Kinvara were denied victory in the last minute of an exciting encounter with Barna / Furbo, in Killina last Saturday morning.
Inspite of very much holding their own against last season’s premier division Barna / Furbo, Charlie McKiernan’s goal with 5 minutes left looked like it was enough for Kinvara to take all 3 points.
As the game entered injury-time however, a Barna / Furbo shot inside the penalty area somehow evaded everyone and ended up in the far corner of the Kinvara net, beyond the despairing dive of Kinvara Goalkeeper Otis Warwick.
It had been a hard, physical contest from the start that set the tone for the whole game. Both teams had opportunities to score but some excellent defending and last ditch tackling kept the game scoreless in the early stages.
Kinvara however were first to break the deadlock. Mid-way through the half Conor O’Donnell slalomed his way into the Barna / Furbo penalty area where he was eventually fouled. The referee pointed to the spot with Eli Huban dispatching the resulting penalty with aplomb.
Kinvara had a great chance to double the lead shortly after but crosses from Matthew Sexton and Milo Heaney were eventually cleared just before Kinvara could get that vital touch. Ozzy O’Connor also had a shot destined for the top corner of the Barna/Furbo net charged down.
Barna / Furbo needed to respond and they put Kinvara under some prolonged pressure, forcing a few corners in the lead up to half time, but Kinvara held firm.
Kinvara freshened things up at half time with Morgan Waterhouse, Senan Frawley and Liam Shaughnessy being introduced.
At the start of the second half It was all Barna / Furbo, but just when it looked like Kinvara had weathered the opposition storm, Barna / Furbo struck for the equaliser.
The rest of the second half became a stalemate with two congested penalty areas proving very difficult to breach.
Kinvara changed the shape slightly and with 5 minutes left Charlie McKiernan was in the right place at the right time to head in a fine cross from Eli Huban.
Kinvara looked to have done enough to claim all three points as Shay Mooney denied an on-rushing Barna / Furbo forward with a well-timed sliding tackle, in what should have been their last attack.
Kinvara cleared the resulting corner but as injury time continued, Barna / Furbo seized their half chance to deny Kinvara victory.
And so Kinvara’s 100% record came to an end in a hard, physical, high quality contest.
On the balance of play, a draw was probably the fairest result as both teams gave everything.
Otis Warwick continues to be a safe pair of hands in goals. Both Barna / Furbo scores were preventable but no blame can be attached to the Kinvara custodian.
Josh Kennedy, Keelin Miroud, and later Liam Shaughnessy at full back gave very little away against a high calibre Barna/Furbo attack. They defended and attacked in equal measure as the game progressed.
Shay Mooney and JJ O’Connor continue to from an excellent spine to this team. They held their markers, two county players, scoreless over the 70 plus minutes. Shay’s last ditch tackle at the death to prevent a certain Barna/Furbo goal looked to have sealed it for Kinvara at the time.
Conor O’Donnell and Ozzy O’Connor in centre midfield worked their socks off. Conor’s close control was critical and resulted in the Kinvara penalty. Ozzy’s strength and long distance shooting posed problems for Barna / Furbo throughout.
Matthew Sexton and Milo Heaney, and later Senan Frawley, were up against equally good full backs. However they gave their markers plenty to think about and their running and crossing led to some hairy moments for the Barna/Furbo defence.
Eli Huban and Charlie McKiernan upfront took their goals extremely well. Charlie has come up with many last minute winners, but unfortunately on this occasion it wasn’t to be. Morgan Waterhouse when introduced came very close to scoring when pouncing on a poor goalkeeper clearance, on another day the ball would have bounced more kindly.
Thanks to Barna / Furbo for a hard fought game.
Although Kinvara have a small squad, the lads that play continue to give 100% plus every time they pull on the jersey.
Barna/Furbo came down from the Premier Division last season and are littered with county players. This provided unbeaten Kinvara with its most stern test of the season.
Thanks to the parents who continue to support us, its great for the lads to have support on the opposite side of the pitch.
Management Team : Kevin Sexton and Alan Mooney