Towers look strong as they book IFC quarter-final spot

ROUND TOWERS 2-11 ST KEVINS 0-6 

Round Towers became the first team into this year’s Auld Shebeen Intermediate Championship quarter-finals after a comprehensive victory over St Kevins at Manguard Park.

St Kevins came into this game on the back of an impressive opening round win in Group B over Castledermot but they never hit those heights here and were well beaten by a Towers side who have shown the kind of form in the early stages of this Championship that you would expect of title challengers.

They scored the first three points of the game, including points from the father and son duo Jason and Jay O’Brien.

They were 1-5 to 0-1 ahead by the time of their first goal in the 22nd minute when a clever pass by Evan Flynn picked out the perfectly timed run of Davy O’Neill and the centre back made no mistake in finding the net.

The second goal arrived in first half injury time when Jay O’Brien dropped a ball in towards the square when Michael Murphy got the faintest of touches to divert the ball into the net.

That left the scores at 2-6 to 0-2 at the break and although the scores dried up in the second half there was never any doubt about the winners and Towers look like a side that could take a lot of stopping this year.

Elsewhere, in the Junior Championship, Ballykelly beat Rheban by 3-6 to 0-6.

ROUND TOWERS: Colin English; Jack O’Neill, Mike Joyce, Mikey Kelly, Sean Glennon 0-1, Dave O’Neill 1-0, Michael Murphy 1-1; Jamie Flynn 0-1, Mark Byrne; Jay O’Neill 0-4 (1f), Mark Waters, Evan Flynn 0-2, Max Corgrave, Jason O’Brien 0-1, Max Byrne. Subs: Ben Ryan 0-1 cfor Max Byrne, 49; Aaron McConville for Jason O’Brien, 49; Cian Walsh for E Flynn, 57; Liam McDonald for Murphy, 57.

ST KEVINS: Aaron Fox; Diarmuid Smyth, Conor Gordon, Jamie Kenna, Alan Bennett 0-1, Tom Barron, Dean Regan; Enda Keane, Jamie Smyth 0-1; Cormac Noone, Mark Grace, Aneas Murphy, Conor Murray 0-2, Ciaran Smyth 0-1, Jamie O’Brien. Subs: James Ralph 0-1 for Noone, h/t; Declan Flaherty for Kenna, h/t; Kevin Ward for O’Brien, 52; Paddy Tyrrell for J Smyth, 55; Kevin McNamee for Regan, 59.

REFEREE: Colm Kearney.