Clarke snatches victory for Bagenalstown
Shane Clarke scored the winning point for Bagenalstown Gaels against Mount Leinster Rangers in Netwatch Cullen Park Photo: Pat Ahern
A point with the last kick of the game from captain, Shane Clarke, got 14-man Bagenalstown Gaels off to a perfect start of the senior football championship in this first round tie at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday.
The first half was a dismal affair with both sides struggling to create scoring chances. At one stage the amount of yellow cards issued outnumbered the scores.
A Cian Doyle eighth minute point nudged Bagenalstown Gaels into the lead. Three minutes later, Eoin Doyle levelled with a Rangers free. Exchanges were generally hard but fair. Rangers could have had two goals but Conaill Fitzpatrick pulled his shot just left and wide at the O’Hanrahan end of the ground.
That was in the opening minutes and at the end of the first quarter, Ciaran Cunningham spread himself well to deny Jack Cummins.
In a game of inches, Jamie Clarke and Oisin Doyle landed Gaels points with Robert Stafford showing a degree of patience before slotting another point.
With the clock ticking down to the interval, Eoin Doyle stood over a Rangers free on the right. It was not a kick for a right-footed player but it mattered not a whit as the delivery arrowed its way to the left-hand post. To the astonishment of the small crowd, Kevin McDonald came in quickly and punched to the net.
At the break Rangers led 1-2 to 0-3.
Three points after the interval from Tony Lawlor stretched the Rangers lead. Oisin Dillon’s second point gave the eventual winners something to aim for. After that the intensity grew with Bagenalstown exuding confidence. They struck for two goals in a matter of minutes through Jamie Clarke and Paddy McDonnell.
After that, Kevin McDonald had to settle for a Rangers point when his shot cleared the Bagenalstown crossbar. Eoin Doyle made it a one-point game before Stafford fired over his third point to give his side parity.
There was one last play and when Rangers were unable to keep possession, the green and white clad side swooped to deadly effect. The ball was worked forward and captain Clarke was deadly accurate from distance to give his side a dramatic victory.
J Clarke 1-1, P McDonnell 1-0, C Doyle (1f), O Dillon 0-2 each, J Farrell, S Clarke 0-1 each.
K McDonald 1-1, T Lawlor (1f), R Stafford 0-3 each, E Doyle 0-2 (fs).
Ciaran Cunningham; Tom Maher, Alan Corcoran, Andrew Casey; Jason Wall, Sean Wall, Thomas McDonnell; Jack McCullagh, Keelan Guidera; Darren Crooks, Jamie Clarke, Oisin Dillon; Shane Clarke, Cian Doyle, Paddy McDonnell. Subs: James Farrell for S Wall (h/t), Liam McDonnell for Maher (44), Mark McDonald for J Wall (59).
Willie Hickey; Jack Griffith, Jack Cummins, Tim Brennan; Sean Joyce, Donagh Murphy, Joe Dundon; Kevin McDonald, Tony Lawlor; Robert Stafford, Eddie Byrne, Declan Brennan; Conaill Fitzpatrick, Eoin Doyle, James Bible. Subs: Mark Dundon for Bible (13), Ed Fenlon for Brennan (35), Joey Dalton for D Brennan (47).
William Fanning (Ballon).
