Padraic Joyce on top form again — all is well in Killererin

By BILLY COSS Killererin .0-12  Mícheál Breathnachs .0-10 THE widely held view that you must take your chances first time around against Killererin rang true in Saturday evening's quarter-final replay at Pearse Stadium as the 2010 champions struck the game's final two points to outlast a Mícheál Breathnachs team that were made pay a high price for letting them off the hook six days earlier. Killererin's form has fluctuated in this year's Championship but their battling qualities and ability to negotiate pressure situations remain as impressive as ever. Micheál Boyle's thumping point from 40 metres in the final minute of normal time proved the game-breaking score in a closely contested match that will be remembered most for another superb individual display by Padraic Joyce. Restricted to a solitary point in the drawn encounter, Joyce's class was stamped all over this replay with seven points of Killererin's total coming from the Championship's standout player to date. It brought his tally in the campaign to a whopping 4-20, 3-11 from play. A failure to take their chances in the closing stages a week earlier came home to roost for Micheál Breathnachs. Under Seán Ó Domhnaill's management, they are a vastly improved outfit and put together the best Senior Championship run in the club's history but what would have amounted to a major breakthrough victory remained agonisingly out of reach and they were left nursing plenty of regrets this week, particularly from an eminently winnable drawn match. Not for the first time over a 13-year period that has yielded four County titles, Killererin showcased their ability to win replays. Since their last replay defeat, at the hands of Caltra in 2006, this crop of players stared down the barrel of defeat on numerous occasions yet somehow managed to scrape unlikely draws before eventually coming through next day out. Salthill-Knocknacarra and NUIG had Killererin on the ropes in 2007, as did Moycullen in 2008 while Mountbellew-Moylough and Moycullen again were involved in drawn matches with them in 2010. Each one failed to land the final, killer blow as the Barnaderg men displayed all their survival instincts to negotiate their way out of tight spots. Peadar Óg Ó Gríofa was kept quiet by Tomás Fahy How Killererin handled the threat of Peadar Óg Ó Gríofa, one of the stars of this year's Championship, was always going to have a major bearing on the outcome. Marked by fellow Galway panelist Tomás Fahy and with Tommie Joyce playing a sweeping role in a full-back line again missing Colin Forde, they managed to restrict the supply to Micheál Breathnachs' key threat but were having far greater trouble pinning down Peadar Ó Cionnaith, who struck four of his side's tally. At the other end, Padraic Joyce was showing signs of his form with a couple of fine scores while Damien Flaherty, Jonathan Keane and Shane Hughes also chipped in with points in an opening half that finished all square, 0-5 apiece. Aside from the display of referee Shane O'Hehir, extremely strict on over-carrying, the biggest talking point of the half was two one-on-one goal chances that fell to Nicky Joyce. His first was denied by the inside of Micheál Breathnachs right post before rolling across goal and eventually wide; the second when Eoin Ó Coisdealbha partially smothered his shot and the covering defence cleared off the line to safety. Killererin won the kick-out battle overall with Tom Hughes shading matters in his aerial duel with Fiontáin Ó Curraoin, although Ó Curraoin was centrally involved in many of Micheál Breathnachs best moves throughout. Again lining out in place of the suspended Alan Keane, â€Ëœkeeper Alan Fahy came to Killererin's rescue early in the second half, denying Ó Gríofa from point-blank range. How a Micheál Breathnachs goal would have shaped the match is impossible to say but, crucially, the Connemara side never managed to get their noses in front in the second half. Ó Gríofa came more and more into the game as the match progressed, striking a couple of excellent points, but crucially for his side's chances, both his and Micheál Breathnachs' shooting was below par with too many attempts dropped short. Mícheál Breathnachs were chasing the game While nothing separated the teams in most facets of the game, Killererin held an edge in finishing power that was ultimately the deciding factor. Padraic Joyce struck the opening two scores of the half and a converted free by his cousin Nicky helped Killererin open up an 8-5 lead. Micheál Breathnachs' chances looked to be slipping away following a couple of bad wides but an inspirational score by full-back Pádraig Tim Ó Conghaile and Ó Gríofa's first kept them in touch. The irrepressible Joyce struck back for two more, the second a booming free from almost 45 metres, and Micheál Breathnachs' race looked run until a series of brilliant points from Seán Denvir, Ó Gríofa and sub Éinne Ó Griallais levelled matters with five minutes remaining. It was anyone's match and extra-time looked a live possibility until Micheál Boyle took on the responsibility to land a towering, wind-assisted point and push Killererin into a lead they would not relinquish. Fittingly, Padraic Joyce had the final say, kicking his seventh point of the day as Stephen Flaherty's team booked their place in the semi-final where they will meet old foes Salthill-Knocknacarra â€â€ a fixture the seasiders won last year but one in which Killererin have regularly held the upper hand over the past two decades.