Honours even as Graiguecullen secure top spot in Group A

St Joseph’s and Graiguecullen put on a show under the floodlights on Friday night, as Group A of the Under-20 Football Championship came to Tony Byrne Park. It was a cold night in Kellyville, but the players wasted little time in turning up the heat. Conor Kelly won a penalty in just the fourth minute, which he calmy converted himself, slotting the ball into the top, right-hand corner, setting the tone early.

The hosts weren’t long about getting into the rhythm of the game, Josh O’Brien and Sean Brennan leading by example. Brennan is a very intelligent footballer and exemplifies what it means to be a midfielder – always involved in the action and never shy about getting stuck in. Half-forward, Josh O’Brien meanwhile was making a lot of good runs through the Graiguecullen defence and made a particularly incisive run in the twentieth minute, beating several defenders on his way a wonderful goal. O’Brien’s put in a Man of the Match performance, leading the way with his haul of a goal and four points.

St Joseph’s 1-11

Graiguecullen 2-8

The visitors were not without their stand-outs as Sean McGrath caught the eye in defence, while midfielder, Aaron Dorgan did the work of two men, making powerful runs through the St Joseph’s back line and providing an outlet for his teammates in both attack and defence.

It was an energetic opening twenty minutes from both sides, but St Joseph’s began to impose themselves in the final ten minutes of the half and took a 1-6 to 1-3 lead in at the interval.

There was a high-tempo start to the second half as St Joseph’s were on the scoreboard after just twenty seconds of play. The hosts were brilliant at getting the ball back, pressing hard and defending in packs. But a huge momentum shift came in the 43rd minute when Mikee Horohan emerged from the Graiguecullen back-line, brought the ball in on goal and buried it past Lee Byrne in the Joseph’s goal to draw the teams level. Graiguecullen threatened to pull away but were victims of some loose kicking as their accuracy betrayed them.

The sides traded scores and were level with five minutes left to go. The atmosphere really picked up with a frantic tension building both on and off the field. The game came to an enthralling finale with two late points in injury time from St Joseph’s, earning the hosts a hard-fought draw.

The men in yellow came into Friday’s game needing a win to give themselves a chance of advancing to the knockouts. The draw means their championship is over as Portlaoise beat Stradbally Parish Gaels in the other Group A tie. Graiguecullen's 100% start to the group, however, meant that the draw was enough for them to secure top spot. They will be quietly confident going in to the semi-finals