Kiltane win Erris derby and seal county semi-final place

The Blue and Gold are on the march.

The Erris Nation turned out in all its finery on Sunday evening in Bangor to watch Kiltane and Cill Chomain face off for a place in the county semi-final.

It was a day of pageantry and passion and when the final whistle sounded Kiltane were winners on a 2-15 to 0-9 scoreline. 

The home side were well worth their win and in truth could have won by more if they were more economical in front of goal. 

Cill Chomain worked hard all day but couldn't get a handle on Kiltane's running game which cut them open time and time again. 

Kiltane were dealt a big blow early on when full-forward Josh Carey was sent off after just seven minutes, but they continued to drive forward and led 0-9 to 0-4 after 29 minutes.

Then, Cill Chomain had one of their best moments. Joe Mason drilled over a huge two-pointer just before the break to bring his side right back into it.

That seemed to set up a big second half but Kiltane were in no mood to be overtaken. They poured forward again to extend the lead further and when John Ginty was fouled in the goalmouth they were awarded a penalty. However, Kian Gallagher saved Mikie Sweeney's spot-kick and Cill Chomain were still in the game.

That positivity soon changed when centre-half-back Liam Maloney was sent off for a second bookable offence after 37 minutes. 

Kiltane continued to rule the roost around the middle with Liam Donoghue imperious, while John Ginty continued to carry the ball through the middle, Ben Donoghue and Ultan Corrigan landed scores while Tommy Conroy rolled back the years.

At the back, Owen Doherty, Cathal Carey and their colleagues excelled and when goals arrived from Ginty and Ben Donoghue it was all over.

Cill Chomain never gave up, but there was no avenue to recovery for them at that stage.

Then, when Kiltane goalkeeper Darragh Carey came forward to land a late two-pointer the Blue and Gold were headed for the semi-final for the first time since 2013.

A full match report will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News.