Longford SHC: Crucial goals the vital factor as Wolfe Tones conquer Clonguish Gaels

Wolfe Tones Mostrim . . . 5-13    Clonguish Gaels . . . 0-19 

Reigning champions Clonguish Gaels were comprehensively beaten by Wolfe Tones in the Senior Hurling Championship first round encounter at Michael Fay Park on Saturday evening last with the Edgeworthstown side winning by a nine-point margin. 

Reigning champions Clonguish Gaels were comprehensively beaten by Wolfe Tones in the Senior Hurling Championship first round encounter at Michael Fay Park on Saturday evening last with the Edgeworthstown side winning by a nine-point margin

Ronan Courtney scored three goals while Cathal Mullane and Tiernán Hussey also raised green flags. Mullane top-scored for Wolfe Tones with 1-8 and Joe O’Brien was the chief sharpshooter for Clonguish with 0-12.

Clonguish started the game with O’Brien in goals for the first half but he was switched to centre-half-back on the changeover as his side tried in vain to avoid defeat after trailing by four points at the break, 3-5 to 0-10, with the crucial goals coming from Courtney, Hussey and Mullane.

Wolfe Tones now take on Longford Slashers in the next round in a strong position to reach the county SHC final with Clonguish Gaels meeting Slashers in the remaining group stage fixture to determine who will contest the Duignan Cup decider.

Wolfe Tones, who had regular attacker Maitiú O’Donohoe in goals for the entire match. opened the scoring in the 7th minute but Clonguish Gaels slotted over the next three scores courtesy of Stephen Cregg, Eugene Kiernan, and a Joe O’Brien free, to leave the title holders 0-3 to 0-1 ahead after twelve minutes.
Mullane and O’Brien (another free) exchanged points as Clonguish led by four points to two after 14 minutes.
However, the Mostrim side struck their first goal on the quarter-hour mark as Clonguish keeper O’Brien was unable to get back to his goal after scoring that free, and Ronan Courtney’s thirty-five-yard shot dropped over defender Padraig McGuinness into the net.
The sides were level after twenty minutes with Mullane registering his second point to establish a two-point lead for Wolfe Tones before O’Brien’s third free and an excellent score from Paul Barden, that was superbly created by a surging run from James Devine, left the score at Wolfe Tones 1-3 Clonguish 0-6.
Wolfe Tones then scored their second goal in the 21st minute when Tiarnan Hussey ran in from the right and rifled the sliotar to the roof of the net from twenty-five yards out to put them three clear.
Two points separated the sides with twenty-seven minutes gone, as three O’Brien points (two frees and a sixty-five) brought Clonguish to nine points, while Mullane with a free and Courtney responded for Wolfe Tones.
John Lynam’s charges scored their third goal two minutes later as a superb John Mulhern pass found Mullane and he blasted a fifteen-yard ground shot to the bottom right corner of the net. The final score of the first half came from an O’Brien free for the Gaels to leave the half-time score, Wolfe Tones 3-5 Clonguish 0-10.
Clonguish took O’Brien out of goals for the second half and they were back on level terms by the 41st minute as they outscored their opponents by seven points to three in that period.
O’Brien with four converted frees, a brace from Dan Crossan and a point from Eugene Kiernan raised the white flag for Clonguish, while Hussey, Mullane, with a pointed free, and Martin Coyle were on target for Wolfe Tones.
Mullane and O’Brien with a free each swapped scores as Wolfe Tones led by just a point, 3-10 to 0-18 with 46 minutes gone on the clock.
However, the Edgeworthstown side finished much stronger as they outscored the Gaels by eight points in the last eleven minutes of the contest.
Mullane with his seventh and eighth frees and Hussey with his second point steered John Lynam’s side four points clear and when Courtney increased the lead to seven points with a 52nd minute goal after outpacing Devine and rattling the net with a shot from the left, the game was effectively over as a contest.
O’Brien reduced the deficit to six points with his eleventh free, but Courtney completed his hat-trick just as the game went into additional time with a stunning goal.
Adam Quinn surged forward and cleverly chipped the ball over the oncoming Clonguish defender to find Mullane on the left and his pin-point diagonal pass to Courtney resulted in the flying forward firing the ball to the net.

WOLFE TONES: Maitiú O’Donohue; Pearse McNally, Micheál Savage, Cian McLoughlin; John Gaffney, Evan Tully, Adam Quinn; James Connell,  Martin Coyle (0-1); John Mulhern, Eoin McCormack, Tiarnan Hussey (1-2); Cathal Mullane (1-8, 7f), Ronan Courtney (3-1), Liam Browne (0-1).

Subs:- Dylan Hutchinson for E McCormack (37 mins); John Cullen for L Browne (57 mins); Luke Kelly for T Hussey (59 mins).

CLONGUISH GAELS: Joe O’Brien (0-12, 11f, 1 ’65); James Devine, Anthony Watters, Padraig McGuinness; David Gregg, Oisin Gately, Alan Sorohan; Gerard Moore, Declan Lee; Dan Crossan (0-2), Brian Brady, Ciaran Corcoran; Paul Barden (0-1), Eugene Kiernan (0-3), Stephen Gregg (0-1).

Subs:- Jack Nertney for C Corcoran (26 mins); Aaron Egan for P Barden (half-time); Matthew Flynn for B Brady (37 mins); Patrick Crossan for P McGuinness (60 mins).

Referee: Joe McDermott (Grattan Óg).