Cloughbawn hold on
Promoted Sars made very slow start
SHANE KEHOE and David Doyle-Murphy shared the scoring for Cloughbawn as they held off a second-half comeback from slow-starting Sarsfields to claim victory in this low-quality start to Group B of the Whizzy Internet Intermediate ‘A’ football championship in Cushinstown on Sunday.
The accurate pair accounted for four points apiece as the Enniscorthy District side prospered largely from a decent first-half display, surging clear by 0-6 to nil after 25 minutes.
Their Wexford town rivals were competing in this grade – introduced in 2012 – for the first time after last year’s one-point Junior final success over Buffers Alley, although it was a much-changed team in action here.
Indeed, only four of the starting 15 from that victory in October – Dáire Reville, Alex Boggan, Niall Stafford and Conall Ó Crualaoich – featured from the off, while Fiach Ó Crualaoich and Seán Pailing had entered the fray on that memorable day for the club as substitutes.
It was low-key in every sense on Sunday, with the two clubs doing well to muster 18 players apiece for a game that saw referee John Tobin relying heavily on his umpires at both ends for their opinions on a series of second-half incidents that seemed to happen very close to where he was positioned himself.
The most contentious of the lot occurred in the 38th minute, when he blew his whistle after Sarsfields corner-forward Callum Farrell ended up on the ground close to the Cloughbawn goal.
With their mentors and supporters expecting a penalty, the referee went in for a chat with the two neutrals on the posts before awarding a throw-in.
Cloughbawn led by 0-8 to 0-3 at that stage and didn’t score again after David Doyle-Murphy sent over his second free in the 37th minute to go with a brace of points from play.
All they could muster were four wides afterwards, along with a late head-high Fergus Rooney shot that Eoin Halligan had to deal with, but the conversion rate of Sarsfields wasn’t plentiful enough to over-turn their deficit.
They did score the last three points, with a Farrell free followed by good efforts from play by corner-back Darragh Kirwan and Fiach Ó Crualaoich in the 46th and 56th minutes, but Cloughbawn held out.
They possessed the game’s stand-out performer in full-forward Shane Kehoe, and he kicked their second point inside three minutes after David Doyle-Murphy opened the scoring.
The same pair added two apiece as Cloughbawn built on that sound start, with Kehoe denied a goal on a couple of occasions, firstly by a Darragh Kirwan block and then by the woodwork.
Sarsfields eventually got off the mark when Callum Farrell punished a foul on Christy Joss with a 27th-minute pointed free, and the latter then teed up Fiach Ó Crualaoich to pull another one back before the break (0-6 to 0-2).
The experienced Colm Kehoe joined the action at midfield for the leaders, with the fourth points for Kehoe and Doyle-Murphy (free) arriving on either side of another converted Farrell placed ball.
Just three scores were added in a dour 25-plus minutes before the finish, with a Cloughbawn side featuring Clongeen stalwart Paddy Reville among their mentors doing enough to take two points into next Saturday’s clash with St. Patrick’s in Enniscorthy.
Sarsfields have a Sunday morning date with Kilmore in Chadwicks Wexford Park – another tall order for the newly-promoted side, who were competing at Junior ‘B’ when the grade they currently occupy came into being twelve years ago.
Cloughbawn: Ewan Codd; Aaron Byrne, Darragh Kehoe, Aaron McManus; Nathan McDonald, Gavin Murphy, James Dempsey (capt.); Paul Byrne, Darragh Redmond; David Doyle-Murphy (0-4, 2 frees), Paddy Whitty, Dean Horan; Fergus Rooney, Shane Kehoe (0-4), Willie Murphy. Subs. – Colm Kehoe for W. Murphy (HT), Aaron Redmond for Horan (58).
Sarsfields: Eoin Halligan; Lee Donohue, Dáire Reville, Darragh Kirwan (0-1); Alex Boggan, Conall Ó Crualaoich, Fran Cleary (capt.); Niall Stafford, Conor Halligan; Shaun Donohue, Fiach Ó Crualaoich (0-2), Christy Joss; Callum Farrell (0-3 frees), Seán Pailing, Billy Walker. Sub. – Con Ó Donnagáin for C. Ó Crualaoich, inj. (HT).
Referee: John Tobin (Geraldine O’Hanrahans).