coyle's charges are in serious trouble and will seriously need to up their game in the next round if they are to have any chance in this year's championship but after defeat to Tubberclair in the first round, Killucan stormed back with a display of grit and determination that was sadly lacking in their opponents.Dermot Brady's men were really up for this game and from throw in to final whistle they were always in control and their seven point winning margin slightly flatters their opponents if the truth be known and in Pauric Leavy and Conor Jordan they have a very mobile and strong midfield pairing that will cause many defences problems.Paul Greville opened the scoring with a pointed free after a foul on Alan Doyle but the game really burst to life when James Nugent went on a mazy run and evaded a poor Kinnegad rear guard to crash the ball to the net from close range. Alan Giles pulled one point back from a free but Cormac Boyle negated that with a free of his own for Killucan. Killucan were dominant at this stage and could have really put Kinnegad to the sword but missed some very scorable chances. Paul Greville then bucked that trend as he stole in along the end line and again the Kinnegad defence buckled easily. Greville struck for goal and the net bulged a second time. Cormac Boyle added a point shortly afterward from all his own work after some more blatant misses in front of goal by Killucan they got another from a fisted Cormac Boyle effort after a well worked move with Rory O'Reilly and John Greville. Leavy had another chance for goal but he was denied by a wonderful save from Joe Rossiter. Paul Greville pointed after a short free with Cormac Boyle but the half finished with two Alan Giles converted frees for the reds and left the score 2-5 to 0-3 at the break.Killucan started on the attack again in the second half but were guilty of some awful misses and a Giles free narrowed the gap even further. A Niall Kilmartin fisted effort was just rewards for a wonderful move he started himself and it left just six between the sides. Killucan then kicked some more poor wides and one wondered if the comeback was on and when Kilmartin had the ball in the net that was a distinct possibility but it was called back for an illegal hand pass and on the break Paul Greville landed a superb score for Killucan that steadied the nerves.Further points form Nugent and Greville put the result beyond any doubt and Kinnegads resistance was feeble to say the least. The last ten minutes were eminently forgettable as Killucan played keep ball while their opponents didn't look to want any ball and but for two Alan Giles frees this game could have been blown up early and put the Kinnegad faithful out of their misery. As it was Killucan won pulling up and went through the motions in the dying minutes for a famous and well deserved win.Leavy and Jordan were excellent for Killucan while Cormac Boyle, Mark Dunne and Frank Boyle were others to impress. Rory O'Reilly was excellent at wing forward while John Greville must have covered every blade of grass on the pitch. For Kinnegad this was a horror show and apart from Giles frees and some sterling work by Jason Lynch and Niall Kilmartin then this could have been a rout. As it was Killucan should have won by more and they will need to work on their scoring while in attacking positions but for Kinnegad god only knows what has gone wrong for last year's semi finalists.Scorers: Killucan - Paul Greville 1-4, 1 free, James Nugent 1-1, Cormac Boyle 0-3, 1 free. Coralstown/Kinnegad: Alan Giles 0-6, 5 frees, Niall Kilmartin 0-1.Killucan: Darren Brady, John Greville, Frank Boyle, Stephen Morley, Chris Leech, John Shaw, Mark Dunne, Pauric Leavy, Conor Jordan, Rory O'Reilly, James Nugent, Tony Doyle, Alan Doyle, Paul Greville, Cormac Boyle. Subs: Brendan McKeogh for Alan Doyle 37 mins, Shane Leavy for Cormac Boyle 56 minsCoralstown/Kinnegad: Joe Rossiter, Jason Lynch, Stephen Bracken, Ronan Doyle, Killian Foley, Eamonn Fleming, Clive Kiernan, Niall Kilmartin, Cian Flynn, Wayne Fox, Fergal Dardis, Alan Giles, Enda Leonard, Mark Gorman, Jason Cully. Subs: Ronan Foley for Kiernan 28 mins, Cathal Reilly for Leonard 44 mins.Referee: Sean Sheridan, Tyrrellspass.