There was disappointment for Muckalee last weekend, as Tom Cullen’s men were narrowly defeated by Skerries Harps in the Leinster intermediate football championship.
A spirited effort from the Muckalee side was not sufficient to overcome the Dublin side, and they went down 1-8 to 0-7 in a windswept Castlecomer.
It was the Kilkenny men who started brightest. They came out of the blocks fast, with Colin McGrath, John Mulhall and Brian Byrne all linking well early on and registering some early scores.
The Kilkenny football champions opened up a 0-4 to 0-1 lead, and all seemed to be going according to plan when goalkeeper extraordinaire John Coonan managed to save a penalty from Bryan Cullen – Dublin’s All-Ireland winning captain.
Skerries Harps struggled in front of the posts all afternoon. In addition to the missed penalty, and the Dublin men notched up a total of 20 wides during the game.
However, points from the Harps’ Donnacha Reilly and Conor O’ Brien sent the teams into the dressing room at half time with the scoreboard reading 0-4 to 0-4.
The last half hour was a different story, as Skerries Harps gained momentum. Muckalee were held to just three points in the second half – all from placed balls.
Barry Davey’s goal swung the balance, and the Kilkenny side were unable to recover.
However, they can take pride in the progress that has undoubtedly been made this season. The previous week, Muckalee were celebrating having picked up their first ever Leinster club football championship after after a solid victory over Carlow side St Andrew’s.
Skerries Harps go on to now Confey this weekend. St Brigid's of Offaly and Wicklow's Greystones will meet in the other semi-final.
