Kavanagh snatches draw with late equalising goal
Marty Kavanagh came to the rescue of St Mullins today Photo: ©INPHO/James Crombie
The sides will have to do it all again after a late, late goal from Carlow intercounty player, Marty Kavanagh, tied the scores in the final seconds of injury time to rescue his side in the Carlow senior hurling final at Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday.
There was an explosive start when Ciarain Kavanagh swooped for a Mount Leinster Rangers goal right from the throw-in. The reigning champions continued to press and led 1-4 to 0-1 after eight minutes. It was all action and at one stage Rangers led by seven points. The tide turned in the closing stages of the half with Jack Kavanagh netting from long distance.
Rangers hit back immediately and Eddie Byrne was on hand to rifle home from the edge of the small square. There was no end to the drama and once again Kavanagh fired to the bottom right hand corner of the Rangers net. Right on the whistle, Kavanagh’s brother, Marty, took the scoring pass and raised a white flag to leave Rangers only leading 2-9 to 2-7 at the interval.
It turned out to be an epic second half. Rangers threatened to pull away but just as they did in the opening half, St Mullins dug in. James Doyle registered three points while Conor Kehoe and Jason O’Neill were also on the mark for the challengers.
Rangers looked to have taken a significant lead when Chris Nolan and Joyce knocked over points to put the champions four clear. Then came the late revival with Kavanagh as the central figure. He had already missed two frees but he held his head to convert one and his goal strike was as good as any in his long career.
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— The GAA (@officialgaa) August 11, 2024
A dramatic finish in the @Carlow_GAA Senior Hurling Final as a late Martin Kavanagh goal results in a draw!@NaomhMoling 3-16@MLRangers 2-19#GAANOW pic.twitter.com/fFUKZouyvZ
T Joyce 0-7 (4fs), E Byrne 1-2, C Kavanagh 1-0, D Murphy 0-4, J Nolan 0-3, C Nolan, T Lawlor, K McDonald (f) 0-1 each.
M Kavanagh 1-8 (5fs), J Kavanagh 2-0, James Doyle 0-6, C Kehoe, J O’Neill 0-1 each
Dean Grennan; Michael Doyle, Michael Joyce, Sean Joyce; Evan Kealy, Kevin McDonald (Captain), Tony Lawlor; Richard Coady, Jon Nolan; Dean Tobin, Ted Joyce, Donagh Murphy; Ciarán Kavanagh, Edward Byrne, Chris Nolan. Subs: Conaill Fitzpatrick for Kavanagh (h/t), Diarmuid Byrne for Tobin (49).
Kevin Kehoe; Paídí O’Shea, Paul Doyle, John Doran; Ger Coady (Captain), Michael Walsh, Paudie Kehoe; Eamon O’Shea, Ciaran Harris; Jack Kavanagh, James Doyle (Dranagh), Conor Kehoe; Marty Kavanagh, John Doyle, Paddy Boland. Subs: Oisin Ryan for Doran (21), Jason O’Neill for Harris (h/t), Seamus Murphy for Ryan (55).
Paud O’Dwyer (Palatine).
