Our U16 lads made the short trip up the new main road on Thursday evening to take on a solid Westport B side in the West Mayo U16 C semi-final. The last time the two teams met was on the Rice College pitch in March, where Kilmeena came up just short on a scoreline of 4-12 to 4-11.
For this game, the venue was the lowerpitch at the Westport GAA grounds, and Kilmeena got off to the strongest possible start when a Cormac O’Malley shot bounced off the crossbar and Cormac Slattery was in the right place to slot it into the net. Kilmeena continued to push on with points from Cormac O’Malley, Aaron Murray, and Dean Staunton among others. Westport latched on a few points of their own, but midway through the first half, Alex Kenning made a brilliant solo dash through the Westport backline and slotted a perfect finish low past the Westport keeper. Another goal late in the half from Kyle Mulchrone saw us hold an emphatic lead over our opponents at the half.
Half time score: Westport B 0-3 Kilmeena 3-8
Shooting into the bypass end, it was more of the same in the second half from the lads. The scores kept flowing, with Dean Staunton adding another goal to our tally, while substitute Tiernan Aherne got the best score of the game with a superb strike off his left from a tight angle.
Credit must also be given to Louie Corcoran, whose accurate kickouts allowed us to get forward quickly in numbers in addition to a handful of fine saves throughout the game. Our defence was reasonably solid especially thanks to the return of Eoghan Cannon who had a great game. However, Westport added a goal of their own near the end of the game to spoil our chances of a clean sheet, but it was no more than a consolation as we secured a convincing win to send us through to the final, where we will take on Tourmakeady for the title next Thursday (31st of August)!
We’d like to give a special thank you to the U14 lads Cian Moran and Kevin Hastings for making themselves available for selection on the evening.
Full time score in Westport: Westport B 1-6 Kilmeena 4-14
A big thanks once again to Ollie Mulchrone for taking pictures of the action from the game. These photos can be viewed through this link:
