Cushinstown rule
Replay win seals another final place
A STRONG start to the second-half staved off any potential Castletown comeback and ensured that Rathgarogue-Cushinstown qualified for a second successive Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship final with this replay win in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Friday.
The 2017 runners-up deservedly led by 0-8 to 0-3 at the break, but their rivals would still have harboured hopes of erasing that deficit.
However, Rathgarogue-Cushinstown issued a strong statement a mere 18 seconds after the re-start when county Senior Eoin Porter widened the gap to six, and ten scoreless minutes followed before the accurate Tadhg Cody made it 0-10 to 0-3.
Castletown captain David Deering had made a vital interception in between to ensure Daire Bolger didn’t set up Nicky Sinnott for a goal chance, and his team’s fortunes improved midway through the half after the introduction of the lively Danny Dixon who made an immediate difference.
Indeed, Castletown hit three points on the trot between the 42nd and 48th minutes to narrow the gap to four, with a Dixon effort followed by two Gavin Stamp frees (0-10 to 0-6).
Rathgarogue-Cushinstown settled again after Daire Bolger located Tadhg Cody to kick his third point, and this proved to be the last score as neither side registered in the 15 minutes that followed.
Castletown had one decent chance at the start of added time when Gavin Stamp soloed in from the left, but he didn’t get hold of his shot and it drifted wide.
Rathgarogue-Cushinstown had opened with intent, as Daire Bolger pointed an early free before Eoin Porter played a short free back to Brian O’Neill, accepted the return pass, and doubled the lead after a strong run.
Porter spent a lot of his time drifting away from his nominal full-forward posting and was picked up at various stages by Cian Bealin, Ross Cody and Joe Gardiner.
Darragh Brooks got Castletown off the mark with a shot that just cleared the crossbar in the seventh minute, with Nicky Sinnott replying before Brooks pointed again at the end of a move featuring Joe Gardiner and Shane Halpin (0-3 to 0-2).
Jonathan Kelly made a fine save to keep out a Brooks goal attempt, and this seemed to spur his team on to new heights as a brace of pointed frees apiece from Eoin Porter and Daire Bolger left them five clear by the 27th minute.
The margin was the same at half-time (0-8 to 0-3) after Aaron Condren and Tadhg Cody swapped scores, and Rathgarogue-Cushinstown never looked in danger once they made that positive start to a second period that featured just six points, three per team.
The win has set up an exciting coming weekend for the club.
Rathgarogue-Cushinstown: Jonathan Kelly; Paddy Murphy, Bryan Cody, Peadar Cody; Matthew Cody, Brian O’Neill, Ollie Bolger; Danny Martin Carroll, Bernard Furlong (capt.); Tadhg Cody (0-3), Daire Bolger (0-3 frees), Jason Dunne; Eric Cummins, Eoin Porter (0-4, 2 frees), Nicky Sinnott (01). Subs. - Ricky McGrath for Murphy, temp. (24-25), Aaron Ryan for Cummins (50), Luke O’Connor for Sinnott (54), McGrath for Dunne (60+1).
Castletown: James Flood; David Deering (capt.), Conor Cleary, Risteárd Kinsella; Cian Bealin, Colm Morris, Aaron Condren (0-1); Oisín Condren, Joe Gardiner; Ross Cody, Noel Morris, Marc Halpin; Shane Halpin, Gavin Stamp (0-2 frees), Darragh Brooks (0-2). Subs. - Yusuf Frih for Bealin (HT), Danny Dixon (0-1) for A. Condren (38), Joe Aherne for N. Morris (42), Kevin Morris for M. Halpin (50).
Referee: Kevin Kehoe (Our Lady’s Island).