County SFL Division 3: Glenflesk confirmed as champions with six more in promotion race

Glenflesk were indebted to goal poachers Dylan Roche and Tommy Bowler for registering their only scores of the first 30 minutes, with Sean Burke and Aaron Flynn in fine form for Firies, setting the scene for an intriguing centre-half.

However, with the excellent Jeff O’Donoghue thundering into the picture with four points on the resumption, and Firies over-relying on Flynn to keep the scoreboard ticking over, even a late black card for Chris O’Donoghue failed to stop Glenflesk from sealing their return to Division 2 as champions.

The battle for the other two promotion spots is set to go down to the wire with Firies now being joined on twelve points by North Kerry outfits, Brosna and Ballydonoghue, with Skellig Rangers and Churchill just a point further adrift.

A Tom McGoldrick goal enabled Brosna to edge a tight contest against St Senan’s, 1-7 to 0-6, with the home team admirably able to surmount the injury-enforced first half withdrawals of Timmy Finnegan and Maurice O’Keeffe.

There was only three points in it at half-time, 1-4 to 0-4, McGoldrick’s goal separating the protagonists, and with St Senan’s deep in the relegation mix, the second half was seriously hard-fought. Great defending by the Brosna defence, led by Shane Fitzmaurice, proved crucial in the final quarter.

In Coolard, Ballydonoghue withstood an impressive second half comeback from St Pat’s to edge over the finishing line, 1-10 to 1-8, keeping themselves well in the hunt, and edging the Blennerville side closer to the relegation trapdoor.

Even though Fergal O’Brien was first to find the net for the visitors, it was Paul Kennelly’s goal just before half-time that gave Ballydonoghue the cushion (1-8 to 1-3) to go on and secure a potentially priceless victory, with Jack Sheehy and Jamie Keane notching their only second half points.

Churchill are certainly not out of the promotion picture either, after former Kerry minor Darragh O’Sullivan was the hero of their home victory over Dromid Pearses (2-10 to 0-11). O’Sullivan’s opening goal enabled the winners to build up a five-point lead at the break, 1-6 to 0-4, and they held that to the finish.

Niall O’Shea kept plugging away for Dromid, but when O’Sullivan found the net for a second time during the second half, they were always fighting a losing battle, and late points from Liam O’Donnell, Paddy Walsh and Jack Dolan sealed the Churchill win.

Skellig Rangers are level with Churchill on eleven points after three goals, from Diarmuid Keating (2) and their own Darragh O’Sullivan, proved to be the vital scores as they came away from Killarney with a fairly comfortable 3-13 to 0-11 victory over Dr Crokes B.