O'Brien the driving force as Kinnegad claim fine victory

Coralstown/Kinneagd 0-21, Tyrrellspass 1-10

In wet conditions at Tyrrellspass on Saturday evening, Coralstown/Kinnegad overcame Tyrrellspass in what was an entertaining, fast-paced encounter with 32 scores.

Coralstown/Kinnegad came into the game on the back of some impressive victories and chasing a league final position. Tyrrellspass on the other hand, had no wins in the top division and were chasing precious points to help them retain their division one status for 2026. With both teams having their county players back, this was a real insight into what could be ahead in championship. Having controlled most of the play, it was Kinnegad who led by five points at the break and while county star Nigel Harte pounced for a second half goal, it wasn't enough to rescue a much-needed victory for Tyrrellspass.

A second yellow card for Harte meant they finished the game with 14 men.

Kinnegad started strong on their first play but had a goal disallowed for a square ball infringement. Kinnegad dominated the first 10 minutes but at times were wasteful. As they got into their rhythm they scored the first five points of the game. Nigel Harte and Adam Flanagan two-pointers helped Tyrrellspass get back into the contest. Kinnegad finished the half strong, scoring another five points going into half-time, 0-10 to 0-5.

Tyrrellspass posed questions at the start of the second half and started strong, but a great save from Stephen McNevin denied Nigel Harte a goal. From there Kinnegad picked up where they left off but just as it seemed like Kinnegad would pull away, Jamie Gonoud gave a lovely ball into the run of Nigel Harte who made no mistake when finishing to the net.

Kinnegad responded with four points without reply and a second yellow card resulted in the dismissal of Nigel Harte for a late challenge on Josh Gahan and that probably sealed Tyrrellspass' fate. In the end it was a fine victory for the Coralstown/Kinnegad men, who will be aiming to improve on last year's run to the semi-final of the senior football championship.

Kinnegad's greater urgency

From the very first play, Kinnegad played with urgency and a great energy. In their first possession Jack Torpey made a run setting Jack Cole up for a slap in goal. The goal was cancelled out for a square ball but it was clear how fast-paced Kinnegad intended to play. Throughout the game Tyrrellspass had trouble winning their own kick outs and this put huge pressure on their defence throughout the first half. Brían Cooney was winning lots of ball in the middle of the field; after a great turnover he set up Eoin O’Brien up for Kinnegad's first score from play.

Indiscipline from Tyrrellspass was costly as Callum Cruise slotted over four frees in the first half. Two of those frees came following breaches of the three up rule by Tyrrellspass. It took Tyrrellspass 10 minutes to get their first score after Nigel Harte converted a two-point free. Adam Flanagan followed that up with another two-pointer reducing the deficit to just one point. Kinnegad's attack did not slow up as they scored four points from the boots of Callum Cruise, Brían Cooney and Dan Leech putting them back into a comfortable lead. Nigel Harte got another point before James Maxwell replied for Kinnegad to end the half.

Kinnegad went in at the break leading by five points and they had ten scores to Tyrrellspass three, the latter relying on two-pointers to keep them within reach.

Tyrrellspass came out strong in the second half getting a score from the boot of Kieran Geraghty in their first possession. Soon after it looked a certain goal for Nigel Harte, but a miraculous save from Stephen McNevin kept the ball out of the net.

Kinnegad got back into the game with scores from Jack Torpey and Conor Callaghan. They took control from there with a score from Brían Cooney stretching their lead. Jack Torpey stepped up to take a free on the 20-metre line, near the left sideline and confidently put it over.

Hard work from Liam Daly and Eoin O’Brien in the back line helped limit any attacking threat from Tyrrellspass. Eoin O’Brien's hard work was rewarded with his fourth point of the game putting Kinnegad up by eight points.

Just as it looked out of reach for Tyrrellspass Jamie Gonoud gave a lovely ball into Nigel Harte's run who made no mistake with the finish, reducing the deficit to five points, 1-9 to 0-17. But any hope of a comeback was put to bed as Nigel Harte received a second yellow for a late challenge on Josh Gahan. Kinnegad finished well with four more points leaving the final score 0-21 to 1-10.

Coralstown/Kinnegad: Stephen McNevin; Podge Quinn, David Giles, Eoin O’ Brien (0-4); Josh Gahan, Liam Daly, Rory Cole; Brian McGrath, Brían Cooney (0-2); Jack Torpey (0-2, 1f), Conor Callaghan (0-2), James Maxwell (0-1); Callum Cruise (0-5, 5f), Jack Cole (0-1), Dan Leech (0-3). Subs used: Jack Quinn for Conor Callaghan, Luke Lacey for Callum Cruise, Fergal Dardis for Dan Leech, Ronan Doyle for Rory Cole.

Tyrrellspass: Joe Hyland; Stephen Quinn, Cormac Monaghan, Kai Harte; Mark Devine, Jamie Gonoud, Jamie Corcoron; Nigel Harte (1-5, one tpt f), David Lynam; Daire Early, Adam Flanagan (0-2, tpt) Cathal Dunne; Mikie Mullen (0-1), Kieran Geraghty (0-2, 1f) Evan Connell (0-1f). Subs used: Neale Pearson for Kieran Geraghty, Chris Daly for Daire Early, Thomas Ryan (0-1) for Mikie Mullen, Nigel Dunne for Evan Connell.

Referee: Eoin Gorman (St Mary's, Rochfortbridge).