Clonguish win the Longford Leader Cup for the third year in a row

Clonguish celebrate their Leader Cup triumph with young family members Photo: Syl Healy | Syl Healy

placeholder image — Clonguish celebrate their Leader Cup triumph with young family members Photo: Syl Healy | Syl Healy

Killoe second best with early goal from Cormac Flynn the decisive score

Clonguish . . . 1-13 Killoe Emmet Og . . . 0-11

Building on a great start which yielded a well-taken goal from Cormac Flynn with just five minutes gone on the clock, the force was with Clonguish on their way to winning the Leader Cup for the third year in a row.

A small attendance in the region of 300 braved the adverse wet and windy conditions at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday evening last to watch Clonguish claim the prestigious old trophy (first introduced 90 years ago) for a record 13th time with Roscommon senior footballer Jack Duggan the main man.

Duggan fired over 3 two-pointers in clocking up a total of 0-8 and while the talented Newtonforbes outfit will be looking forward to the county championship with a certain degree of confidence, they will certainly not be getting carried away with this success under the guidance of their new manager, Fermanagh native Dom Corrigan.

Both teams were without quite a few regulars for different reasons and it could be a different story in the battle for Connolly Cup glory.

It was a close contest up until a glorious goal opportunity for Mark Hughes that would have put Killoe in front but for a fine point-blank save by the opposing keeper Liam Casey in the 25th minute.

Clonguish then came storming back with vital scores from Duggan, James Flynn and Kevin Baskett to lead by 1-8 to 0-5 at the break and it would have been worse for Emmet Og as Jamie Dorr was denied a goal after hitting the post in stoppage time.

That advantage was stretched to a commanding 9 points with another two-pointer (play) from deadly Jack Duggan the highlight with Killoe closing the gap with a two-pointer (free) from their keeper Micheal Hughes with time running out.

Tempers boiled over as a fracas erupted in the 55th minute and when order was eventually restored the referee Joe McDermott branded four yellow cards (two apiece).

Jamie Dorr created the opportunity for Cormac Flynn to shoot the opening score of the game when he weaved his way through to find the back of the net.

Clonguish consolidated the lead, mainly due to Jack Duggan and his ability to land two-pointers, while on target for Killoe in the first half were Mark Hughes (play and free), Danny Mimnagh, Ryan Moffett and young Conor Mulligan.

Hughes should have scored a goal approaching the interval and Clonguish added another four points to their tally to command a strong position going into the second half.

While Mark converted a free for Killoe with a couple of minutes gone on the changeover, Clonguish quickly regained the upper hand with a third two-pointer from Jack Duggan and a brace of scores in quick succession from Andrew Flynn.

Managed by former player Paul O’Hara, Emmet Og tried hard to close the gap but were left to rue a number of wides with their final score coming from substitute Cian Dooner in stoppage time.

Six Killoe points were scored in the second half but it was not enough to stop the worthy winners Clonguish who had the last say when youthful replacement Michael Glennon shot over the bar in the fifth additional minute.

CLONGUISH: Liam Casey; Mark Cooney, Conor Flynn, Alan Mimnagh; Ross Shields, Conor Smith, Packie Molloy; Peter Hanley, Jamie Dorr; Cormac Flynn (1-0), Kevin Baskett (0-1), Jack Duggan (0-8, 3 two-pointers (2 from play), 2 frees); James Flynn (0-1), Andrew Flynn (0-2), Chris Gordon.

Subs:- Daniel Carey for P Molloy (48 mins), Cathal Lynch for M Cooney (52 mins); Niall O’Reilly for J Flynn (56 mins); Michael Glennon (0-1) for K Baskett (stoppage time), Neil Devlin for A Flynn (stoppage time).

KILLOE EMMET OG: Micheal Hughes (0-2, two-pointer free); Gavin Hughes, Gavin Farrelly, Evan Farrelly; Davin Donnelly, Liam Hughes, Cian Farrelly; Ronan Keogh, Ryan Moffett (0-1); Danny Mimnagh (0-1), James Moran, Shane Thompson; Conor Mulligan (0-1), Mark Hughes (0-5, 3 frees, 1 ‘45), Dylan O’Neill.

Subs:- Niall Finneran for S Thompson (half-time); Ryan Keogh for D Donnelly (39 mins); Shane Donohoe for D O’Neill (41 mins); Cian Dooner (0-1) for C Mulligan (56 mins); Paul Eivers for G Hughes (stoppage time).

Referee: Joe McDermott (Grattans).