Kelly's extra-time goal seals victory for Milltownpass over Caulry

Milltownpass 3-13 Caulry 3-11

Milltownpass were crowned U15 Division 3 Shield winners by a two-point margin in a very close battle with Caulry in Ballynacargy last Saturday. It took extra-time to separate the sides in what was a nail-biting final.

Despite an unseasonably warm autumn day, the underfoot conditions remained soft due to heavy rain during the week. The sides traded early wides until Milltownpass midfielder Dean Kelly scored a superb wind assisted point from long range in the sixth minute. In the following attack, Jason Moran made a solo run up the middle of the field, offloading the ball to Dylan Gammell who pointed neatly. Caulry got off the mark in the 8th minute when full-forward Aaron Buckley effortlessly converted a free off the left boot from 30 yards out.

James Moran ran at pace down the centre of the field once again and passed it off to Dean Kelly for a point. Caulry closed the gap with Hugo McGowan converting a free inside the ‘D’. Milltownpass extended their lead with a Liam O’Brien point.

In the following attack, O’Brien fired the ball to the back of the net after receiving the ball from attacking centre-back Moran, who made another solo run up the middle. Kelly built on the momentum from the goal by adding a further point to the scoreboard.

Ciaran Dunning was fouled on the ‘21 at the other end and the free was successfully converted by Hugo McGowan. As half-time approached, Dylan Gammell was through on goal but his shot was saved by Caulry goalkeeper John Paul. The ball rebounded to David Flood who buried it to the back of the net.

Milltownpass held an 8-point lead at half-time but this would be short-lived as Caulry returned from the break with determination to turn the game around. Kelly scored a superb point from the throw-in to further increase his side’s lead. Now nine points down, the Mount Temple outfit had a mountain to climb, but they didn’t give up. Following the kick-out, midfielder Gavin McSharry delivered a good ball into Aaron Buckley; he then hand-passed the ball to Rhys Mason who found the back of the net.

The green flag was flying again for the boys in red and white when Hugo McGowan’s shot dropped short and find Buckley fisted it to the net. Caulry had momentum behind them at this stage of the game, scoring a further two points from McGowan (one free) to come within a point of their opponents.

Milltownpass replied in the 39th minute with yet another Kelly point from long range. Ben Loran extended their lead to three points by converting a free on the 20-metre line moments later.

Ciaran Dunning reduced the deficit to two, scoring a well worked point from play in the 45th minute. After both sides traded points from frees to maintain the 2-point difference, Caulry centre-back John McDermott made a superb solo run down the middle of the field to rattle the back of the net and put his side ahead for the first time with six minutes remaining. In the closing stages it looked as if Caulry had one hand on the shield, until Loran converted a free inside the ‘D’ in the 61st minute to send the game to extra-time.

Caulry started much the brighter in the first half of extra-time, scoring three unanswered points. Milltownpass replied with a wind-assisted Kelly point, before a fine point from McGowan established a 3-point lead for Caulry at half-time in extra-time.

With ten minutes to decide a winner, Milltownpass moved midfielder Dean Kelly into full-forward and this paid off when James Moran delivered a good ball into Kelly, who rattled the back of the net to draw the sides level. Kelly had a chance of a second goal a minute later but his effort was brilliantly saved by Caulry goalie Paul resulting in a ‘45.

An off the ball incident followed which involved multiple players, resulting in referee James Allard issuing two yellow cards. This was Kelly’s second of the game and he subsequently received a red card from the referee. However, confusion set in around the legality of the decision, with the first yellow card being awarded during normal time. The error was rectified minutes later when Kelly returned to the field following the clarification of the rule.

Milltownpass pushed on from here going a point ahead with a free from Loran. Returning to the field of play following the rescinding of his red card, Kelly closed out the scoring with a point in the closing minutes to seal victory for his side. Despite Caulry’s best efforts for a last-gasp score, the full-time whistle sounded with Milltownpass claiming victory in a pulsating encounter.

Scorers - Milltownpass: D Kelly 1-8 (0-1 free), L O’Brien 1-1, D Flood 1-0, B Loran 0-3 (3f), D Gammell 0-1. Caulry: H McGowan 0-8 (5f), A Buckley 1-2 (0-1f), R Mason 1-0, J McDermott 1-0, C Dunning 0-1.

Milltownpass: Seán Mullen, Shane Gavin, Cian Fox, Luke McDonnell, Shane Farrell, Jason Moran, Jude Murtagh, Tomás Donoghue, Dean Kelly, Ben Loran, David Flood, Sean Wright, Conan Earley, Dylan Gammell, Liam O’Brien. Subs: Brian Donoghue for Earley (47 mins); Jamie O’Reilly for Moran (17, ET).

Caulry: John Paul, Tom Madden, Gavin Quilty, Tristan Dolan, Luke Berry, John McDermott, Fionn Murphy, Gavin McSharry, Hugo McGowan, Rhys Mason, Darragh Martin, Ciaran Dunning, Matthew Allen, Aaron Buckley, Kevin O’Brien. Subs: Darragh Belton for Madden (50 mins); Evan Allen for McDermott (21, ET).

Referee: James Allard (Shandonagh).