Laois Shopping Centre Junior C  Hurling Final: Castletown 0-12 Clonaslee St Manmans 0-8

Wednesday 8/9/2021 @ Laois GAA Centre of Excellence

From Laois Today:

Experienced Castletown do enough to claim Junior ‘C’ hurling honours

Castletown won the first adult hurling championship of 2021 this evening in the Laois GAA Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise when they got the better of Clonaslee-St Manman’s in a keenly-contested encounter.

Many of the Castletown players have a number of senior championship medals and with the spine of their team having years of experience, once they got ahead in this Junior ‘C’ final they never really looked like letting their lead slip.

It helped their cause when Clonaslee were reduced to 14 men following the sending off of Ger Dunne in the 25th minute but Castletown had a wider range of scoring threats and were relatively comfortable on the scoreboard until Clonaslee got three late points from the 59th minute on.

Barry McKelvey, Brian Ferns, Paddy Mullaney, Michael Butler, Seamus Lyons and Ger Cuddy were all present for some of the great days in the club’s history in the 1990s and 2000s and they were all central to this evening’s success.

McKelvey was a calm presence in goals, Ferns kept tabs on Clonaslee’s danger man James Young, Mullaney controlled the game from centre-back and pointed a couple of long-range frees, Butler and Cuddy saw plenty of ball and finished with a point each and Lyons was their top scorer with 0-7.

While heavy rain made playing conditions difficult early on and it took until the 12th minute for the first score (from a Seamus Lyons free), once it cleared up it was an enjoyable battle.

James Young levelled things up with a free straight away but Ciaran Dunne and Ger Cuddy responded with two points in a minute before Young and Lyons swapped frees to leave it 0-4 to 0-2 at the water break.

Lyons added another two on the resumption before Mullaney landed a ’65 to stretch their lead to five.

The game’s main talking point arrived shortly after when Ger Dunne was adjudged to have fouled Lyons as the two battled for possession. Dunne wasn’t happy with referee Anthony Costigan’s decision and his protest earned him a yellow card. When Dunne continued to air his views, Costigan gave another yellow and a red. Clonaslee were down to 14.

Lyons duly pointed the resulting free and a fine effort from play but Young got the last three points of the half to leave it 0-9 to 0-5 at the break.

Clonaslee, though, would fail to score until the 29th minute of the second half.

With Mullaney playing as the extra man and cutting out an amount of ball, Clonaslee struggled to create any scoring chances of note and Castletown extended their lead thanks to a fabulous Mullaney free from distance and Lyons’ seventh effort.

Castletown could have put the game to bed only for a great Christy Conroy save on Ciaran Dunne but Castletown were in control at the second water break with an 0-11 to 0-5 lead.

Young’s sixth free of the evening – and Clonaslee’s first of the second half – arrived with a minute of normal time remaining and though Michael Butler fired over a fine point to cancel it out, Young got further frees in the 31st and 32nd minute.

The former county star – and Laois’s all time leading scorer – then had three late free attempts on goal but all three were blocked by a well-organised Castletown defence and they held on for a four-point win.

The club now turn their attentions to a senior hurling clash with The Harps on Friday night while they are also in Junior ‘A’ action on Sunday when they take on neighbours Mountrath.

SCORERS – Castletown: Seamus Lyons 0-7 (six frees), Paddy Mullaney 0-2 (one free, one ’65), Michael Butler, Ger Cuddy and Ciaran Dunne 0-1 each. Clonaslee-St Manman’s: James Young 0-8 (all frees)

CASTLETOWN: Barry McKelvey; Cian Kirwan, Brian Ferns, Adam Poole; Trevor Abbott, Paddy Mullaney, Gearoid Kirwan; Oisin Phelan, Michael Butler; Ciaran Dunne, Kevin Conroy, Jack Peters; Sean O’Connor, Seamus Lyons, Ger Cuddy. Subs: Aaron Sythes for Peters (42), John Palmer for Dunne (47)

