Clonkill do enough to fend off gritty Castlepollard side

Clonkill 1-19, Castlepollard 2-9

In what was a nervy first round clash, with both sides quite wasteful, Clonkill’s ability to stay composed with 14 men for the entire second half ultimately proved decisive at Kinnegad on Friday evening as they saw off a gritty Castlepollard in the Senior 'A' hurling championship.

The Loughegar men prevailed despite playing with 14 men for the entire second half, but the level of efficiency fell well short of what will be required to win a senior title and they have much to improve on.

The same applies to Castlepollard, who failed to make their numerical advantage count and seemed to get lost in a system that never truly threatened to take hold of the contest, electing to drop Conor Gaffney deep as the extra man. Clonkill notched the final three points of the first half and proceeded to hit four unanswered scores in the opening 12 minutes of the second moiety, all of which proved crucial to the outcome.

It was 1-9 to 2-5 in Clonkill’s favour at the break. Reduced to 14 men late in the first half, Mickey Dan Murtagh’s charges needed to show grit and composure to carve out a hard-earned victory in this lively and, at times, tetchy senior hurling championship clash.

Darragh McCormack opened the scoring for ‘Pollard with a free in the fifth minute, but Clonkill responded with a fine point from Luke Loughlin after he latched onto a misjudged clearance by Castlepollard goalkeeper Barry Dowdall. That sparked a productive spell for Clonkill, who added points from corner-forwards Jordan Smyth and Oisín Murray - both scores following key contributions from Loughlin (who was strong in the air) and Matthew Glynn.

Dylan O’Leary stemmed the tide with a well-taken point for Ned Moore’s Castlepollard side in the 10th minute, before the first major breakthrough came on 14 minutes. Colm Dermody, wearing six but operating further forward, connected in the air with a high delivery from Ciarán English, guiding the sliotar past Clonkill goalkeeper Anthony Price to edge his side in front, 1-2 to 0-3.

Clonkill settled again with a free from Niall Mitchell after Glynn was fouled. Loughlin then had a powerful goal attempt from a free well saved by Dowdall, but Robert Cleary fired over a fine point from 65 metres to level matters by the 18th minute. Moments later, Murray pointed again for Clonkill, before he found the roof of the net in the 20th minute with a thunderous finish after Ciarán Egerton's pinpoint clearance, restoring Clonkill’s advantage.

Castlepollard responded swiftly with a well-taken goal from Joe Rabbitt, who raced clear to finish neatly. However, a flashpoint followed in the 26th minute when Clonkill wing-back Alan McGrath was shown a straight red card following a heavy tackle on Matthew O’Reilly. McCormack converted the resulting free, and further points from Dylan O’Leary and McCormack (after a neat assist from O’Reilly) saw 'Pollard move 2-5 to 1-6 ahead.

However, Clonkill finished the half strongly with three unanswered points: Mitchell (free), Cleary, and Smyth (after Mitchell and Cleary combined smartly) were on target as the Loughegar men led by a point at the break.

Despite playing with 14 men, Clonkill controlled the early second-half exchanges. Mitchell, fed by Smyth, opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Loughlin, Cleary (twice), and Mitchell (free) added points in a dominant spell, with Glynn, Smyth, and Nolan all involved in the build-up play.

McCormack briefly interrupted the flow with a superb point from 65 metres, but Mitchell responded with another free. McCormack again pointed a free to leave it 1-14 to 2-7 in Clonkill's favour at the end of the third quarter.

Clonkill didn’t relent. Robert Cleary knocked over two more points, both from distance, with Niall Mitchell (free) and Loughlin tagging on further scores to stretch the lead. While McCormack added two more frees for Castlepollard in the closing stages, it was Clonkill who had done enough to see it out, despite three late wides.

Scorers - Clonkill: R Cleary 0-6, N Mitchell 0-6 (4f), O Murray 1-2, L Loughlin 0-3, J Smyth 0-2.

Castlepollard: D McCormack 0-7 (5f), J Rabbitt 1-0, C Dermody 1-0, D O’Leary 0-2.

Clonkill: Anthony Price; Shane Power, John Kenny, Ciaran Egerton; Andrew Shaw, Ciaran Nolan, Alan McGrath; Matthew Glynn, Brian Gaffney; Robert Cleary, Michael McGrath, Niall Mitchell; Oisin Murray, Luke Loughlin, Jordan Smyth. Subs: Peadar Scally for Smyth (53), Oisin Loughlin for Cleary (inj., 58).

Castlepollard: Barry Dowdall; Sean Lancaster, Darragh O’Reilly, Paul Dermody; Ciaran Fagan, Colm Dermody, Eoin English; Conor Gaffney, Darragh Tierney; Mark Lancaster, Darragh McCormack, Ciaran English; Matthew O’Reilly, Dylan Cleary, Joe Rabbitt. Subs: Allan Devine for C English (20), Oisin Gaffney for M O’Reilly (35), Conor Sheridan and Brian Gilchrist for C Dermody and D O’Leary (53).

Referee: Ken Gunning (St Brigid’s).

Footnote: Prior to the game, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Michael Scally, Clonkill.