Dreadnots’ Victory Not Enough As Cooley Snatch Quarter-Final Place

Anchor Tours Senior Football Championship Group 3 Round 3

At Cullen Autoparts Louth GAA Training Centre, Darver

Dreadnots 3-13 Cooley Kickhams 2-15

Dreadnots defeated Cooley Kickhams by 3-13 to 2-15 on Monday evening in Darver, a win that was not enough to secure a place in the 2026 Anchor Tours SFC Quarter Finals.

Dreadnots came into the final group game knowing that nothing short of a four-point victory would be enough to keep their championship hopes alive, and for long periods they looked well on course to achieve exactly that. However, a dramatic second half saw Cooley Kickhams fight all the way back before Dreadnots eventually held on by the narrowest of margins.

Cooley opened the scoring through Michael Rafferty, but Dreadnots quickly took control. Craig Shevlin levelled from a free before James Califf struck a superb two-pointer. Further points from Paraic Smith, Jay Hughes and Shevlin saw Dreadnots move five ahead inside eight minutes.

The gap grew further when Jay Hughes found the net in the 10th minute, putting Dreadnots eight points clear. Cooley responded with scores from Enda O’Neill and Rafferty, but Dreadnots continued to dominate.

Hughes then added a second goal with an excellent finish before Sam Reilly and Shevlin, who landed a two-point free, stretched the advantage to 12 points.

Cian Connor pulled one back for Cooley, but Shevlin responded with another two-pointer before Rafferty had the final score of the half from a free.

Half Time – Dreadnots 2-11 Cooley Kickhams 0-5, comfortably beyond the four-point winning margin Dreadnots required.

The second half, however, proved a completely different contest with Alan Page’ side now playing with the breeze.

Fearghal Malone opened the scoring with a two-pointer for as Cooley immediately began to eat into the deficit. Joseph Hanlon found the net before Enda O’Neill added a two-pointer, reducing the gap to just five.

Dreadnots steadied themselves through Conor Clarke and Darragh Shevlin, but Cooley refused to go away. Gerard Hanlon brought the deficit back to five before Malone restored some breathing room.

With four minutes remaining, Malone landed another two-pointer to put Dreadnots four ahead and seemingly within touching distance of the required result.

But Cooley produced a remarkable late surge. Joseph Hanlon struck for his second goal before Cian Connor levelled the contest at 2-13 apiece.

Dreadnots appeared to have rescued their campaign when Jay Hughes skimmed a low-rasping effort beyond a host of bodies on the Cooley line, putting them three ahead with time running out. Yet Malone’s late two-pointer brought Cooley back within a single point, leaving a frantic finish.

Full Time – Dreadnots 3-13 Cooley Kickhams 2-15

The result means Newtown Blues top the group and advance directly to the quarter-final, with Cooley Kickhams also reaching the quarter-final in second place. Dreadnots, despite winning the game, finish third and must now enter the relegation playoff.

Joint Man of the Match – 

Fearghal Malone (Cooley Kickhams): A hugely influential performance, with three sensational two-pointers in the second half, inspiring the Cooley comeback.

Jay Hughes (Dreadnots): A constant threat throughout, Hughes carried an enormous threat throughout. He hit a hattrick – three excellent goals and could have had another only for a heroic save from Niall Brady.

Dreadnots team: Dylan Cassidy; Aaron Scullion, Padraig Rath, Alex Aspell; Anthony Williams, Dermot Campbell, Cian McEvoy; Conor Faulkner, James Califf (0-2, 1tp); Ciaran Finnegan, Sam Reilly (0-1), Conor Clarke (0-1); Jay Hughes (3-1, 1-0f), Paraic Smith (0-1), Craig Shevlin (0-6, 1tpf, 1tp, 2f).

Subs: Donnacha Skinnader for Ciaran Finnegan 40 mins, Darragh Shevlin (0-1) for Sam Reilly 49 mins, Donnacha Hodgins for Cian McEvoy 51 mins, Calum Shevlin for Craig Shevlin 59 mins.

Cooley Kickhams team: Niall Brady; Ian Arnold, Darren Marks, Ronan McBride; Tiarnan Hanniffy, Niall Morgan, Gerry Malone; Jack Long, Fearghal Malone (0-6, 3tp); Emmett Duffy, Enda O’Neill (0-3, 1tp), Paul Brennan; Cian Connor (0-2), Michael Rafferty (0-3, 2f), Joseph Hanlon (2-0).

Subs: Sean Hoey for Emmett Duffy 26 mins, Gerard Hanlon (0-1) for Paul Brennan 42 mins, Adam Brady for Enda O’Neill 53 mins, Michael Carron for Gerry Malone 55 mins.

Referee: Stephen Murphy (Naomh Mairtin)