AS anticipated Kerins O'Rahillys progressed to the quarter-final stage of the AIB sponsored County Senior Football Championship at the Austin Stack Park last Sunday evening with a performance, which was well below par, in a game, which never really scaled any real heights and generally lacked the fervour and the quality one normally associates with championship encounters.

It was always likely that O'Rahillys would progress, even if St Brendans did have goal chances at the end of each half. However, a tendency to repeatedly carry the ball into the tackle and a lack of a cutting edge up front meant that the divisional combination struggled to create any real clear cut scoring opportunities.

O'Rahillys were only marginally better and apart from Declan Quill's free taking didn't have any real scoring outlet in their attack. The loss of David O'Callaghan, who was injured in the warm-up prior to the throw in, did have a significant impact on St Brendans chances, who lacked direction in their attack from the outset. A point from Mark O'Sullivan in the very first minute, a score which was disputed, and from my position was debatable, was added to by a Barry John Walsh point from play six minutes later.

A brace of pointed frees from Declan Quill meant that O'Rahillys had doubled their advantage by the tenth minute, as St Brendans despite a lot of possession failed to transfer the superiority into scores. In fact it was all of seventeen minutes before St Brendans registered their first score which was a pointed free from Alan O'Donoghue. For a period the encounter was littered with stoppages due to a number of mistimed and clumsy challenges.

O'Rahillys remained comfortable, even if their play lacked any real continuity or fluency. Mark O'Sullivan and Declan Quill with two more pointed frees, increased their advantage to five points by the twenty sixth minute, but with St Brendans a little bit more direct with their approach play and Paul O'Donoghue industrious and influential in midfield, they reduced the deficit to three points with scores from the aforementioned O'Donoghue with a fine long range effort and another pointed free from Alan O'Donoghue.

Barry John Walsh, with a fisted effort, restored a four point cushion in favour of the Blues in the thirtieth minute, but with the opening half in added time St Brendans were denied of a goal by the upright when Declan Doody's effort from close range rebounded to safety with the goalkeeper beaten. In a game of limited scoring chances it was ultimately to prove quite significant to the eventual outcome.

It ensured that O'Rahillys retired four points in front with Declan Quill, the game's leading scorer on three points, and not one of St Brendans starting forwards having registered a score from play. St Brendans restarted with greater urgency, but their finishing failed to match a series of surging runs initiated from deep positions.

Declan Quill with another pointed free, signalled wide by the umpire, disputed and awarded after some deliberation extended O'Rahillys lead to five points as the game progressed without any real pattern and was at times with a tendency to overuse the hand pass played at pedestrian pace. Substitute Mike Griffin, who impressed after his introduction early in the second half kept St Brendans in touch with their fourth point in the fourteenth minute, but O'Rahillys were always able to respond with another brace from Declan Quill stretching their lead to six points by the end of the third quarter.

At that stage the encounter was drifting to its inevitable conclusion, but O'Rahillys failed to score for the remainder of the contest as St Brendans with some fine defending from such as Shane Brosnan and Michael Brennan and an extremely resourceful input from Paul O'Donoghue stepped up a gear for the remainder of the contest.

Mike Griffin with his second score brought them closer and further scores from defenders Adrian Greaney and Michael Brennan up in support of their attack reduced the deficit to just three points, as O'Rahillys introduced a few substitutes in their efforts to stem the flow.

St Brendans did have one final chance to salvage the situation when Alan O'Donoghue's floated free very nearly ended up in the O'Rahillys net as the Blues scrambled to prevent an equaliser. It ended a contest, which certainly won't linger long in the memory.

O'Rahillys were always in control, even if, they struggled to put the game firmly beyond reach. St Brendans might well have shaded the verdict if David O'Callaghan hadn't been forced to withdraw from the line-up and Mike Griffin had been part of the action for a longer period. However, one felt that O'Rahillys could always step up a gear whenever the occasion demanded.

KERIN'S O'RAHILLYS: David Hennessy, Stephen Moriarty, Morgan O'Shea, Danny O'Sullivan, Ross O'Callaghan, Barry O'Shea, Giles O'Grady, Michael Quirke, David Moran, John O'Connor, Barry John Keane, Timmy O'Sullivan, Declan Quill (0-6, 5f), Barry John Walsh (02), Mark O'Sullivan (0-2, 1f) Subs: David Flaherty for G. O'Grady, Ciaran O'Mahony for BJ Keane, David McLoughlin for M O'Sullivan, Kevin Walsh for T O'Sullivan

ST BRENDANS: Paul O'Sullivan ( Churchill), Stephen O'Mahony (John Mitchels), Shane Brosnan (St. Pats), Michael Brennan ( 0-1) (Churchill), David Culloty (Na Gaeil), Adrian Greaney (0-1) (St. Pats), Eoin O'Neill (Na Gaeil), Liam Poff (St. Pats), Paul O'Donoghue (0-1) (John Mitchels), Declan Doody (Na Gaeil), Oliver Coffey (John Mitchels), Brendan Poff (St. Pats), Alan O'Donoghue ( 0-2f) (John Mitchels), Liam O'Sullivan ( St. Pats), Kieran Hurley (St. Pats) Subs: Mike Griffin (0-2) (Na Gaeil) for D. Doody, Cathal Moriarty (St. Pats) for L. O'Sullivan, Brian Costelloe (John Mitchels) (for K. Hurley)

REFEREE: Donal Casey (Scartaglin)

- Timmy Sheehan at Austin Stack Park, Tralee