Longford hurlers snatch draw against Lancashire and now take on Warwickshire in the NHL

Lancashire . . . 0-12  Longford . . . 1-9 

A brilliant point deep into stoppage time from David Buckley earned the Longford senior hurlers a vital draw in their opening Division 3B National League fixture against last year’s beaten Lory Meagher Cup finalists Lancashire at the GAA Centre of Excellence, Abbotstown on Saturday last. 

Longford dominated the contest in the first half and should have been six or seven points clear at the break but nine wides (four from frees) and missed goal chances kept Lancashire in the match as they trailed by 1-4 to 0-5 at the break.
Adrian Moran’s charges were missing key players Paddy Lynam and Sean Lancashire through injury and the free-taking expertise of Lynam was sorely missed while Cathal Mullane was troubled by injury and was eventually replaced in the early stages of the second half.
Clonguish duo Oisin Gately and Stephen Gregg and Longford Slashers youngster Diarmaid Caslin all made their debuts while other new additions to this year’s squad - David Gregg (Clonguish), Ciaran McNally and Darragh Caslin (Slashers) - were among the substitutes.
Lancashire were missing key forwards Darragh Carroll and Robin Spence from their usual starting fifteen.
Bizarrely, the game was scoreless after sixteen minutes before Shane Nugent opened the scoring for the exiles with a free from sixty metres out, however, that lead only lasted two minutes as Reuben Murray equalised with a free.
Full-back Eamon Allen crucially came to Longford’s rescue on nineteen minutes with a brilliant, hooked dispossession off Shane Parsons who was closing in on the Longford goal before another Reuben Murray free edged Longford ahead on twenty-two minutes.
Lancashire’s dangerman Eoghan Clifford levelled the contest with a superb point from forty metres out on the right a minute later, but Longford Captain Johnny Casey restored his side’s advantage in the twenty-fifth minute.
Longford were awarded a penalty on twenty-seven minutes as Reuben Murray, who was racing in on goal, was cynically fouled by Andrew Morgan.
It was a double blow for the English side as Morgan was black-carded for a ten-minute spell while Murray calmly dispatched the penalty to the bottom corner of the Lancashire net to give Longford a four-point cushion, 1-3 to 0-2.
Ethan Costelloe and Murray with a free then swapped points but Lancashire reeled off the last two points in the first half through Clifford with an excellent catch, turn, and shot from sixty metres out and a free converted by David Lynch as Longford had to settle for a 1-4 to 0-5 advantage at the break.
Eamon Allen made another crucial goal stop at the start of the second half as the grandson of the famous Clonguish great Bertie Allen prevented a green flag from being raised.
Maitiu O’Donohoe’s welcome return to the county panel saw him brought on as a second half substitute and he fired over a point within three minutes of his introduction after Cormac Kenny had registered Lancashire’s sixth point.
Lancashire were back on level terms by the fifty-second minute courtesy of scores from David Furlong and Clifford but before those scores, Eamon Allen had made his third brilliant crucial defensive interception when he blocked another goal bound Lancashire shot.
Buckley edged Longford ahead with his first score of the match, but points from Clifford and Finn Henry gave the Exiles a one-point lead. However, Longford responded in fine style with successive scores from Murray and Micheal Mulcahy to put them back in front by a single point with sixty-four minutes gone on the clock.
The see-saw nature of the second half continued when two unanswered points, one from Henry and a long-range point from inside his own half by Kenny, edged Lancashire ahead by a point, 0-12 to 1-8, on sixty-nine minutes.
Longford looked set for defeat but Buckley deservedly fired Longford level with an outstanding point deep into stoppage time. The midlanders almost won the game with the last major attack of the match moments later but Lancashire eventually cleared their lines after a goalmouth scramble.
Eamon Allen and young Slashers debutant Diarmaid Caslin were Longford’s best players on the day while Reuben Murray was the top scorer with 1-4 to his credit.
Next up for Longford is a home match against Warwickshire at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park this Saturday with the game throwing-in at 1pm.

LANCASHIRE: James Doyle; Dave O’Connell, Conor McCormick, Alex Gallagher; Eoghan Clifford (0-4), Shane Nugent (0-1, free), Andrew Morgan; Eoghan Kelly, Cormac Kenny (0-2); Shane Parsons, Christopher Convery, David Lynch (0-1, free); Ethan Costello (0-1), Finn Henry (0-2), Peter Boylan.

Subs:- Jamie McFadyen for D O’Connell; Billy Donnellan for E Costello and Jason Patton for S Parsons (all half-time); David Furlong (0-1) for D Lynch and Kyle Crowley for E Kelly (both 53 mins).

LONGFORD: Pat Burke; Karl Murray, Eamon Allen, Diarmaid Caslin; Adam Quinn, Oisin Gately, Evan Tully; David Buckley (0-2), Johnny Casey (0-1); Charles Flynn, Cathal Mullane, Reuben Murray (1-4, 0-3 frees, 1-0 penalty); Stephen Gregg, Kealan Cox, Micheal Mulcahy (0-1).

Subs:- Maitiu O’Donohue (0-1) for C Mullane (41 minutes); Darragh Caslin for S Gregg (45 mins); Dan Crossan for K Cox (52 mins).

Referee: Tarlach Conway (Derry).