Kincaid and Martin shoot Fr Dalton's into county final

A very impressive second-half performance, in which they outscored their opponents by 0-9 to 0-0, enabled Fr Dalton's to pull off a surprise, but totally deserved, victory over Crookedwood in a low-key Westmeath intermediate hurling championship semi-final at Cusack Park on Sunday evening last. Perhaps, it was a hangover from the gripping battle for the Liam MacCarthy Cup earlier in the day, but there was a distinct lack of atmosphere among the small crowd in Westmeath GAA headquarters at 6.15pm on Sunday. However, Fr Dalton's were the hungrier side and, even if only two of their players scored - the excellent young duo of Enda Kincaid (0-9) and Kieran Martin (0-4) - the Ballymore-based outfit showed enough skill and determination to suggest that they will make Delvin battle all the way come county final day. The 'Wood (wearing unfamiliar maroon and white jerseys) opened the scoring after a mere 15 seconds, Emmett Feerick pointing neatly from 45 metres. After a 'fresh air' kick by highly-regarded footballer Kieran Martin, at the end of a fine solo run, Enda Kincaid levelled the tie with a point from a 20-metre free in the third minute. Barry O'Meara edged Crookedwood ahead from a 50-metre free, but Kieran Martin soon equalised with a fabulous point from play. A converted free from around 40 metres by Enda Kincaid then put the winners a point to the good. Seamus Savage came close to scoring for the losers, but Noel Yourell made amends when he whipped the sliotar over Brian McCabe's crossbar in the 18th minute. Barry O'Meara and Enda Kincaid traded points from close-range frees (the latter's strike from a tight angle), but a point apiece from frees by Antoin Savage (on the halfway line) and Barry O'Meara (from 40 metres) meant that the scoreboard at half-time read: Crookedwood 0-6 Fr Dalton's 0-4. Astonishingly, Crookedwood failed to add to their small total in the second moiety, while a more cohesive side in green and gold took control in most sections of the pitch. By the second minute, Fr Dalton's were on level terms, with ace marksmen Enda Kincaid (a fine solo score) and Kieran Martin (a great point from near the stand sideline) adding to their respective totals. The same duo followed up with another apiece, again both terrific efforts. Barry O'Meara was wide from a difficult free as Crookedwood went in search of a badly-needed score, with dusk beginning to descend rapidly on Cusack Park. The Kincaid/Martin show continued for the remainder of the match with Kincaid rifling over four more points in the 20th minute (a 50-metre free), 24th minute (a wonderful score to round off a great end-to-end move), 30th minute (an even better score from a seemingly-impossible angle) and 34th minute (a 30-metre free in the last action of the game), while Martin chipped in with his fourth point in the second minute of added-time with a great solo score. The Wood simply never turned up for the second half, while Fr Dalton's showed that they mean business and they are now just an hour from competing in the senior ranks for 2011. FR DALTON'S: Brian McCabe; Fergus Shaw, Pat Hickey, Christy Maloney; Ciaran Finnerty, John Gilligan, Mick Maloney; Andrew Slevin, Brian Finnerty; Trevor English, Kieran Martin (0-4), Kenneth Kincaid; Enda Kincaid (0-9, 5 frees), Derek Cuffe, Donal Glynn. Subs: Pete Murray (for Glynn, 51 mins), Anthony McKnight (for Cuffe, 58 mins). CROOKEDWOOD: Shane McGovern; Darragh Fulham, Gerard Brennan, Enda Murray; Kevin Orme, Antoin Savage (0-1, free), Shane Collins; Kevin Tormey, Emmett Feerick (0-1); Gerard McGovern, Stephen Leavy, Seamus Savage; Tomas Cassidy, Noel Yourell (0-1), Barry O'Meara (0-3, 3 frees). Subs: Noel Kiernan (for Cassidy, 19 mins), Micheal Savage (for Leavy, 36 mins), Edward Nally (for Collins, 37 mins), Adam Mitchell (for S. Savage, 42 mins), Andy Boyhan (for Yourell, 58 mins). REFEREE: Declan Hogan (St. Brigid's).