Ardclough end semi-final jinx and ease past a disappointing Éire Óg Corrachoill
It was Evan Dempsey who opened the score at Hawkfield with a good point in the opening minutes of this, the first of the semi-finals in the Senior Hurling Championship. However, his sending off, a straight red card in the closing stages of the first half might well have been the nail in his side's coffin as Éire Óg Corrachoill struggled thereafter to keep a-pace with the Ardclough side.
It was not for his initial clash with Tony Spain that Dempsey was red-carded but rather for an off-the-ball incident which referee David Coady could not ignore.
Ardclough replied to Dempsey's opening score via Richie Hoban with Martin Fitzgerald and Tony Spain pointing before Fitzgerald raised the first green flag of the day. But Éire Óg Corrachoill threatened on goal with a shot from Liam Power which was saved by Aidan Buggle and another wide from Owen Houlihan saw Ardclough's lead widen.
Two frees from Johnny Enright kept his side in touch with an impressive point from Joe Dempsey. By now, it was 1 03 to 05 but Ardclough again upped a gear via Fitzgerald who brought his side's tally to 1 07 at half time, Éire Óg Corrachoill 0 05.
Ambrose Finnerty and the three Fitzgeralds and wing-half back closed down repeated attempts by Éire Óg Corrachoill who were now down to 14 men and would rue early wides and missed scoring oppportunities.
The second half opened well for the 14 men squad with points from Johnny Enright and Liam Power but the Fitzgeralds were on fire and picked off points with ease, along with one from Tony Spain to make it 1 14 to 10 as Enright kept his side in touch. Ardclough's wing back, Ronan Maguire imposed his talent on the game and even scored a point in the closing quarter.
A classic score from Owen Houlihan ignited his side but again, Johnny Reeves who subsituted for Colm Buggy, hit home a rasper of a goal (befitting any Kilkenny side) to make it 2 16 for the bee-stripped side. Tony Spain's final point brought the tally to 2 17 for the victors whilst points from Johnny Enright and Declan O'Toole closed the score sheet for Éire Óg Corrachoill at 12 points.
Despite a few scuffles during the second half threathening to erupt, good defensive work by Ardclough and their ability to take 'clean' points at every opportunity saw them run out easy victors.
A disappointing performance for the losers but for Ardclough and manager Cathal Fenton, it was the day that finally overthrew a 7-8 year semi-final jinx for the club.
"The lads worked hard and deserve their win today. I'm just happy to reach the final, it must be 7-8 years now and we've never progressed past the semi-finals" said the former club player who is supported by a background team of Ger Buggle, Liam Hogan and Dermot Coulston.
Ardclough: Aidan Buggle, Niall Coulston, Sean Buggle, Robbie Spain, David Collins, Ronan O'Malley, Ronan Maguire (1), Paudie Ryan, Peter Coleman (1), Richie Hoban (3:2f), Colm Buggy, Ambrose Finnerty, Phillip Fitzgerald, Martin Fitzgerald (1 04), Paul Fitzgerald (4).
Subs: Mikie Ryan for Richie Hoban (injured); Johnny Reeves (1 O1)for Colm Buggy; Phillip Fitzgerald for Niall Coulston and James Phelan for Paul Fitzgerald.
Éire Óg Corrachoill: Paul Dermody, Danny Boyle, Brian Fitzpatrick, Niall Connolly, Richie Whelan, Declan Curran, Kevin O'Connor (1), Owen Houlihan(2), Doe Dempsey (1), Danny Byrne, Johnny Enright (5), Liam Power (1), Paul Dennedy, Evan Dempsey (1).
Subs Declan O'Toole (1) for Danny Byrne and Barry Cormack for Niall Connolly.