Hefty collisions as Clonkill edge out gritty Castlepollard

Clonkill 3-13, Castlepollard 2-14

Two fine goals from Jordan Smyth combined with some excellent shooting from Peadar Scally helped nudge Clonkill over the line in the final round of the group stages of the ACHL Division 1 against a tough-tackling Castlepollard side in Clonkill GAA last Sunday morning. Despite having suffered a short but heavy spell of rain prior to throw-in, the conditions actually were quite favourable and the game never lost the high intensity and tempo it had from the off.

Opening scores were traded between Brian Gaffney for Clonkill and Darragh McCormack for Castlepollard before a glorious goal opportunity was dragged wide by Andrew Shaw which could have put the Loughegar side in front. A foul on Colm Dermody allowed McCormack to point the free and put ‘Pollard back in front before another guilt-edge chance of a green flag went by for the home side as Niall Mitchell saw his strike hit the inside of the far post and rebound back into play. Despite some of the early long-balls from Clonkill only finding Conor Gaffney in the Castlepollard jersey, neither side dropped their heads and fought for every loose ball.

Eighteen minutes elapsed when Mitchell found Jordan Smyth who drilled beyond Seán Dermody at his near post for his first goal.

Hefty collisions were common but the scoring rate was rising also as Peadar Scally’s beautiful effort near the sideline put Mickey Dan Murtagh’s troops 1-3 to 0-3 in front heading to the last ten of the half. After a couple of rucks in the middle, the final five minutes exploded into life with seven points before the whistle. McCormack (free), Conor Sheridan, and Dylan O’Leary finding the target for Pollard while Scally, along with the entire front-three of Shaw, Mitchell, and Smyth, replied for Clonkill. Half-time and the home side were ahead, 1-8 to 0-6.

The second period was not even five minutes old when Martin Egan’s side were back on par. A low finish to the net from Dylan O’Leary was followed by a neat double from McCormack.

Not to be outdone, Clonkill responded in kind as a trademark Mitchell high-catch, spin, and shot led to the second goal for the green and gold.

Moments after McCormack’s free at the other end, Jordan Smyth shrugged off tackles to hammer home his second goal and put his side five ahead, 3-8 to 1-9.

Although Castlepollard did outscore the Clonkill men by 1-5 to 0-5 in the remaining passage of the game, it was not enough as they fell just short. Several of the substitutes introduced by both sides got in on the scoring act before a rebounded goal from Colm Dermody in stoppage time created a tense ending with two points in the difference. Clonkill managed to hold out and cement their second-place finish in the group. Castlepollard finish in the bottom half after their seven group matches with just two wins.

Scorers – Clonkill: J Smyth 2-2, P Scally 0-7 (4f), N Mitchell 1-1, B Gaffney, A Shaw, R Cleary 0-1 each.

Castlepollard: D McCormack 0-8 (4f), D O’Leary 1-1, C Dermody 1-0, M O’Reilly (f), C Sheridan, A O’Leary, M Lancaster, O Gaffney 0-1 each.

Clonkill: Anthony Price; Shane Power, John Kenny, Ciarán Egerton; Oisín Loughlin, Ciarán Nolan, Jamie Coffey; Brian Gaffney, Paul Poynton; Rian Holding, Peadar Scally, Matthew Glynn; Andrew Shaw, Niall Mitchell, Jordan Smyth. Subs used: Michael McGrath for Holding (h-t), Alan McGrath for Egerton (h-t), Carl McCormack for Poynton (38), Robbie Cleary for Gaffney (49), Niall Dowdall for Shaw (50).

Castlepollard: Seán Dermody; Ben Murphy, Ciarán Fagan, Alex McCormack; Eoin English, Conor Gaffney, Darragh Tierney; Colm Dermody, Darragh McCormack; Brian Gilchrist, Matthew O’Reilly, Ciarán English; Conor Sheridan, Dylan O’Leary, Allan Devine. Subs used: Aaron O’Leary for Sheridan (h-t), Mark Lancaster for Devine (h-t), Oisín Gaffney for O’Reilly (41), Aaron O’Reilly for McCormack (43), Seán Fagan for Gilchrist (48).

Referee: James McGrath (Turin).