Landslide victory for Kilsheelan/Kilcash in opening round
South Tipperary team had ten different scorers in defeat of JK Brackens
Kilsheelan/Kilcash 0-23 JK Brackens 0-9
Kilsheelan/Kilcash produced a commanding display to defeat JK Brackens by 14 points in their opening Group 2 fixture of the FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Football Championship in Gortnahoe.
Last year's beaten county finalists laid down an early marker with an impressive all-round performance, leading throughout and finishing with ten different scorers. Tipperary panellist Jamie Roche was the standout performer, finishing with a personal tally of 0-9, including three superb two-pointers in the opening half.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash made a dream start thanks to the brilliance of Roche. The full forward landed two two-pointers inside the opening 90 seconds to give the Suirsiders a 0-4 to 0-0 lead before the second minute had elapsed.
Jack Kennedy opened JK Brackens' account in the third minute, but his effort was quickly cancelled out by Mickey McGuire at the opposite end. In the fifth minute, a powerful run from Jack Nevin forced an excellent save from goalkeeper Oisín O'Donoghue before Kennedy converted a free a minute later to reduce the deficit to 0-5 to 0-2.
Points from Paul Maher and Conor Freaney extended Kilsheelan/Kilcash's advantage before Paddy Cadell and another Kennedy free left the scoreboard reading 0-7 to 0-4 after 18 minutes.
Lucas Shiel then produced an excellent individual score before Barry Kehoe added another. Conor Cadell responded for Brackens but Roche continued to dictate proceedings, knocking over three successive scores, including his third two-pointer of the evening. However, the closing stages of the half were overshadowed by an off-the-ball incident that resulted in Kilsheelan/Kilcash's Tommy O'Connor receiving a straight red card.
JK Brackens almost made the numerical advantage count on the stroke of half-time when Paddy Cadell found himself through on goal, but O'Donoghue produced another outstanding full-stretch save to preserve his side's seven-point cushion, as Kilsheelan-Kilcash took a 0-12 to 0-5 lead into the interval.
Brackens began the second half brightly, with Cadell and Kennedy landing two quick scores inside the opening minute to offer hope of a comeback. However, it proved only a brief resurgence.
Lucas Shiel, Conor Freaney and Shane Garland all split the posts as Kilsheelan/Kilcash quickly regained complete control of the contest. Matters became even more difficult for Brackens in the 39th minute when Conor Cadell was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card, leaving both sides reduced to 14 men.
From there, the South Tipperary outfit never looked back. They reeled off six unanswered points, with Jamie Roche and Michael Freaney each contributing a brace, while Mark and Barry Kehoe also got on the scoresheet to put the result well beyond doubt.
Paddy Cadell finally ended Brackens' scoring drought in the 52nd minute with his third point of the evening, leaving the score at 0-21 to 0-8 heading into the closing stages. Garland and Kennedy exchanged late scores before Billy Murphy had the final say, rounding off an emphatic victory for Kilsheelan/Kilcash as they opened their championship campaign in impressive fashion.
Player of the Match: Jamie Roche (Kilsheelan-Kilcash)
JK Brackens: Brian Roche (5); Niall Delaney (6), Ned Delaney (6), Tommy Burke (5); Ned Walsh (5), Éanna McBride (6), Michael Cahill (6); Lorcan Roche (6), Paddy Cadell (0-3, 7); Jack Nevin (5), Jack Kennedy (0-5, 3f, 8), Conor Cadell (0-1, 5); Dean McEnroe (5), Shane Doyle (5), Cian Broderick (5)
Sub: Cathal Scully (6) for C Broderick (39).
Kilsheelan/Kilcash: Oisín O’Donoghue (9); Conor Neville (8), Paul Maher (0-1, 8), Jason Madigan (8); Emmet Butler (7), Mark Stokes (7), Conor Freaney (0-2, 8); Lucas Shiel (0-2, 8), Michael Freaney (0-2, 8); Tommy O’Connor (5), Barry Kehoe (0-2, 8), Mickey McGuire (0-1, 7); Shane Garland (0-2, 1f, 7), Jamie Roche (0-9, 3 2-Pointer, 2f, 9), Mark Kehoe (0-1, 7).
Subs: Billy Murphy (0-1, 7) for P Maher (50), Sean Ryan (6) for M Kehoe (56), Shane Egan (6) for B Kehoe (59).
Referee: Brian Tyrrell (Clonmel Commercials).