Report By Dara O'Connor
Comortas Peile Paidi O'Se Senior Semi-Final
Dingle 0-6 Milltown/Castlemaine 0-2
Venue: Gallarus, An Ghaeltacht
Referee: Paul Hayes (Kerins O'Rahillys)
Milltown/Castlemaine's Seniors, buoyed on by their success in their Quarter-Final win over 2018 All-Ireland Junior Champions Knocknagree this morning in Milltown subsequently made the hour long journey to Gallarus, An Ghaeltacht this afternoon to take on 2018 West Kerry Champions & County Senior Finalists Dingle who had earlier overcome Eire Og Ennis from Co. Clare so a big step up in opposition was expected based on the level they are competing at but a great challenge nonetheless for a Milltown/Castlemaine side to measure their progress to this point of the season even minus quite a number of bodies due to unavailability. If conditions were described in a previous match report from this morning's action as challenging then conditions deteriorated to whole new levels rarely seen for this encounter as a mixture of rain, gale force winds and everything in between was thrown in for good measure but as the saying goes it was the same for both teams and they knuckled down to their credit and both teams gave as good as they got which has to be admired.
Their would be 8 scores in total in this contest and just 3 of these scores (all points) came in the opening half which was once again played over the shorter time-frame of 20 minutes a half as opposed to 30 in regular fare. Dingle registered the opening score of the match on 8 minutes when their corner forward got inside the Milltown/Castlemaine cover and nonchalantly stroked the ball between the posts to give the West Kerry men a lead and more importantly a vital score against the wind, one which unfortunately their opponents in Milltown/Castlemaine failed to match in the second half. With most this match being played out in the middle sector of the field and scrappy exchanges leading to a lot of sideline balls and kick-passes crossing the end line on multiple occasions in both halves due to the wind the quality of this contest suffered as a result. Milltown/Castlemaine levelled matters after 12 minutes when Jerome Flynn through a 30 yard free pointed after Gavin Horan had been fouled in the process of an attacking move. They knew that they really needed to make use of the wind advantage they had as it was definitely worth a couple of scores of a lead at the break but try as they might they would only add one more point before the interval and this came from Pa Wren on 17 minutes when after some fine interchange play between David Roche and Gavin Horan the ball was shifted to Wren who despite being on his weaker left leg comfortably popped the ball over the Dingle crossbar to make it 0-2 to 0-1. There was a few other opportunities with Paul Carroll from play and Gavin Horan through a '45' but both efforts went to the wrong side of the post so it was a narrow one point lead at the break for the Mid Kerry men.
Into the 2nd half we went and once again exchanges were tight for the most part. Dingle had the game level at 0-2 to 0-2 in the 21st minute (opening minute of 2nd half due to shorter time-frame) when their corner-forward registered his second point from play of the game from close in after a high catch around the square was released to him and he fired over easily. Milltown/Castlemaine came more into it for the next six or seven minutes with a couple of bursts forward but trying to break down Dingle was proving hard and with you essentially having to work the ball more or less as far up as the 14 yard line to have any chance of scoring into this gale force wind Dingle retreated in numbers when out of possession and blocked up these pivotal sectors essentially denying Milltown/Castlemaine the space to attain a foothold in this the game whilst remaining disciplined and not committing fouls. Dingle had the lead by the midway point of the 2nd half when their wing-forward fired over from long range, a lead they wouldn't relinquish or would never truly look like doing so. The experienced Paul Devane of Dingle landed a lovely score off the outside of his right boot in the 32nd minute to extend the West Kerry men's lead to 0-4 to 0-2. Dingle also finished strong in the final period of the game and a point from their full-forward from close in after a '45' dropped short followed by a 14 yard free from their wing-forward sealed a 4 point win at the full-time whistle, Dingle winning out 0-6 to 0-2 despite a very stern examination by Milltown/Castlemaine who to be fair only really lost touch with Dingle in the final few minutes when the lead got stretched.
Milltown/Castlemaine will take a huge amount out of today's two matches undoubtedly, they got another 80 minutes of football under their belts, were able to give plenty lads valuable game time against good quality opposition and work on a few things tactically. They scored 2-14 in their two matches and conceded 0-15 so not conceding any goals is a big plus point, it is their 3rd game out of 4 in 2019 that they have shut the door defensively on the opposition hitting the net so the defensive unit are working hard and efficiently all the time to give the side the best possible chance of winning games whilst its also worth mentioning that the team have scored 2 or more goals in 3 of their opening 4 fixtures. Over their first four game this season they have scored 7-40 (61) and conceded 1-33 (36) so on average they are conceding between 8 and 9 scores a game whilst scoring on average almost 12 scores a game. Whilst statistics won't necessarily worry them that much at this early juncture of the season it is encouraging for the players to be able to point to these as reference to how they are progressing as a group game on game and the supporters will also be happy to look upon them as they will perceive these to be steps for the squad in the right direction.
It is the turn of the Milltown/Castlemaine U21 team tomorrow as they take on Beaufort in the Preliminary Round of the Mid Kerry U21 Football Championship in Beaufort at 2:00pm. The winners will play Laune Rangers at home next weekend in the Semi-Final. All support would be welcome for these lads.
Hard luck to our Minors also in Castleisland today who lost out 2-12 to 1-10 against Castleisland Desmonds in a teak tough contest that could have swung either way, brighter days ahead with this group & management undoubtedly!
