Kilconly an hour away from the Promised Land

By BILLY COSS Kilconly ...................................................................1-11 Monivea-Abbey ........................................................0-8 NEVER BEFORE in their 68-year history have Kilconly's footballers played Senior football but on Sunday evening in Tuam Stadium the class of 2011 moved a step closer to realising that dream with a convincing win over Monivea-Abbey to reach a first-ever Galway Intermediate Championship final.  Coming into this semi-final, it was widely expected that little would separate the teams but Kilconly won most of the game's key battles and their ball-winning ability, use of possession and finishing power were all at a superior level to anything a surprisingly off-colour Monivea-Abbey could produce. Six points separated the teams at the final whistle, a margin of victory that in no way flattered Bernard Brady's team.   Kilconly will take a lot from this victory. Aided by a strong breeze, they were five points to nil ahead by the interval and weathered an early second half revival from Monivea-Abbey before putting the game beyond reach with John Paul Steede's goal on the three-quarter mark.  It was a superb collective effort and there were many standout performers. Kevin Brady has been one of the stars of this year's championship and once again played a key role, sweeping across the Kilconly half-back line to break up Monivea-Abbey attacks and also drive his side forward. After playing second fiddle at midfield for long spells against Menlough, Kilconly convincingly won the kick-out battle thanks mainly to James Fair, who put in a Man of the Match display, combining ball-winning with some vital turnovers. Kilconly's full-forward line has carried plenty of threat this year and once again were hard to handle throughout. Michael Murphy was fouled for a number of converted frees and struck a score of the highest quality late on while John Kerrigan made clever use of possession and was assured from placed balls. Plenty of pre-match discussion centred on the availability of Adrian Murphy and whether this match would came too soon for the Galway U-21 forward. Despite having a cast removed from his broken hand in the week of the match, Murphy was introduced early in the second half and made a positive contribution.  No one in the winners' camp will be getting too carried away this week, however, and a season-best display will no doubt be required if they are to prevail in a final meeting with one of the two pre-championship favourites, Oughterard or Carna-An Chaiseal.   In what was a hugely disappointing performance from Monivea-Abbey, particularly after morale-boosting wins over Dunmore MacHales and An Spidéal, being held scoreless for the game's opening 33 minutes proved too severe a handicap to overcome. Their over-worked defence battled gamely throughout but they were forced to live off scraps at midfield and relied far too heavily on full-forward Cathal Coleman, who struck seven second half points and almost single-handedly dragged his team back into the game. As the second half progressed, goals became their only hope of reeling in Kilconly but they lacked the necessary guile to break down the winners' rearguard and never got close enough to ask serious questions. Brian O'Donnell, Lorcan Laheen, Brian Flaherty and Coleman, who accounted for all but one of his side's scores, were Monivea-Abbey's most effective players on the day but they badly missed a fit and firing Jason Finn, whose involvement was restricted to the closing minutes due to injury. Although the heavy morning rain relented, slippery conditions combined with a tricky wind made shooting difficult and neither side could find the target in a forgettable opening quarter that was littered with misplaced passes and poor option-taking. Once Kilconly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute, they kicked on to open up a 0-5 to 0-0 interval lead after playing with the elements. The half's highlights were undoubtedly scores from Kevin Brady and Padraic Moran, who also struck a rasping shot off the Monivea-Abbey crossbar early on. At times during the second half, Monivea-Abbey threatened a comeback and though Cathal Coleman reduced the margin to three with a series of left-footed scores, it was as close they got. Kilconly always managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over and the outcome was put beyond any remaining doubt in the 45th minute when John Paul Steede finished from close range after Adrian Murphy's initial effort was cleared off the line. Coleman continued to chip away at the deficit for Monivea-Abbey but with their tails up, Kilconly rounded off the match in style with four points in the final 10 minutes to secure their place in next month's final and with it a chance to make history. Kilconly: F. Daly; A. Walsh, B. Steede, M. Newell; K. Brady (Capt., 0-1), C Concannon, D. Concannon; J. Fair, K. Curley; B. Concannon, J. P. Steede (1-0), D. Glynn; M. Murphy (0-1), J. Kerrigan (0-6, five frees), P. Moran (0-1). Subs: C. Ryan (0-1) for Glynn, 27 mins; A. Murphy (0-1) for C. Concannon, 36 mins. Monivea-Abbey: D. Farragher; G. Ruane (Capt.), B. O'Donnell, B. Collins; P. O'Donnell, L. Laheen, C. Treacy; D. O'Reilly, Darren Finn; Dwayne Finn, B. Flaherty (0-1), O. Crowe; C. Kennedy, C. Coleman (0-7, three frees), E. Roche. Subs: R. O'Neill for Dwayne Finn, half-time; C. Maher for O'Reilly, 36 mins; J. Blade for Collins, 36 mins; J. Finn for Crowe, 54 mins. Referee: Muiris Mac Gearailt (Mícheál Breathnachs). Herald Sport Man of the Match: James Fair (Kilconly).