Yet another success as Clonguish complete 3-in-a-row of Longford U-21 ‘A’ triumphs

Clonguish . . . 0-11    Ballymahon/Kenagh . . . 1-6 

It was a determined bid by the spirited amalgamation to spring a shock but confident Clonguish refused to panic and once they got going there was no stopping the boys in green in the quest to complete a tremendous 3-in-a-row of  U-21 ‘A’ titles.

Even without a few regulars with Conor Smith their most notable absentee, Clonguish were just too strong and only trailed by a point (1-4 to 0-6) at the break with the impressive Josh Kelly accounting for all the Ballymahon/Kenagh scores.

With Matthew Carey the dominant figure at midfield and who ended up winning the man of the match award (Jimmy Tully memorial trophy), shooting a total of five points (4 frees) in the process of his major role, Clonguish took over completely in the second half with the advantage of the wind. 

Jason Glancy had a goal attempt cleared off the line by Shane Quinn and the reigning champions could also afford the luxury of shooting seven wides on the way to a hard earned but well deserved victory.

Ballymahon/Kenagh had to wait until the 60th minute to register their first score in the second half when Josh Kelly fired over a free and went close to snatching a dramatic draw when Darragh Finlass blasted the ball over the bar with virtually the last kick of the game in stoppage time. 

The Flynn brothers Michael and Cormac were also much to the fore for Clonguish, scoring six points between them, and the future appears to be very bright for the Newtownforbes outfit. 

It was a brave effort by Ballymahon/Kenagh to cause a major upset and with 19 minutes gone in the first half the underdogs had established a healthy looking 1-3 to 0-1 lead.

Josh Kelly weaved his way through to score a cracking goal in the 8th minute and the dangerman  full-forward was tormenting the opposing defence.

Clonguish, who lost the injured Jamie Dorr in the early stages of the game, opened their account with a point from a free converted by Matthew Carey in the 6th minute and further scores followed from Cormac Flynn, Carey (free) and three from Michael Flynn (2 frees) to close the gap to the minimum of margins before the half-time whistle was blown. 

Michael landed a brilliant point to level matters with a couple of minutes gone on the changeover and Clonguish were denied a goal by the opposing keeper Cian Hughes before the ball was cleared off the line when a green flag seemed certain to materialise in the 38th minute.

A number of missed chances failed to bother the reigning champions who took the lead with a well struck point from Cormac Flynn in the 41st minute followed by a trio of scores from Matthew Carey, a couple of frees along with a wonderful strike from play in the 54th minute. 

That left Clonguish in a comfortable 0-11 to 1-4 lead but Ballymahon/Kenagh battled it out to the bitter end with the late, late points from the prominent pair of Josh Kelly and Darragh Finlass, the latter going so close to finding the back of the net in his bid for a last gasp equalising goal.

CLONGUISH: James Quinn; Mark Cooney, Kevin Baskett, Alan Mimnagh; Josh Sorohan, Andrew Flynn, Daniel Carey; Matthew Carey (0-5, 4 frees), Jonathan Burke; Jamie Dorr, Matthew Flynn, Cormac Flynn (0-2); Jason Glancy, Michael Flynn (0-4, 2 frees), James Hagan.

Subs:- Ross Shields for J Dorr (injured, 5 mins); Josh Marsh for J Glancy (49 mins); Dara Belton for J Burke (60 mins). 

BALLYMAHON/KENAGH: Cian Hughes; Chris Killian, Darragh Finlass (0-1), Ronan Burke; Harvey Townsend, Shane Quinn, Paddy Connaughton; Kevin Byrne, Dan Galvin; Ollie Manser, Cathal Higgins, Cormac McGann; Danny Ryan, Josh Kelly (1-5, 3 frees), Harry Byrne.

Subs:- Jack Walshe for K Byrne (half-time); Tadhg Ronayne for P Connaughton (39 mins); Stephen McGinnity for C Higgins (57 mins). 

Referee: Gerard Egan (St Mary’s Granard).