The difference

and took off through the middle of the field he shoveled the ball onto the pacier Jimmy Quinn who popped a simple score.

When Furlong added a free the lead was out to eight points but in fairness to the men from the seaside they never threw in the towel.

Paul Earls landed a free out of his hands from all of 50 yards. They moved big Joe Quinn from midfield to the edge of the square to try create something to breathe life into their challenge.

Carton operating further out the field now gathered possession and launched a ball into Quinn, with good use of his body he legally nudged his marker out of the way to collect the ball and as Keogh advanced of his line Quinn scuffled the ball under the keeper’s body to give Pat’s a reprieve.

However, Swinbourne took the bull by the horn to extinguish any hope of an unlikely comeback. First he struck a free over the bar, then showed great skill to curl over a beautiful point with the outside of his right boot.

As Pat’s threw more men forward in search of scores the tireless Furlong was seen in his own defence tidying up loose ball.

With five minutes to go Carton got his fourth of the day. Once more any chance to keep the pressure on was lost as Kirwan collected from the kick-out and took off into space to get his own score.

When Swinbourne nipped in to cut out the short Pat’s kick-out and point another score it was as good as over. There was still time for referee Keith Peppard to send off Jack Kelly for something he said.

More steady than a spectacular performance by Baltinglass who will be happy to top their group. For Pat’s Carton and Quinn were their most eye-catching players and they fought to the end when some of their colleagues had let their heads drop.

Baltinglass had the better play- ers with their superb half-back line of John Whelan, Mick Dowling and Tommy Cullen (who kept Paul Earls quiet) all to the fore. Furlong linking everything together with astute passes and option taking was excellent however Swinbourne was a class above, his array of shooting skills there for all to see.

Scorers – Baltinglass: Paudi Swinbourne 0-6 (1f), Lee Furlong 0-3 (1f), Jack Timmons 0-2, Robin Farrell 0-1, Jimmy Quinn 0-1, Niall Kirwan 0-1, John Whelan 0-1.

St Patrick’s: Johnny Carton 0-4 (2f), Joe Quinn 1-0, Paul Earls 0-1 (0-1f)

Baltinglass: Patsy Keogh; David Gethings, Jimmy Keane, Sean Parke; John Whelan, Tommy Cullen, Mick Dowling; Niall Kirwan, Peader Burke; Stephen Quinn, Jimmy Quinn, Robin Farrell; Jack Timmons, Lee Furlong, Paudi Swinbourne. Subs: Mark Ashton, John Gillespie.

Referee: Keith Peppard (Hollywood)

CLARA BLESSINGTON 4-10 2-14

CLARA produced their best championship performance this summer to put Blessington to the sword in an entertaining ladies Senior football championship clash at sunny Laragh last Saturday evening.

An outstanding display from Katie Miley saw her plunder 3-6 of her side’s total. This was no one woman show as she was well supported by Georgina Canavan, Heather Cullen and Naoise Baker.

The game started at a brisk pace with great tackling, hassling and blocking by both sets of defenders. Blessington’s Jess Brennan got the first score of the game with a simple free.

This spurred Clara into action however and a wellplaced long ball by Naoise Baker freed up rampaging full forward Miley who showed a great turn of pace to beat her marker before unleashing an unstoppable shot past the helpless Kim Connors in the Blessington goal.

Not to be outdone by her opposite number, Blessington’s full-forward Niamh Carroll replied with a good point on the run. Clara’s energetic corner forward started to influence proceedings now and from her high-octane game she produced a superb score as she used her pace to jink inside then out to bamboozle the Blessington before driving a point.

Blessington were having issues feeding Carroll in the danger zone due in no small part to the fact Clara were using a sweeper in the shape of Neasa Olohan. Olohan had a superb game in front of her full back line, mopping up the breaks and her reading of the game was a joy to behold.

Blessington had more success when they used their running game, with powerful bursts from Brennan and centre forward Shaunna Byrne bringing the west women level. By contrast the direct ball from Clara was causing havoc.

From another Baker bomb, Miley collected after sweet interplay with Cullen and wing forward Lauren Carter the ball found its way back to Miley who placed an expert finish beyond Connors to restore Clara’s cushion two minutes before the break. Points were exchanged between Blessington’s Sophie Cronin and Clara’s Cullen to close out a good first half.

Scores flowed for both sides on the resumption in a real back and forth contest before a crucial moment happened on the 40-minute mark stretched Clara’s lead to six points.

After Miley and Cullen linked again they set Carter in on goal her shot unfortunately hit the post however as it rebounded a Blessington defender could not get out of its way and it bounced off her and rolled agonisingly into the net.

Both teams continued to clip excellent points with Miley adding to her tally but Blessington having a wider variety of scorers through Brennan, Byrne and Shona O’Connor getting in on the act. Just when Blessington needed a goal to kick their challenge into gear they got it. O’Connor found Brennan who ghosted past the defence to rifle an effort into the top corner of the Clara goal.

That narrowed the gap to four points and when Cronin pointed it was game on. However once again Miley was on hand to quell the Blessington rebellion with another well worked team goal. Cullen found Caithlin Olohan who transferred to Miley and she struck a goal as the clock entered injury time.

However due to injuries referee Ciaran Walsh was to play eight minutes added time and when Brennan clipped a point and Carroll worked another Blessington goal we were back to a two-point game. Once more Miley stood up to be counted she collected a ball wide on the left touchline before cutting in on her right foot and pointing a majestic effort from an insane angle.

As Blessington chased a late, late goal to break Clara hearts, the defence held strong. Carroll had an effort just wide, Olohan bravely blocked a shot away and impressive keeper Aoife Byrne hacked a clearance downfield.

Finally, in the ninth minute of overtime Walsh blew the long whistle to put Clara their mentors and supporters out of their misery.

Blessington will be disappointed that they didn’t conjure a win. Their best players were Niamh Carroll, Shauna Byrne and Sophie Cronin. For Clara they had fine performers all over the park. Samantha McCoy, Naoise Baker, Laura Clarke, Heather Cullen and Canavan were all influential, but with a personal tally of 3-6 Miley has to be player of the match. An exhibition of full-forward play.

Scorers – Clara: Katie Miley 3-6 (3f), Heather Cullen 0-3 (1f), Caitlin Olohan 0-1 (O.G 1-0).

Blessington: Jess Brennan 1-3 (2f), Shauna Byrne 0-5 (2f), Niamh Carroll 1-2, Sophie Cronin 0-2 (1f), Shona O’Connor 0-1

Clara: Aoife Byrne; Emer Byrne, Sue Brady, Lisa Cahill; Patricia Byrne, Samantha McCoy, Kate Kennedy; Naoise Baker, Laura Clarke; Lauren Carter, Georgina Canavan, Caitlin Olohan; Heather Cullen, Katie Miley, Neasa Olohan. Subs: Ciara Duffy, Lorna Driver

Blessington: Kim Connors; Mallaidh Behan, Alana McMahon, Niamh Ellis; Sarah Peppard, Cara Hennessy, Amy Ryan; Maura Reid, Shona O’Connor; Jess Brennan, Shauna Byrne, Lauren Bird; Sophie Cronin, Niamh Carroll, Nicole Walsh. Subs: Roisin Ellis, Olivia Kinsella.

Referee: Ciaran Walsh