Lafferty ensures opening game of Junior Championship ends in a draw
Castlemitchell Oisin Fennin and Kill Mark Lee
THE club football championships opened with a share of the spoils at Manguard Park on Thursday night as pre-match favourites Kill dug deep to come from behind and draw with Castlemitchell in Group A of the Tom Cross Transport Junior Championship.
Wind-aided Castlemitchell were superior in the opening half, but it took eight minutes for them to find their range, Ross Harris swinging over an excellent point from 40 metres.
Centre-back James doubled their advantage with a free from the left wing before Kill finally got off the mark with a superb effort from wing-back Finn Ryan off the outside of the boot after sixteen minutes.
But as the wides added up for Kill, Castlemitchell took a grip in the run-up to half-time. Full back Fionn O’Rourke made a sortie down the middle channel and popped over a fine long range point.
Then Ross Harris turned over possession in midfield to fashion his own score four minutes from half-time before adding to that with an excellent score from 35 metres out on the wing. Half-Time: Castlemitchell 0-5 Kill 0-1.
The half-time introduction of substitutes Paddy Martin for Kill and Evan Doogue for Castlemitchell helped to liven matters up.
Martin had the small crowd wondering at his exclusion from the starting line-up with an immediate impact, registering their second point shortly after the break.
They were hit with a sucker blow, however, immediately afterwards when the Harris duo combined Ross offloaded to Doogue for the finish to Mike Jones’ net.
That briefly gave Castlemitchell a six-point advantage, but Paul Kirwan hit back with a 35-metre free and after Doogue had another goal attempt blocked at one end, a high cross from Kill’s Owen Thompson at the other seemed to be touched last by Martin and ‘keeper Jack Nolan was unable to stop it crossing the line.
Finn Ryan then reduced the gap to the minimum with his second point before James Harris (free) and AJ Jordan swapped scores.
Kill were dominating the kickout now but squandering too many chances. They did eventually equalise at 1-6 apiece, however, through another substitute Liam O’Carroll eleven minutes from the end.
Castlemitchell, though, found a second wind. Four minutes from time, Ross Harris raced clear to fire just over the crossbar. The assurance point, perhaps?
It wasn’t. In the final minute of normal time Kirwan kicked a fine score and after Martin hit the post, Lafferty found himself in space just outside the ‘D’ to split the uprights deep into injury time and earn a deserved draw.
