On a hot, sunny morning in Ballinlough, Gaeil Colmcille got their Premier Division 3 Championship off to a winning start with all their scores coming from play in a four point victory over the hosts.
Playing with the aid of a breeze in the first half, points from Harry Flanagan, Gary Arkins and Stephen Reddy had Kells in the lead and they were unlucky not to be further ahead as a shot from Reddy crashed off the underside of the crossbar and was cleared. Good defending prevented Ballinlough from scoring until they pointed a free on 15 minutes. Within two minutes Brian Byrne bundled the ball to the back of the net after some good buildup play, and Gary McGovern added two more points to further extend the lead.
A black card reduced the Gaeils to 14 for the last 8 minutes of the half and the home side made the most of their numerical advantage, pointing the resultant free and adding a goal from the penalty spot. A fine finish from Arkins with his first goal of the morning opened the gap again before another pointed free for Ballinlough completed the scoring for the half.
It was a different story in the second half as Kells struggled for scores against the breeze. By the time Arkins got their first point of the half after 20 minutes, the hosts had levelled the game with five points on the trot, four coming from play. A red card for Ballinlough with 8 minutes left did not seem to affect them as they equalised from a free and then took the lead for the first time with less than 2 minutes remaining. The lead lasted less than a minute as another Arkins effort deceived the goalkeeper and dropped into the net.
Ballinlough had one more chance for a goal but the combined efforts of Conor Flanagan and Liam Byrne kept them at bay. Max Finlay surged forward to kick his first championship point and this was quickly followed by a Killian Kelly special off the outside of his left boot to ensure the points for Kells.
Gaeil Colmcille: Conor Flanagan, Phelim Dunne, Liam Byrne, Callum Mitchell, Eoghan Flynn, Niall Williams, Max Finlay (0-01), Noah Boshell, Oisin O’Reilly, Sean Curran, Stephen Reddy (0-01), Gary McGovern (0-02), Gary Arkins (2-02), Brian Byrne (1-00), Harry Flanagan (0-01).
Subs: Bruno Griffin for Niall Williams, Darragh Smyth for Brian Byrne, Killian Kelly (0-01) for Noah Boshell
