Cushinstown looking good
Winning streak continues
R’GAROGUE-C’TOWN CASTLETOWN 3-9 1-5
PERRENIAL CONTENDERS Rathgarogue-Cushinstown maintained their one hundred per cent record in Group B of the Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship with a 3-9 to 1-5 victory over Castletown at a rainy Killurin on Saturday.
Castletown lost a few starters to their Senior side the night before, and despite being already assured of a quarter-final berth before a ball was kicked, they were completely outplayed against a side operating close to full strength.
Stand-in goalkeeper Alan Molloy made a brilliant double save in the very early stages, first when stopping Nicky Sinnott at the near post, and then saving the same player’s penalty after Daire Bolger was taken down amid a scramble.
But Sinnott made it third time lucky when knocking in the rebound as Rathgarogue-Cushinstown laid down an early marker.
They had county Senior footballer Eoin Porter in fine fettle throughout, and he converted a ‘45 which ricocheted off the crossbar on the way, while Peadar Cody also ventured forward to make it 1-2 to no score after eleven minutes.
Not long after, a misplaced kick-out fell to Bolger to feed Sinnott to goal from close range, before Castletown finally got up and running through a Darragh Brooks free.
But they were firmly playing catch-up at the break after Cody doubled his tally following a clever crossfield pass from Jason Dunne to develop a 2-4 to 0-3 lead at the break.
And Porter engineered a brilliant major on 38 minutes when he finished emphatically across the goal as the margin swelled to 3-5 to 0-4.
Each side had a man sent-off in the second-half, with Noel Morris and Sinnott both departing for second bookable offences.
Porter brought his own personal haul to 1-4 before the end with two more points (one free) as Castletown continued to probe without making any serious inroads.
That said, substitute Seán Roche did stylishly convert an injury time penalty to bring his own tally off the bench to 1-4 in the last two games.
Rathgarogue-Cushinstown: Jonathan Kelly; Ricky McGrath, Bryan Cody, Patrick Murphy; Peadar Cody (0-2), Brian O’Neill, Ollie Bolger; Danny Martin Carroll, Matthew Cody; Daire Bolger, Eoin Porter (1-4, 0-2 frees, 0-1 ‘45), Tadhg Cody (0-1); Jason Dunne, Bernard Furlong (capt.), Nicky Sinnott (2-1). Subs. - Patrick Barron (0-1) for McGrath (41), Aaron Ryan for Dunne (44), Eoin Burke for Furlong (56).
Castletown: Alan Molloy; Eoin Cullen, Risteárd Kinsella, David Deering (capt.); Marc Halpin, Conor Cleary, Danny Dixon; Joe Gardiner, Rory Heffernan; Darragh Brooks (0-3, 2 frees), Noel Morris, Frankie Kavanagh; Shane Halpin, Aaron Condren (0-1), Colm Morris. Subs. - Seán Roche (1-1, 1-0 pen.) for Kavanagh (HT), Kevin Morris for Brooks (50), Stephen Rafferty for Condren (55), Chris Callanan for Cullen (58).
Referee:
Harriers). Philip Murphy (Faythe