Huge win for Carlow hurlers
Paddy Boland scores the first Carlow goal Photo: Pat Ahern
National Hurling League Division 1B
Carlow 2-26 Laois 0-29
Carlow consigned neighbours, Laois, to Division 2A hurling next year when they came late in this Division 1B game at O’Moore Park on Saturday.
Carlow got off to the better start with Marty Kavanagh (free), Evan Kealy and Jon Nolan all raising white flags. Laois replied and PJ Scully’s point from play saw the home side enjoy a spell where they shot five unanswered points. Aaron Dunphy’s two points on the trot saw them take a narrow lead.
The only goal of the half came on 11 minutes when Carlow laid siege to the home goal and Paddy Boland eventually flashed a close-range ground shot to the Laois net.
It was end to end stuff from there with Marty Kavanagh accounting for five points of the Carlow total which saw them take a narrow 1-13 to 0-14 lead at the interval.
The second half was a dogged affair but both sides remained true to their style of play with open hurling and players running off the ball in an attempt to pry open the respective defences.
With fourteen minutes left, yet another Dunphy point coupled with a great point from Fiachra C Fennell put Laois two points clear with the suggestion that they were set to drive on. While Kavanagh replied for the visitors with a point, Dunphy added two more points to the Laois total to put them into a three point lead.
Carlow dug ever so deep and a passing movement picked out Ted Joyce who made space for himself and fired the ball to the Laois net. The visitors turned the screw and with a dominant half-back line, chances and frees were earned. Donagh Murphy’s point was huge in the context of the game and two Kavanagh frees put Carlow into that dangerous two-point lead. With the game heading into the allocated three minutes of injury time, Chris Nolan scored his second point to put his side into an unbeatable position.
Laois had a couple of outside chances to grab an equaliser but Carlow held out for an historic victory.
M Kavanagh 0-13 (65 0-10fs), T Joyce 1-2, P Boland 1-1, J Nolan, C Whelan, C Nolan 0-2 each, James Doyle, E Kealy, John Doyle, Donagh Murphy 0-1each.
A Dunphy 0-16 (0-12fs), T Keyes 0-3, PJ Scully 0-3, A Corby 0-3, J Walsh 0-2, C Byrne, F C Fennell 0-1 each.
Brian Tracey; Paidi O’Shea, Dion Wall, Paul Doyle; Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Kevin McDonald, Jack McCullagh; Evan Kealy, Ciaran Whelan; Jon Nolan, Chris Nolan, Ted Joyce; John Doyle, Paddy Boland Marty Kavanagh. Subs: Conor Kehoe for Fitzpatrick (45), James Doyle for Boland (48), Donagh Murphy for John Doyle (58), Richie Coady for Joyce (62).
Cathal Dunne; Diarmuid Conway, Lee Cleere, Cody Comerford; Fiachra C Fennell, Padraig Delaney, Jordan Walshe; Aidan Corby, David Dooley; Aaron Dunphy, Tommy Keyes, Tom Cuddy; PJ Scully, Mark Dowling, Cormac Byrne. Subs: Donnchadh Hartnett for Delaney (28), James Keyes for Corby (53), James Duggan for Byrne (59), Padraic Dunne for Cleere (68), Willie Dunphy for Dowling (60)
Brian Keon (Gal58), way).
