Longford hold out for hard earned win over Lancashire

Longford . . . 2-12    Lancashire . . . 2-10

The Longford senior hurlers kept alive their outside chance of reaching the National League Division 4 Final in holding out for a hard earned win over Lancashire in the Round 4 clash at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday last.
The home county appeared to be in control when they established a comfortable 1-6 to 0-1 lead midway through the first half with Reuben Murray cutting through to score the goal from a tight angle in the 6th minute.
Soon after the chief marksman Murray (who clocked up a total of 1-6) had a great opportunity to raise another green flag when he blasted the ball over the bar and Lancashire got back into contention when they were gifted a very soft goal with Colin McNamara punishing a mistake in the 22nd minute.
Longford ended up with a four point advantage (1-9 to 1-5) at the break and managed to stay in front with substitute Dylan Hennessy finishing the ball to the net following a scramble in the 56th minute.
That crucial score eased the pressure with Lancashire trailing by 2-10 to 1-7 and while they closed the gap with a goal from the impressive Eoghan Clifford in the 66th minute, Longford replied immediately with a point from Reuben Murray to clinch the victory.
Lancashire were left to rue a lot of missed chances during the course of the game, shooting a total of 14 wides (8 in the first half) while Peter Boylan squandered a good chance of a goal immediately after Hennessy had found the back of the net for Longford.
The same poor finishing statistic also applied to the home side with their wide count that also stretched into double figures but they got over the line and that is all that mattered in their quest for one of the two promotion places.
Missing a few regulars as some of the younger players continue to get their chance, there was some good news for Longford on the injury front with key defender Karl Murray returning following a lengthy absence.
His younger brother Reuben played a key role in the win over Lancashire, shooting 1-5 in the first half with four of the points coming from frees.Prominent captain Evan Tully fired over three points while also on target for the midlanders was the industrious Adam Quinn who landed a brace of scores.
Substitute Dylan Hutchinson also got his name on the scoresheet with a point when a goal was there for the taking in the early stages of the second half while the goal from Dylan Hennessy proved decisive in the eventual outcome.

LONGFORD: Joshua Callaghan (Clonguish Gaels); Sean Lancaster (Castlepollard), Oisin Gately (Clonguish Gaels), Daire Regan (Longford Slashers); Diarmaid Caslin (Longford Slashers), Eamon Allen (Kilmacud Crokes), Adam Quinn (Wolfe Tones, 0-2); Kealan Cox (Longford Slashers), Johnny Casey (Longford Slashers); Dan Crossan (Clonguish Gaels), Evan Tully (Wolfe Tones, Mostrim, 0-3), Micheal Mulcahy (Longford Slashers); Niall Hawes (Longford Slashers), Reuben Murray (Longford Slashers, 1-6, 5 frees). Killian Courtney (Wolfe Tones, Mostrim). 

Subs:- Dylan Hutchinson (Wolfe Tones, Mostrim, 0-1) for M Mulcahy (32 mins); Johnny Maher (Kilmacud Crokes) for J Callaghan (41 mins); Matthew Hawes (Longford Slashers) for N Hawes (54 mins); Dylan Hennessy (St Patrick’s, Limerick, 1-0) for K Courtney (54 mins); Karl Murray (Longford Slashers) for D Crossan (61 mins).

LANCASHIRE: Ryan McCarthy; Christy Dickson, Conor McCormick, James Coughlan; Shane Nugent, Eoghan Clifford (1-1), Andrew Morgan (0-1); Colin McNamara (1-0), Jamie McFadyen; Conor Levingstone (0-1), Christopher Convery, Peter Boylan (0-1); Jason Patton, Padraic Burke (0-6, 5 frees, 1 ‘65), Andrew Shanahan.

Subs:- Tiernan McKavanagh for C McNamara (29 mins); Sam Hanley for C Convery (49 mins); Fearghal McKillop for J McFadyen (49 mins); Patrick Dwane for P Boylan (59 mins).  

Referee: Adam Kinahan (Offaly).