Kerry Petroleum Intermediate Football Club Championship (Group 4 - Round 3)
Kerins O’Rahillys 0-12 (0-3-6) | 1-23 (1-3-17) Beaufort
Venue: Strand Road
Kerins O’Rahillys fell to a clinical Beaufort side on Saturday evening at Strand Road in the final group stage fixture of the Kerry Petroleum Intermediate Football Championship.
Despite an energetic opening from the Blues, the Mid Kerry outfit produced a ruthlessly efficient display of long-range point-kicking and punishing counter-attacks to run out convincing 14-point winners.
First Half: Beaufort Take Control
The contest started at a high tempo, with goalkeeper Ruairí Kennedy called into action in the opening minute to pull off a superb point-blank save from Ciarán Kennedy.
Strand Road settled well early on. Nick Lacey made a lively start to earn an early free converted by Darragh O’Connor, before Barry John Keane finished off a fine move set up by a towering midfield fetch from Tomás Kennedy. Conor Hayes soon added another from play following sharp approach work by Lacey to keep the sides trading scores.
However, Beaufort gradually began to assert their authority around the middle third. Fergal Hallissey proved deadly accurate from placed balls, nailing a pair of monster two-point frees from well outside the arc.
While Ruairí Kennedy pulled off another sharp stop to deny a Beaufort goal, the visitors began to punish Strand Road turnovers and kickouts. Points from Liam Carey, Darragh O’Connor, and Niall O’Connor pushed Beaufort clear, supplemented by a two-pointer from play by Ciarán Kennedy.
Kerins O’Rahillys responded with a Tom Hoare free and a brilliant two-point free from Darragh O’Connor after Daniel Bowler and Shane McElligott forced a turnover. But just before the interval, Beaufort struck a decisive blow when Ciarán Kennedy finished from close range to give the visitors a commanding 1-13 to 0-7 lead at the break.
Second Half: Visitors Pull Clear
Strand Road needed a fast restart and created opportunities early in the second half, but found the Beaufort defence difficult to break down. Darragh O’Connor saw a goal effort saved, and a series of missed chances prevented the Blues from mounting sustained pressure.
Beaufort continued to punish any errors at the other end with clinical finishing from Carey, Hallissey, and Ciarán Kennedy.
Tomás Kennedy provided a bright spark midway through the second half, firing over a well-struck two-pointer from play to give the home crowd something to cheer. Further changes from the bench saw Con Barrett, Gearoid Savage, and Brayden Pierce introduced, with Savage quickly winning a turnover.
In the closing minutes, Darragh O’Connor added a late two-point free, but Beaufort ran out deserved victors on a 1-23 to 0-12 scoreline.
The Group 4 Upshot
The result sealed top spot in Group 4 for Beaufort, securing them a home quarter-final.
In the group's other game, Castleisland Desmonds defeated Glenflesk (2-12 to 1-13), leaving Strand Road, Glenflesk, and Desmonds all tied on two points apiece in a three-way shootout for the runner-up spot.
Ultimately, score difference decided the final standings:
- Glenflesk (-3) advance to the quarter-finals as group runners-up.
- Kerins O’Rahillys (-6) finish in 3rd place, narrowly missing out on the knockout stages but safely securing intermediate status for next year.
- Castleisland Desmonds (-17) finish bottom and head into the relegation play-offs.
