Newmarket were under pressure from the outset as the home side quickly established a foothold and hit the front with three points within five minutes. Kildorrery were rampant and a further flurry of three points gave them a commanding six point advantage by the fourteenth minute. Newmarket eventually settled into the contest and had their first point courtesy of a brilliant individual score from midfielder Kevin O’Sullivan. Kildorrery regained their six point advantage but at this stage Newmarket were competing well despite failing to add to their tally. Newmarket received a boost in the twenty sixth minute when approach play involving Mark Murphy and John Ryan ended with Denys O’Brien flicking a dropping ball to the net from the edge of the square for a much needed goal. The forwards then combined well before Nicky Flanagan kicked a point to leave just two points separating the sides, 0-7 to 1-2 at half time.

Within a minute of the restart Denys O’Brien kicked a spectacular point for Newmarket but Kildorrery hit back with two points in as many minutes. Newmarket benefited from some defensive errors in the sixth minute when John Lane ended up in possession and raced in on goal before being upended for a penalty. Despite seeing his penalty kick saved, Brian O’Riordan reacted quickest and followed up to crash the ball to the net for an equalizing goal, 2-3 to 0-9. The contest flowed from end to end at this stage and provided plenty of entertainment on a perfect afternoon for football.

Crucially the home side struck for a goal as the third quarter came to a conclusion before adding a point for good measure. Newmarket were spurred on by the injection of positive substitutions and points from John Ryan and Kevin O’Sullivan halved the deficit. A gripping final ten minutes followed. Four points were shared as John Ryan and impressive substitute Barry O’Leary answered Kildorrery points. A wonderfully struck point from John Ryan left just a point in the difference as time began to run out for Newmarket. Kildorrery once again established a two point advantage but they had to survive a late flurry of activity in their goalmouth as Newmarket came so close to clinching a winning goal but the defence just held out as Tony O’Keeffe kicked over the final score of a hectic conclusion to the game.

The Newmarket team and scorers…

Denys O’Brien (1-1), John Ryan (0-3), Brian O’Riordan (1-0), Kevin O’Sullivan (0-2), Nicky Flanagan (0-1), Barry O’Leary (0-1), Tony O’Keeffe (0-1)

Niall O’Connor
Michael O’Leary		Gerard Casey		David O’Flynn
Bart Daly		Brian O’Riordan		Ian Flanagan
	Kevin O'Sullivan		Mark Murphy
Gavin Forde		T.J. Bodie		John Ryan
John Lane		Denys O'Brien		Nicky Flanagan
Subs: Sean Doody, Barry O’Leary, Shane Murphy, Tony O’Keeffe, Eddie Allen

Newmarket played with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half and took a third minute lead thanks to a fine score from impressive midfielder Kevin O’Sullivan. T.J. Bodie doubled the advantage in the tenth minute before an excellent move involving Gerard Casey, Kevin O’Sullivan and David O’Flynn, ended with the latter charging through the Kildorrery rearguard and he slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Kevin O’Sullivan added a point as Newmarket established a six point lead. Kildorrery scored their first point of the contest but the excellent Tony O’Keeffe chipped in with two points from play for Newmarket. Kildorrery were next to score but a well moving Newmarket side responded with two more points from Bart Daly and Tony O’Keeffe. The Avondhu side ended the half with the last two points and Newmarket turned over in front by 1-7 to 0-4.

Kildorrery got off to the best possible start upon the resumption and struck for a goal with the first twenty seconds. This buoyed on their efforts and assisted by the breeze they went on to score four unanswered points to edge into the lead twelve minutes into the second half.

Newmarket responded and produced a five minute scoring spree of their own. Tony O’Keeffe tied the sides for the second time with his third point of the hour. Bart Daly produced a piece of individual magic and at the end of a magnificent solo run he clipped the ball over the bar. David O’Flynn kicked a memorable point before Kevin O’Sullivan gave Newmarket a three point lead with little over ten minutes to play. Kildorrery replied and they gained parity by scoring three unanswered points. T.J. Bodie restored a Newmarket lead but the momentum was with Kildorrery and they finished strongly by tieing the sides for a fourth time before claiming victory in the dying stage of the contest.

The Newmarket team was…

Niall O’Connor
Pa O’Brien		Barry O’Leary		Mark Murphy
Anthony Crowley		Denys O’Brien		Mark Reidy
	Kevin O’Sullivan (0-3)		Bart Daly (0-2)
T.J. Bodie (0-1)		Gerard Casey		David O’Flynn (1-1)
John Lane		Tony O’Keeffe (0-4)		Maurice Feehan
SUBS: Nicky Flanagan, Michael Kenneally