While it may not have been the result we were hoping for, James Murray’s late late goal earned his side a well deserved draw against a dogged Kiltale side who almost snatched victory after substitute Peter Durnin smashed his effort to the back of the Trim net in the twenty seventh minute.
This result leaves Trim with the straightforward task of needing at least a draw against Ratoath, in the final round, to ensure a semi-final berth, possibly against Kiltale whose final round is against bottom of the table Na Fianna, in a fortnight’s time.
Due to a number of injuries, Trim were forced to do a bit of a reshuffle to the line out that appeared on the team sheet. One of those changes was the moving of Alan Douglas to the centre back position which worked out well in the context of the overall game.
Kiltale raised the first white flag through Adam Murphy, in the third minute, but patient Trim play provided an equalizer from Clubber Man of the Match James Murray, and Mikey Cole added another a minute later. Hugh O’Sullivan, who was probably lucky to see out the game after a dangerous strike on Ian Birmingham in the second half, equalized for Kiltale before James Murray doubled up, first from a free and then from a lovely catch and strike in the tenth minute.
Jack Regan pointed from a free after an unfortunate trip by Ben Holden, as they were racing for the ball, but a sublime trademark sideline cut from James Murray and a fine pointed effort from Ian Birmingham pushed Trim’s advantage to three points in the fourteenth minute.
Jack Regan had another converted free before a James Andrews strike and a converted James Murray free gave Trim a four point cushion in the twenty first minute. In between, Kiltale ‘keeper Shane McGann really earned his corn with successive saves from James Murray, Pa Ryan, and, again, James Murray who did, however, convert a free as referee Sean Stack was playing an advantage in the build up.
Unbelievably, it was Kiltale who engineered their purple patch with six unanswered points to lead by two points with thirty minutes played, but two late scores from James Murray left things on a level footing when the half time whistle sounded.
Half Time: Trim 0-10; Kiltale 0-10
Playing with a slight wind advantage, Trim raced into a four point lead on the resumption through James Andrews, David Murtagh (2), and Darragh Heffernan. A controversial free against Alan Douglas, who earned a yellow card for his protests, and a converted sixty five, both by Jack Regan, and scores from Jack Bannon and Mark O’Sullivan had matters level, once again, in the fourteenth minute.
Soon after, the aforementioned Mark O’Sullivan was given his marching orders for interfering with an opponent’s helmet and this gave a significant advantage to Trim. Ian Birmingham had edged Trim in front before the referee brandished a straight red to a bewildered Pa Ryan for what appeared to many as an innocuous challenge. Jack Regan converted the resultant free to level matters once again, by the twenty first minute.
Trim were maintaining a nice rhythm and Conor Quigley added to the scoreboard before an enormous Alan Douglas free extended their advantage. However, they failed to drive home this advantage and, once again, the sides were level with points from Kiltale’s James Kelly and a converted sixty five from Jack Regan. With time running out, Trim were rocked by that Peter Durnin goal followed by another Jack Regan converted free.
James Murray converted a free before that grand finale when he squeezed his final free past Shane McGann and a crowded Kiltale goal line defence. In the dying seconds Trim has a couple of possessions but couldn’t find a shooting opportunity and, so, the final whistle sounded to the relief of both teams.
Trim will face Ratoath, on Sunday 13th September, 4pm Dunganny, to determine who will potentially face Kiltale in the semi-final.
Trim: Eoin O’Reilly, Gary Fleming, Ben Holden, Cathal O’Reilly, Ian Birmingham (0-2), Alan Douglas (0-1, 1f), Dimmy Higgins, Mark Molloy, David Murtagh (0-2), George Douglas, James Andrews (0-2), Dylan Farrell, Mikey Cole (0-1), James Murray (1-8, 1-4f, 1 s/l), Pa Ryan.
Subs: Darragh Heffernan (0-1), Conor Quigley (0-1), Daniel Murray, Padraig Walsh
This result leaves Trim with the straightforward task of needing at least a draw against Ratoath, in the final round, to ensure a semi-final berth, possibly against Kiltale whose final round is against bottom of the table Na Fianna, in a fortnight’s time.
Due to a number of injuries, Trim were forced to do a bit of a reshuffle to the line out that appeared on the team sheet. One of those changes was the moving of Alan Douglas to the centre back position which worked out well in the context of the overall game.
Kiltale raised the first white flag through Adam Murphy, in the third minute, but patient Trim play provided an equalizer from Clubber Man of the Match James Murray, and Mikey Cole added another a minute later. Hugh O’Sullivan, who was probably lucky to see out the game after a dangerous strike on Ian Birmingham in the second half, equalized for Kiltale before James Murray doubled up, first from a free and then from a lovely catch and strike in the tenth minute.
Jack Regan pointed from a free after an unfortunate trip by Ben Holden, as they were racing for the ball, but a sublime trademark sideline cut from James Murray and a fine pointed effort from Ian Birmingham pushed Trim’s advantage to three points in the fourteenth minute.
Jack Regan had another converted free before a James Andrews strike and a converted James Murray free gave Trim a four point cushion in the twenty first minute. In between, Kiltale ‘keeper Shane McGann really earned his corn with successive saves from James Murray, Pa Ryan, and, again, James Murray who did, however, convert a free as referee Sean Stack was playing an advantage in the build up.
Unbelievably, it was Kiltale who engineered their purple patch with six unanswered points to lead by two points with thirty minutes played, but two late scores from James Murray left things on a level footing when the half time whistle sounded.
Half Time: Trim 0-10; Kiltale 0-10
Playing with a slight wind advantage, Trim raced into a four point lead on the resumption through James Andrews, David Murtagh (2), and Darragh Heffernan. A controversial free against Alan Douglas, who earned a yellow card for his protests, and a converted sixty five, both by Jack Regan, and scores from Jack Bannon and Mark O’Sullivan had matters level, once again, in the fourteenth minute.
Soon after, the aforementioned Mark O’Sullivan was given his marching orders for interfering with an opponent’s helmet and this gave a significant advantage to Trim. Ian Birmingham had edged Trim in front before the referee brandished a straight red to a bewildered Pa Ryan for what appeared to many as an innocuous challenge. Jack Regan converted the resultant free to level matters once again, by the twenty first minute.
Trim were maintaining a nice rhythm and Conor Quigley added to the scoreboard before an enormous Alan Douglas free extended their advantage. However, they failed to drive home this advantage and, once again, the sides were level with points from Kiltale’s James Kelly and a converted sixty five from Jack Regan. With time running out, Trim were rocked by that Peter Durnin goal followed by another Jack Regan converted free.
James Murray converted a free before that grand finale when he squeezed his final free past Shane McGann and a crowded Kiltale goal line defence. In the dying seconds Trim has a couple of possessions but couldn’t find a shooting opportunity and, so, the final whistle sounded to the relief of both teams.
Trim will face Ratoath, on Sunday 13th September, 4pm Dunganny, to determine who will potentially face Kiltale in the semi-final.
Trim: Eoin O’Reilly, Gary Fleming, Ben Holden, Cathal O’Reilly, Ian Birmingham (0-2), Alan Douglas (0-1, 1f), Dimmy Higgins, Mark Molloy, David Murtagh (0-2), George Douglas, James Andrews (0-2), Dylan Farrell, Mikey Cole (0-1), James Murray (1-8, 1-4f, 1 s/l), Pa Ryan.
Subs: Darragh Heffernan (0-1), Conor Quigley (0-1), Daniel Murray, Padraig Walsh
