Longford SHC: Slashers overcome Clonguish Gaels to reach the county senior hurling final
Senior Hurling Championship Round 3
Longford Slashers . . . 2-15 Clonguish Gaels . . . 0-10
Both sides suffered defeat against the reigning champions Wolfe Tones in the previous rounds in the group stage and were looking for a positive reaction. Slashers were in control from start to finish. They scored their first goal in the seventh minute, added a second in the 15th minute and held a seven point lead going in at the break: 2-7 to 0-6.
Clonguish Gaels lost Joe O’Brien in the early stages of the second half. The talismanic forward carried an injury into the game. He really struggled in the first half and had to be replaced. He was a big loss for his side.
Slashers on the other hand had Cian Kavanagh in superb form from frees and from play, Johnny Casey chipped in with four points while Reuben Murray scored two goals. In defence they were solid while goalkeeper Conor Gallagher was not tested throughout the game.
Longford Slashers will meet the title holders Wolfe Tones Mostrim in the Senior Hurling Championship Final on Sunday October 10.
LONGFORD SLASHERS: Conor Gallagher; Iarlaith Dolan, Daire Regan, Diarmuid O’Donnell; Paddy Hegarty, Karl Murray, Keelan Cox; Johnny Casey (0-4); Ronan Sheehan; Cian Kavanagh (0-7, 5f), Stephen Farrell (0-1), Paul Leonard; Ciaran Farrell (0-1), Reuben Murray (2-2, 1f), Damien Dunne.
Subs:- Michael Mulcahy for D Dunne (half-time); Colin Regan for D O’Donnell (42 minutes); Rory Maher for P Leonard (45 mins); Jack Linane for for C Farrell (53 mins); Damien McManus for S Farrell (59 mins).
CLONGUISH GAELS: John O’Brien; Declan Lee, Gerard Moore (0-1), Oisin Flanagan; Michael Devlin, Paddy Corcoran, David Gregg; Eugene Kiernan, Bart Hanley (0-4, 2f,1’65); Stephen Gregg (0-2), Jamie Rosney (0-1), Andrew Moorehead (0-2); Cathal McGlynn, Joe O’Brien, Andrew Sorohan.
Subs:- Kevin Burke for Joe O’Brien (injured, 33 mins); Deane Connolly for J Rosney (58 mins).
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).