February 15, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Markey
Kerry 1-13, Longford 1-12 Sunday’s concluding fixture produced the best encounter of the day at Gaelic Park. Two of the favorites for honors in Div. II showed why they are held in such high regard and as the season progresses they should be meeting each other at some stage in the playoff picture.
A huge two points for the Kingdom who find themselves faultless after two starts and their new regime, spearheaded by Paddy Kearney, continues to gather momentum. On the other hand, Longford, one of the favorites for the title, find themselves pointless after two outings. They have yet to unleash their undoubted talent but even at this early stage of the season, they are under considerable pressure, with nothing but a flawless record from this point onward acceptable, if the playoffs are to remain a viable option.
The Midlanders held the ascendancy until the last quarter of the game when a late Kerry flurry, sparked off by a Tom Mannion goal 14 minutes from time, was enough to gain the verdict by the narrowest of margins.
In their opening attack, Kevin Lilly found the net for Longford. They added to their lead before an inspired period by Kerry’s Paudie Mulvihill brought the green and gold back into proceedings. Further Longford scores, however, would be enough to secure the advantage at the interval.
An early burst would see them press further ahead, holding a 6-point advantage entering the final quarter. But from here it would all go wrong. Tom Mannion’s goal, capitalizing on some terrible Longford defending, inspired his side and as both traded points in the closing stages it was a Colm Wilson free which separated the sides at the final whistle.
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Adrian Riney, Mike Carmody, Paddy O’Connor, Tom Mannion, Kevin Shalvey and Colm Wilson were best for Kerry. Dave Hyland, Dessie McGoldrick, Kevin McCarthy, Brendan Donohue, Brendan Lennon and Kevin Lilly tried hard for Longford.
Kerry scorers: C. Wilson 0-4, T. Mannion 1-1, P. Mulvihill 0-3, K. Cull 0-2, K. Shalvey 0-2, W. O’Donnell 0-1.
Longford: K. Lilly 1-6, B. Donahue 0-2, D. Bracken, T. McGrath, D. McGoldrick and B. Lennon all 0-1.