Kilmeena are kings after thrilling Mayo intermediate final

MAYO INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL FINAL

Kilmeena 0-23

Moy Davitts 1-19

In Castlebar

THIS is a final Kilmeena will never want to forget and Moy Davitts will never want to remember. It was the stuff of dreams for those in black and white, and had all the ingredients of a nightmare for the scarlet-clad Moysiders.

In truth, this was one of the great county finals, laced with thrills, spills, great scores and poor misses - but more importantly, this was a contest played by two teams intent on leaving every ounce of themselves between the white lines.

The first half was a thriller from beginning to end. Kilmeena had the breeze behind them from the start, but that didn't hinder the Moysiders. The men in red went in a point up at the interval, 1-10 to 0-12. Their goal came courtesy of Ronan Clarke, palming the ball home after fine play from Cian McHale and Brian Heneghan. 

The Moysiders might have been facing into the breeze, but they were efficient in front of goal and two-pointers from Clarke and McHale had them in a great position at the break.

Kilmeena had been dealt a serious blow after seven minutes when talented attacker Daniel Kelly had to leave the field with a leg injury, but his teenage replacement Cormac O'Malley made a huge impression as soon as he arrived.

Kilmeena began the second half impressively with a Darragh Keaveney point and they almost had a goal straight after but Jack Mulchrone's palmed effort was brilliantly saved by Chris McGlynn.

That set the tone for the rest of the game as it morphed into a score-for-score, thrill-fest.

Moy Davitts looked to be making a break for the border when they led by three after 40 minutes, but they couldn't escape the clutches of the Clew Bay men. Points from Caolach Halligan, O'Malley and hugely impressive midfielder Kevin Ryder had the men in black level again soon after and from there to the finish it was nerve-jangling stuff.

Time and time again, one team nudged in front - time and time again the other side pulled them back in. However, when Cian McHale kicked a two-pointer from down-town after 57 minutes to put Moy Davitts a point clear it seemed decisive.

However, there was still enough drama left to win an Oscar. 

Liam Moore leveled the game with two minutes to play; Oisin McHughe went down the pitch and punched Moy Davitts in front a minute later; Keaveney balanced the scores again as injury time came calling and Caolach Halligan squeezed Kilmeena in front in the first added minute.

That set in train a keep-ball session from Kilmeena which almost defied belief at times. However, in the dying moments of the five added minutes, Moy Davitts got their hands on the ball. Kilmeena tackled like tigers as they looked to hang on, but when the ball arrived in the hands of Anthony Jordan, time stood still.

The ace kicker found an inch of space way out the pitch and sent the ball flying towards the sticks. If it cleared the crossbar the Moysiders would be champions, if it dropped short Kilmeena would be kings. Everyone held their breath and when the ball landed in the hands of Kilmeena goalkeeper Paul Groden the western warriors were champions amid scenes of wild elation and utter devastation.

A day Kilmeena will never forget; a day Moy Davitts will be slow to recall. 

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