TEMPLENOE MARKED THEIR historic first appearance in the Kerry senior football championship with victory this evening as they struck three goals against Dingle and held on to take the spoils.
It was a bright start as well for defending champions East Kerry in their opening round tie against Feale Rangers while last year’s semi-finalists St Brendan’s and Mid Kerry also booked their spots in the quarter-final draw after today’s game.
Templenoe 3-7 Dingle 1-12
Kerry senior Killian Spillane hit 1-5 as Templenoe held on to spring a surprise in Dingle against the home side. Dingle had started brightly with Matthew Flaherty producing a brilliant finish to the net as they went ahead 1-2 to 0-3 by the first water break.
— Templenoe GAA (@Templenoeabu) August 22, 2020
Spillane bagged a pair of points to bring Templenoe level and then a crucial phase of the game before half-time saw Teddy Doyle shoot to the net after a counter-attack and Spillane notched their second goal. Dingle lost former Kerry senior Mikey Geaney through injury but they were still only drift by three at the interval, 2-5 to 1-5, thanks to late first-half points by Conor Geaney and David O’Connor.
Josh Crowley-Holland bagged Templenoe’s third goal early in the second half to give them a six-point cushion before Dingle dominated the exchanges. Substitute George Durrant made an impact while Conor Geaney, who finished with 0-5, and Dylan Geaney, who hit a brace, shone closer to goal.
A point by Kerry senior defender Tom O’Sullivan left them trailing 3-6 to 1-11 at the three-quarter mark but critically they could not draw level. The scores dried up at the West Kerry venue before Spillane floated over a vital point to send them two clear and despite a late O’Sullivan score, Dingle could not draw level.
East Kerry 1-14 Feale Rangers 0-3
The reigning champions East Kerry had 14 points to spare over Feale Rangers in their opening assignment in Listowel tonight. With a strong team at their disposal, boosted by the availability of Rathmore players this year like county seniors Shane Ryan and Paul Murphy, East Kerry were ahead 0-6 to 0-1 by the first water break.
David and Paudie Clifford, along with Dara Roche, showed well in the scoring department before Roche hit the only goal of the game to help them go in front 1-10 to 0-1 by the break. The scoring rate slowed in the second half but not enough to trouble the kingpins and threaten an unlikely comeback.
Mid Kerry 3-15 Kilcummin 0-12
The divisional outfit won out against the club side in the clash at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney. Mid Kerry finished winners by a 12-point margin against 2019 All-Ireland intermediate club champions Kilcummin.
Mid Kerry were 0-8 to 0-5 to the good at the break with Laune Rangers player Fiachra Clifford and Glenbeigh-Glencar forward Gavan O’Grady their leading point scorers.
Both players raised green flags in the second half with Beaufort’s Liam Carey also finding the net as Mid Kerry powered to the finish line.
St Brendan’s 1-15 West Kerry 0-14
2019 semi-finalists St Brendan’s saw off West Kerry by four points in Austin Stack Park this afternoon. Mikey Kelliher hit the only goal of the game early on for a team that included Kerry seniors Jack Barry and Diarmuid O’Connor.
It was 1-7 to 0-9 in favour of St Brendan’s at the interval, there was still little between them at the three-quarter mark, 1-11 to 0-12 in favour of the winners. Ivan Parker was their scoring star with 0-9, seven from play, as his shooting lit up the game with Eanna Ó Conchúir (0-5) and Ruadhri Ó Beaglaoich (0-4) best for West Kerry in that department.
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