Kildallan make Arva work for their win

Match report:

Arva 1-14
Kildallan 2-9

Long-time leaders Arva were put to the pin of their collar at Killeshandra when they came face to face with JFC rivals Kildallan last weekend.
The blue and white crew seemed to be coasting their way to the winner's enclosure, having a 1-12 to 0-5 lead to show for what was an impressive opening 45 minutes of football.
However that was as good as it got for the would-be victors as Kildallan mounted a courageous and potent revival which saw them almost snatch a most unlikely win.
Like a number of the vanquished teams in the championship over the past weekend, Kildallan were made to pay the ultimate penalty for a sluggish and largely impotent first half display.
In simple terms, Kildallan weren't at the races early on and, to their credit, Arva duly reaped a rich dividend, engineering what seemed to be a solid 1-7 to 0-4 lead at the short whistle.
Arva were clearly seen at their best in the opening half, especially after a tentative first ten minutes during which time the battle for possession and scores was pretty even.
In fact, Kildallan actually led by by 0-3 to 0-1 after nine minutes with the impressive John O'Neill accounting for two of his side's points.
O'Neill's second score though was quickly followed by points from Brian Ellis, Gavin Doyle and Kevin Bouchier (free) which gave Arva the lead for the first time in the match.
Slowly but surely Kildallan were forced back onto the ropes and it took a great save by 'keeper Fitzpatrick to deny Jonathan McCabe a goal.
Moments later, wind-assisted Arva suffered a blow when influential defender James Morris fell awkwardly and had to retire with a knee injury.
It was Kildallan's turn to suffer a blow in the 28th minute when Kevin Bouchier rose the highest to fist a goal after Brian Ellis's teasing centre wasn't intercepted by the Kildallan defence.
Bouchier's goal catapulted Arva into a well-heeled 1-7 to 0-4 half-time lead and when Jonathan McCabe consolidated that lead with a point barely 90 seconds after the restart, it looked like a game of damage limitation was beckoning for Kildallan.
Instead, Kildallan proceeded to give as much as they got in the third quarter before going onto dominate the final quarter.
Brian Ellis brought Arva's tally to 1-12 in the 46th minute but the leaders would only score two more points in the remaining minutes of the game.
In contrast, the Ballyconnell-based side added 2-4 before the final whistle with a Niall Cassidy goal (50) and another one from John O'Neill (58) making for a nervous final few minutes for Arva.
Fortunately for the blue and white brigade, points from Jonathan McCabe and Kevin Bouchier (free) sandwiched O'Neill's major and were enough to get their side safely over the line.



Arva:
Sean Donnelly; Shane Finnegan, James Morris, Patrick Murtagh; Shane McEntee, Thomas Brady, Stephen Ellis; Ciaran Brady (0-1), Gavin Doyle (0-2); Jonathan McCabe (0-2), Kevin Bouchier (1-5), Fergal McGlade; Alan Barry, Conal Sheridan (0-2), Brian Ellis.
Subs; Peter Morris for F McGlade; Sean McManus for P Murtagh.


Kildallan:
Ronan Fitzpatrick; Fergal Donohoe, Niall Crowe, Neasan Neary; Killian Duignan, Peadar Reilly, Stephen Crowe; Cathal Sheridan, Stephen Wynne; Ronan Reilly (0-4), Daithi Neary, Niall Cassidy (1-0); Darren McGovern (0-1), Conor Crowe, John O'Neill (1-4).
Subs; Fergal Maguire for S Wynne; Eamon McPartland for S Crowe; Niall Martin for D Neary.