S.F.L.Division 1
Tinryland 2-10 Bagenalstown Gaels 1-8
The home side were made to work hard before they gained their first win in this year’s S.F.L. division 1 against a determined Bagenalstown Gaels on Friday last.
Bagenalstown owned the ball in the opening stages with the elements in their favour and they opened their account in the 2nd minute with a point from their full forward Cian Doyle.
It took another 7 minutes for Tinryland to come to grips with the game and the sides were all square when one of Tinryland’s best players Diarmaid Walshe slotted over a wonderful point.
In the 11th minute Cian Doyle edged Bagenalstown ahead once again and they held this lead until the 20th minute when Diarmaid Walshe converted a free. Walshe repeated this act 3 minutes later and the home side stretched clear by 2 in the 24th minute when Walshe scored another beauty after good work By Conor Byrne and Jonah Dunne. The closing stages of the opening half saw Tinryland consolidate their lead with a great Mark Lawlor point following good play by Bobby Doyle and Diarmaid Walshe. The final act of the half was a well worked Jonah Dunne goal after an excellent lay off from Michael Hosey. A feature of the first half was a wonderful save by Tinryland goalie Chris Townsend.
Half time score Tinryland 1-5 Bagenalstown Gaels 0-2
When referee Sean McCormack re-started proceedings it was Bagenalstown Gaels that seemed to get a new lease of life. Cian Doyle slotted over a long distance free that netted 2 points and he scored another free in the 35th minute to leave only 3 points separating the teams.
Tinryland then began to ring the changes introducing James McGrath into the fray and he was only 2 minutes on the field when he opened Tinryland’s 2nd half account with a well struck point.
Two more Tinryland subs Conall O’Shea and Adam Mullen were then introduced as Bagenalstown began to stage a mini revival. Cian Doyle slotted over another point from a free in the 49th minute and 60 seconds later the sides were all square when corner forward Danny Carthy somehow found the Tinryland net after a scramble in the square.
This score seemed to spur Tinryland back into the groove and James McGrath regained the lead for the home side with 10 minutes remaining. Both sides then went in search of the winner and after Cormac Walshe had doubled the Tinryland lead the home sides supporters began to breath a little more easy when Conall O’Shea pointed after good play by Shane Redmond and Niall Lowry. Bagenalstown Gaels were not dead yet however and goalie Ciaran Cunningham struck a beauty of a two pointer with 2 minutes remaining to leave the minimum separating the teams once again.
Tinryland finally guaranteed the points when lively substitute Conall O’Shea rattled the Bagenalstown net in the 59th minute after a great pass from Mark Lawlor and James McGrath capped a great 20 minutes on the field with another Tinryland point on the stroke of full time.
One positive aspect from this game was the fact that referee Sean McCormack arrived at the venue with 4 umpires and 2 linesmen. Hopefully this will shortly be the norm for all Carlow games in the new rules era.
Tinryland: Chris Townsend, Conor Byrne, Conor Ryan, Cian McGuire, Sean Murphy, Michael Hosey, Danny Moran, Shane Redmond, Niall Lowry, Jonah Dunne 1-0, Diarmaid Walshe 0-4, Lorcan O’Connor,
Bobby Doyle, Cormac Walshe 0-1, Mark Lawlor 0-1. Subs: James McGrath 0-3, Conall O’Shea 1-1, Adam Mullen.
Bagenalstown Gaels: Ciaran Cunningham 0-2, Mark Kennedy, Darren Crooks, Liam McDonnell, Paddy Abbey, Danny Doyle, Thomas McDonnell, Jack McCullagh, Sean Wall, Eoghan Hickey, Billy Fitzpatrick, Keelan Guidera, Danny Carthy 1-0, Cian Doyle 0-6, Patrick Kelly.
Referee Sean McCormack
