Brilliant Kelly leads Williamstown to glory

Date Published: 05-Oct-2010

Williamstown 1-10 Clifden 1-9

Dara Bradley at

Pearse Stadium

GALWAY football seems to have unearthed a gem. Take a bow Williamstown full forward Gary Kelly.

The 16-years-old rising star kicked nine points, seven from play, of his side’s ten-point tally and he also set-up the goal to ensure Williamstown secured victory in the minor B county football final at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

The North Galway outfit won the county B league last year with a panel of 21 players but their achievements this year have reached new heights – Williamstown retained their league title and followed it up with a championship double at the weekend even though they had a panel of just 18, and were shorn of 11 of last year’s minor team.

Kelly was instrumental to this success – a first minor B county championship for the club – and while he was well supported by the likes of Thomas Flynn and the Conneelys, Dara and Niall, he stole the show with an outstanding individual performance.

Even though he’s very young, it’s hard to believe Kelly hadn’t featured in the county minor panel this year. That’s bound to change given that he is underage for the next two seasons.The opening half of this decider will hardly be remembered with fondness by either side and it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that the interval challenge matches between U12s teams from Williamstown and Clifden provided more entertainment than the first opening 30 minutes of the ‘main’ event.

Clifden started brightly with a point after three minutes from corner-forward Peter Cullen, which was followed up by a score from Chris Holmes in the right corner who finished off a polished move involving David Black and Jack Vaughan.

The West Board champions, however, were guilty of some wayward shooting, kicking five first half wides compared with one for Williamstown. Incredibly, it took 25 minutes for Clifden to finally reach the three-points mark with a free from full-forward Gerard Gibbons who broke his side’s barren spell just as the interval whistle sounded.

Williamstown didn’t settle well but had drawn level, two points apiece, after 14 minutes when Kelly almost immediately followed up a free, which opened their account, with a fine individual point from play after Thomas Flynn fielded the kick-out.