Sport

Twiss in tale as O'Shea penalty seals it

KERRY SFC FINAL (replay) Mid Kerry 1-7 Kerins O'Rahillys 0-9 : FOLLOWING IN the footballing footsteps of his famous father, …

Mon Dec 01 2008 - 00:00

KERRY SFC FINAL (replay) Mid Kerry 1-7 Kerins O'Rahillys 0-9: FOLLOWING IN the footballing footsteps of his famous father, Jack, Aidan O'Shea was the toast of Mid Kerry yesterday after he scored the winning goal, from the penalty spot, at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

It was a finale to a game that could not have been scripted any better for the winners, who were chasing their first championship triumph since 1992, as O'Shea converted the controversial kick three minutes into injury-time.

After three points on the trot for Kerins O'Rahillys, through Declan Quill (two) and David Moran, had pushed Jack O'Connor's men into a 0-9 to 0-7 lead with the game edging into injury-time, Mid Kerry's hopes of glory looked dashed.

But they made one final surge up field, working the ball in to substitute Ian Twiss. Referee Pádraig O'Sullivan adjudged Twiss to have been fouled in the square and pointed to the penalty spot.

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Up stepped O'Shea and the Glenbeigh/Glencar man buried the kick, to turn a two-point deficit into a one-point victory.

The sides were level on five occasions and were deadlocked at 0-3 apiece at the break.

Kerins O'Rahillys upped their game in the second, probably as a result of what Jack O'Connor had said at the interval, but with Kerry players Darren O'Sullivan and Aidan O'Shea in fine form, Mid Kerry led 0-7 to 0-6 with 10 minutes left.

Back came O'Rahillys, for whom midfielder Michéal Quirke was their outstanding player, and after a three-point scoring run, they looked to have won the game, as the large Strand Road following began to celebrate.

However, it proved premature as there was a twist in the tale with that dramatic late, late show from Mid Kerry and O'Rahillys hearts were broken as they were left wondering what might have been.

MID KERRY: M Moriarty; A Cahillane, A O'Shea (1-1, 1-0 pen), D Murphy; F Griffin, C Kelliher, J McGillycuddy; M Burke, D Breen; G Sayers, D O'Sullivan (0-3, one free), S O'Sullivan (0-1, free); D Kelliher, D Walsh, K Foley (0-2, one free). Subs: I Twiss for G Sayers; L Sheehan for D Kelliher.

KERINS O'RAHILLYS: G Kissane; D O'Sullivan, M O'Shea, G O'Grady; B Quill, B Moran, G Duffy; D Moran (0-1), M Quirke; P Madden, J O'Connor, B J Walsh; T O'Sullivan, D Quill (0-5, three frees), T Walsh (0-3). Subs: BJ Keane for T O'Sullivan.

Referee: P O'Sullivan(Firies).