Crettyard finish strongly to take the points in Rosenallis in Kelly Cup opener

Crettyard began their Kelly Cup campaign on a positive note on Tuesday evening, overcoming Rosenallis after making the journey for their rearranged Group C opener.

Originally fixed for the previous Saturday afternoon, the tie was postponed as a mark of respect following a bereavement in the Rosenallis community. 

Rosenallis enjoyed the lion’s share of possession during the first half and were first to settle. Corner-forward Jack Claffey opened the scoring with a well-taken point off his left boot. Crettyard, under the guidance of new manager John Murphy, responded through Jonah Kelly to register their first score of the campaign.

Claffey soon doubled his tally after referee Clifford Ward brought the ball to the 20-metre line after Jack Hyland was tackled within four meters of taking a solo and go. From the resulting 20-metre free, Claffey made no mistake. Rosenallis captain Paddy Keating then pushed his side two clear when he ventured forward from wing-back to split the posts and make it 0-3 to 0-1.

Crettyard gradually found their rhythm. Cormac Murphy cut the deficit with an excellent effort from beyond the 40-metre arc, and Dara Kelly edged the visitors in front for the first time shortly afterwards. Rosenallis replied through wing-back Padraig Glancy, but Murphy was beginning to exert real influence inside. The full-forward added two more points, one from a free, to keep Crettyard ticking over.

A goal chance almost fell Rosenallis’ way midway through the half when Jimmy Hyland unleashed a fierce drive that thundered off the crossbar, much to the relief of the Crettyard defence. Points were traded before the break, with Joey Shelly and Claffey converting placed balls for the hosts and Kelly doing likewise at the other end.

The decisive moment of the half arrived just before the interval. Keating delivered a precise pass into midfielder Jack Friel, who burst through and rifled the ball past Matt Kelly to the net. That well-worked goal gave Rosenallis a 1-6 to 0-7 advantage at the turnaround.

Jimmy Hyland extended the lead on the restart, and matters appeared to tilt further in the home side’s favour when Crettyard midfielder Alex Whelan was shown a black card for a third-man-in infringement. Reduced to 14 players, Crettyard might have been expected to struggle, but instead, they produced their most productive spell of the contest.

During Whelan’s 10-minute absence, the visitors outscored Rosenallis by 1-1 to 0-2. Claffey did add his third point from another 20-metre free after Crettyard prevented a quick restart, but the turning point came when Kelly struck for goal. The forward finished confidently to the net, hauling Crettyard firmly back into contention despite their numerical disadvantage.

Kelly then nudged his side ahead from a close-range free after Rosenallis were penalised for stopping a solo and go. Although Claffey responded with another placed effort before Whelan’s return, momentum had shifted.

With a full complement restored, Crettyard pressed home their advantage. Kelly and Murphy were clinical from frees, while Sean Browne chipped in with a point from play to stretch the lead to two. Rosenallis had a gilt-edged chance to hit back when Jimmy Hyland teed up Jack Hyland, but the opportunity went astray.

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Claffey converted one final free for Rosenallis, yet it was Crettyard who finished the stronger. Three unanswered points in the closing stages, two from Kelly frees and another from the influential Murphy, who finished with six points overall, secured a four-point victory and an ideal start to their group campaign.

Rosenallis now face a crucial trip to Killeshin in their concluding group fixture, while Crettyard will host Killeshin next week, buoyed by this hard-earned win on the road.

FINAL SCORE

Crettyard 1-14

Rosenallis 1-10

SCORERS– Crettyard: Jonah Kelly 1-6 (0-6 frees), Cormac Murphy 0-6 (one two-point free, 0-2 frees), Sean Browne and Dara Kelly 0-1 each. Rosenallis: Jack Claffey 0-6 (0-4 frees), Jack Friel 1-0, Padraig Glancy, Paddy Keating, Joey Shelly (free) and Jimmy Hyland 0-1 each.

CRETTYARD: Matt Kelly; James Kelly, Pierce Nash, Evan Dunne; Dara Kelly, Sean Browne, Jack Doyle; Patrick O’Reilly, Alex Whelan; Jason Carroll, John Brennan, Adam Kavanagh; Cormac Murphy, Jonah Kelly, Tiernan Patterson. Subs: Cormac Brennan for D Kelly and Eoin O’Shea for M Kelly.

ROSENALLIS: Conor Cosgrove; Donnchadh Hartnett, Colin Bennett, Barry McEvoy; Paul Maher, Paddy Keating, Padraig Glancy; Jack Friel, Matthew Bennett; Gerard Glancy, Jimmy Hyland, James Walsh; Jack Claffey, Joey Shelly, Jack Hyland.

REFEREE: Clifford Ward (Portarlington)