Kilroy title dreams shattered in semis
BOXING
Wednesday March 03 2010
IT was a disappointing weekend for Sean Kilroy as the Holy Family boxer exited the National Elite Championships at the semi-final stage after a 5-1 defeat against James Fryers from Immaculata BC.
The 21-year-old went into the contest with high hopes after dispatching of number two seed Kevin Fennessey in the previous week's quarter-final, but got off to a poor start and struggled to break down his opponent when he fell behind early on.
Within the first minute of the opening round, Fryers landed two clear right hands on the Holy Family boxer, and used his reach well to finish off the round with a three-point advantage.
Kilroy was forced to chase his opponent down in the second but Fryers kept him at bay, with his awkward style and defence proving difficult to get beyond, and neither boxer registered a score in the three minutes.
Fryers looked in control going into the third, but Kilroy managed to land his first score early on in the round to give him a sniff of a comeback.
However, the Belfast fighter rallied again to score two more shots and dash the Drogheda man's hopes of earning a place in his first National Senior final.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Holy Family BC coach Damien McKenna was keen to take the positives out of this year's championships for Kilroy.
'It was just an off night for Sean. He was up against an awkward opponent and nothing seemed to work out as it should have,' explained McKenna.
'However, last week, by beating the very competent Fennessey, Sean showed that he has what it takes to succeed as this level. This year has shown progress so we're hoping to build on this.'
Attention now returns to the juvenile ranks for Holy Family BC, with the Louth Championships being completed tonight ( Wednesday), followed quickly by this weekend's Leinster Boys Championships in Dundalk where the club will have a strong squad competing.