CLONASLEE-ST MANMAN’S: Christy Conroy; Enda McEvoy, Ger Dunne, Shane Conroy; Daire Scully, Willie Murray, Luke Dunne; Shay Foynes, Glen McEvoy; Dylan Flynn, Jack Hillard, Josh Flynn; Senan Barrett, James Young, Sean Dunne. Subs: Sean Condon for Foynes (injured – 34), Daryl O’Brien for Flynn (42)

REFEREE: Anthony Costigan (Rathdowney-Errill)

From Leinster Express

Castletown claim Junior 'C' Championship over 14-man Clonaslee St Manman's

On an awful night for hurling in the Laois Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise, this Junior ‘C’ final between Castletown and Clonaslee St Manman’s was never going to a very pretty affair. However, Castletown won’t care, as they did enough to come away with the victory over a Clonaslee St Manman’s side who played most of the match with fourteen men 

From the start, Enda McEvoy decided to fire a shot in from long-range and test Castletown keeper Barry McKelvey on this slippy night, but McKelvey controlled well and cleared the danger.

The first score of the game didn’t arrive until just under ten minutes had been played, as both sides struck wides and showed a touch of nerves during the opening stages. Seamus Lyons did score the opening point for Castletown from a free, but Sean Dunne cancelled that out with a free down the opposite end for Clonaslee.

Castletown began to settle down after and play the better hurling. Ciaran Dunne scored a point to nudge them back in front, although it could so easily have been a goal. Ger Cuddy then put Castletown two to the good after he capitalised on a poor Clonaslee puck-out and split the posts.

Both full-forwards, James Young and Seamus Lyons, landed points from placed balls for Clonaslee and Castletown respectively, as Castletown went into the first water break with a 0-4 to 0-2 advantage.

Upon the restart, all the hurling was played by the Castletown men. Lyons landed two more points from frees, while Patrick Mullaney also got a point off a placed ball, as Clonaslee’s indiscipline cost them.

Clonaslee were then dealt a hammer blow, as their full-back, Ger Dunne, received two yellow cards in the space of a minute. The first was for a foul on Lyons, and then after Dunne continued to remonstrate his annoyance at the decision, Anthony Costigan opted to show him the second yellow.

Lyons converted the resulting free from close-range, and then the same man scored the point of the match, as Lyons caught a ball in cleanly and fired one over the bar to push Casletown’s lead out to seven.

Clonaslee, to their credit, refused to throw in the towel and three points from the hurl of James Young before half-time meant they only trailed 0-5 to 0-9.

In the second half, the rain let up, but the scores became even rarer. Castletown continued to plug away, with Patrick Mullaney and Lyons knocking over a free each to put them well into the driving seat. Clonaslee did not manage to score in the third quarter, as they were finding it difficult to get ball to stick in the full-forward line.

James Young converted a couple of frees near the end, but Clonaslee couldn’t get in for the goal that could swing this game around. Patrick Mullaney was the best player on the pitch, with his reading of the game at centre-back for Castletown impeccable, and that helped them run out four-point winners in the end. 

CASTLETOWN

Scorers: Seamus Lyons 0-7 (0-6 frees), Patrick Mullaney 0-2 frees, Ciaran Dunne, Ger Cuddy and Michael Butler 0-1 each

Team: Barry McKelvey; Cian Kirwan, Brian Ferns, Adam Poole; Trevor Abbott, Patrick Mullaney, Gearoid Kirwan; Oisin Phelan, Michael Butler; Ciaran Dunne, Kevin Conroy, Jack Peters; Sean O'Connor, Seamus Lyons, Ger Cuddy. Subs: Aaron Sythes for Cuddy (42 mins), John Palmer for Dunne (52 mins) 

CLONASLEE ST MANMAN'S

Scorers: James Young 0-7 frees, Sean Dunne 0-1 free

Team: Christy Conroy; Enda McEvoy, Ger Dunne, Shane Conroy; Daire Scully, Willie Murray, Luke Dunne; Shay Foynes, Glen McEvoy; Dylan Flynn, Jack Hillard, Josh Flynn; Senan Barrett, James Young, Sean Dunne. Subs: Sean Condon for Foynes (34 mins)

REFEREE: Anthony Costigan (Rathdowney-Errill)

2017

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