Na Fianna narrowly missed out on a place in the Division 3 Hurling League final last night as Kilskyre held on to secure a one point victory.
A goal in first minute from the Kilskyre full forward proved to be the pivotal score of the game as Kilskyre never relinquished the lead from that moment. Na Fianna hit back with a point from Eoin Reilly before another point from a free for Kilskyre. This was followed up in the tenth minute by another goal for Kilskyre as their corner forward used his strength to hold off 2 Na Fianna defenders and blast the ball to the net to leave Na Fianna 6 points in arrears.
To their credit, Na Fianna picked up the tempo and workrate throughout the field. In particular, the midfield diamond of Michael Hanley, Mark Burke, Dean Hendricks and Fergal Fagan never allowed the Kilskyre players to settle. They were creating the opportunities and further points from Reilly (3), Hanley and Fagan brought them to within a point of Kilskyre at half time, 2-01 to 0-06.
Kilskyre again opened brighter in the second half and hit 3 points on the trot. But again Na Fianna came back, with 2 more points from Reilly and one from Hanley to leave the minimum between the sides. A further point apiece for each team closed out the scoring as Na Fianna tried desperately to force a draw that their performance deserved. Unfortunately it didn't come and Kilskyre now advance to meet the winners of Moylagh and Boardsmill in the final.
The Na Fianna players can certainly hold their heads up high and be proud of their performance against one of the favourites for the Junior championship, a whole grade above Na Fianna. All players and subs played their part in what was a thoroughly entertaining match.
Team: Anthony Kirby, Colm Flynn, Tony Healy, David Gorman, Niall Burke, Michael Hanley, Aidan Doherty, Dean Henrick, Mark Burke, Eoin Reilly (0-08), Paul Hanley (0-02), Alan Burke, Davy Reilly, Fergal Fagan (0-01), David Coffey. Subs; Paul Coffey for D Reilly, Mark Kelly for Doherty, John O'Lone for A Burke and Johnny McDonagh for D Coffey.
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