LIVE BLOG - Carlow v Longford at Croke Park

Follow the action live from Croke Park as Carlow take on Longford in the National Football League Division 4 Final
LIVE BLOG - Carlow v Longford at Croke Park

Carlow's Conor Doyle is tackled by Ronan Sweeney and Joseph Hagan of Longford Photo: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

57 mins - Point for Longford midfielder Liam Glennon - Carlow 1-17 Longford 2-12

55 mins - Brilliant driving, pacy run by Bambrick wins a free and Doyle slots over - Carlow 1-17 Longford 2-11

52 mins - McCarron's kick out is picked off by Hagan and with the Carlow goalkeeper scrambling back, Oran Kenny hits the net to get Longford back in the game - Carlow 1-16 Longford 2-11

50 mins - Blake wastes no time in making a big impression, lovely point - Carlow 1-16 Longford 1-11

49 mins - Blake is straight in and causes problems, good chance of a goal but Bambrick puts his shot the wrong side of the post, there may have been a man inside in a better position...

49 mins - Lovely give and go between Lee Walker and Conor Doyle and Walker goes through to score. It's his last touch as he is replaced by Chris Blake for Carlow's first sub - Carlow 1-15 Longford 1-11

47 mins - Goal for Carlow!! Lee Walker is denied by the foot of Eoin McGuinness but Carlow win back possession and on the second wave of the attack, Ross Dunphy makes no mistake! Carlow 1-14 Longford 1-11 

45 - Lynn is fouled and Matthew Carey ties the game from the free - Carlow 0-14 Longford 1-11

43 mins - Oran Kenny gets into a good position and levels the game but Carlow go win the kick out and go straight up the field and score through Ross Dunphy - Carlow 0-14 Longford 1-10

39 mins - First point of the second half is from a Liam Gavin free after Bambrick had been fouled - Carlow 0-13 Longford 1-9

5.53pm - Second half is underway with no subs on either team.

Carlow's Conor Doyle is tackled by Ronan Sweeney and Joseph Hagan of Longford Photo: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott
Carlow's Conor Doyle is tackled by Ronan Sweeney and Joseph Hagan of Longford Photo: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

Half time - That proves to be the last kick of the half and although Carlow have been the better side for large spells, Longford score the last four points of the half to go in level at the break - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-9

Mikey Bambrick tries to hold off Longford's Bryan Masterson Photo: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott
Mikey Bambrick tries to hold off Longford's Bryan Masterson Photo: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

35 mins - Very harsh free against John Phiri near the wing and it is then brought in close to the goal after some chat to the referee and Farrell has an easy tap over - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-9 

32 mins - And Reynolds again, five now for the Longford wing back - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-8

31 mins - Dessie Reynolds is one Longford player who has caused lots of problems for Carlow and he gets in for his fourth point of the half - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-7

30 mins- Nice finish from just inside the two point line by Joseph Hagan - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-6

28 mins - Padhraig Bolger has had a fine game attacking from wing back and he curls over his second point of the game so far - Carlow 0-12 Longford 1-5

27 mins - Conor Doyle bursts through the Longford defence and smashes his shot over the bar - Carlow 0-11 Longford 1-5

26 mins - Reynolds' earlier effort was close to a two pointer but this one is from beyond the arc - Carlow 0-10 Longford 1-5

25 mins- Huge chance for Carlow! Liam Gavin can't quite get the right contact close to goal after a flowing move but Carlow force Eoin McGuiness into overcarrying and Gavin converts the free - Carlow 0-10 Longford 1-3

24 mins - Dessie Reynolds hits back for Longford - Carlow 0-9 Longford 1-3

23 mins - Referee plays an advantage for a foul on John Phiri so Eoghan Ruth swings a boot at the ball and sends it soaring over the crossbar from outside the arc, great score! Carlow 0-9 Longford 1-2

21 mins - Good patient play ends with a nice score for Ross Dunphy, Carlow have responded well to the setback of conceding a goal - Carlow 0-7 Longford 1-2

19 mins - Carlow almost reply instantly with a goal of their own. Bolger played the ball across to Liam Gavin, it was a real chance but his shot was too high, although Carlow are glad to take the point - Carlow 0-6 Longford 1-2

18 mins - Goal for Longford. Ben McCarron can't quite hold a wickedly dipping shot and eventually Oisin O'Toole is able to fire to the net - Carlow 0-5 Longford 1-2

16 mins - From just a metre inside the two point arc and with a couple of defenders in front of him, Colm Hulton kicks the best score of the game so far - Carlow 0-5 Longford 0-2

14 mins - Something of a soft free free for Longford and Dylan Farrell gets their first score in over ten minutes - Carlow 0-4 Longford 0-2

9 mins - Ross Dunphy gets one v one with Bryan Masterson and draws the foul in front of goal, Liam Gavin easily converts - Carlow 0-4 Longford 0-1 

5 mins - No signs of nerves from Carlow as they have settled quickly into this game.

5 mins - Two quick points by Carlow, Padhraig Bolger and then Ross Dunphy - Carlow 0-3 Longford 0-1 

3 mins - Quick response by Longford as Oran Kenny levels - Carlow 0-1 Longford 0-1

2 mins - Lee Walker kicks the first score of the game into the Hill 16 end - Carlow 0-1 Longford 0-0

4.50pm -Confirmation of the starting team for Carlow is in:

Ben McCarron; Colin Byrne, Dara Curran, John Phiri, Niall Roche, Mark Furey, Padhraig Bolger; Eoghan Ruth, Conor Doyle; Paddy McDonnell, Colm Hulton, Mikey Bambrick, Liam Gavin, Ross Dunphy, Lee Walker.

4.41pm - Paul Broderick was part of the last Carlow to secure promotion from Division 4 and run out in a National League final in 2018 and he urged the current squad to enjoy every moment of the big occasion.

4.40pm - Some reading before the throw in. The Barrowside Gael has been trawling through the history books and details the scale of how big a victory it would be if Joe Murphy's team can left silverware here in Croke Park today

4.35pm - Welcome to this afternoon's Live Blog of the National Football League Division 4 Final between Carlow and Longford. Atmosphere is building on a sunny late afternoon in Croke Park.

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