Dingle 4-5 St Kieran's 0-14:DINGLE GOT the goals when it mattered to see off the challenge of a wasteful St Kieran's side in the first senior football championship semi-final, played at Austin Park yesterday and so reach their first senior football championship final in 61 years.
In fact Dingle have scored 12 goals in their four championship games to date, and yesterday , they scored three in the first half that laid the foundations for this historic win.
After early St Kieran’s points from Tom McGoldrick, Edmund Walsh and Eamon J O’Donoghue, Dingle settled and Paul Geaney sent his cousin Mikey racing through in 10th minute for the opening goal.
Worse was to follow for St Kieran’s in the 18th minute when Paul Geaney was hauled down for a penalty and David Geaney blasted the ball to the net.
St Kieran’s missed two goal chances, firstly when Tom McGoldrick had a penalty saved in 28th minute and O’Donoghue had a goal-bound flick deflected out for a 45.
Then in the 26th minute Paul Geaney completed a Geaney hat-trick of goals, when he pounced on a loose ball and Dingle led 3-1 to 0-5 at half-time.
St Kieran’s, thanks to the efforts of the Walsh brothers James and Edmund, along with Kerry midfielder Séamus Scanlon, dominated and kicked some great points but they also shot an incredible eight second-half wides and while Dingle were not scoring points, Mikey Geaney was lifting the siege at every opportunity and a bizarre fourth goal in the 54th minute secured a famous Dingle victory when Paul Geaney’s speculative shot was misjudged by the St Kieran’s goalkeeper and Billy O’Connor scored his sixth goal in three games.
DINGLE: S O Flatharta; TB Brosnan, J Murphy, G Curran; Paul Devane, B Kelliher, J B Brosnan; C B Moriarty, D OSullivan; Pádraig Devane, M Geaney (1-0), J Sheehy (0-1, free); P Geaney (1-4, two frees), B OConnor (1-0), D Geaney (1-0, pen). Subs: R Begley for Pádraig Devane (41 mins), J Kelliher for B Kelliher (58 mins).
ST KIERAN’S: Sean Óg O Ciardubhain ( Cordal); P Galvin ( Ballymacelligott), D OSullivan (Currow), M Galvin; J Walsh (0-3, two frees, Knocknagoshel), P Reidy (0-1, Scartaglin), P Galvin (Ballymacelligott); F McAuliffe (Brosna), S Scanlon (0-1, Currow); EJ ODonoghue (0-1, Cordal), M Hickey (0-1, Desmonds), M Coakley (0-1, Scartaglin); A Breen (Ballymacelligott), T Hickey (Desmonds), E Walsh (0-4, Knocknagoshel), T McGoldrick (0-1, free, Brosna). Subs: P OConnor (0-1, Cordal) for T McGoldrick (half-time), P McCarthy (Currow) for M Coakley (36 mins), D Murphy (Scartaglin) for P McCarthy (56 mins), Denis OConnor (Scartaglin) for D OSullivan (57 mins).
