Éire Óg Corrachoill power into U21 final showdown with Naas thanks to win over Celbridge in high-scoring clash

Éire Óg Corrachoill 3-19

Haven Hire U21 A Hurling Championship semi-final

You’ll not see too many games where a team starts the game a man down and finishes it with their full complement on the field, but Éire Óg Corrachoill made light of their first half disadvantage to a four-point win in a high-scoring meeting with Celbridge on Friday night.

Having to start the game with 14 players due to a lack of numbers, Éire Óg Corrachoill were eventually able to add a 15th member to their team when Cian Mullally came into the game at the start of the second half. Had they not been able to line out with 15 players by throw-in for the second half they would have conceded the game, which would have been an absolute shame for a team with plenty of talent.

They trailed by three points at the break against a Celbridge side who was led superbly by dual player Liam O’Flynn, with the pacey forward bagging 3-6 in a fine performance that threated to singlehandedly guide his side into the county final.

The early scores were tense, but Barry Cormack eventually broke the deadlock in the sixth minute with a point from the right wing before Senna Howley responded with a score for Celbridge following a lung-busting run. Conor Kielty nudged Éire Óg Corrachoill back into the lead, and he soon bagged the first of the eight goals on the night when he stroked home the rebound of a Cormack shot that had been excellently saved by Rob Clarke.

Celbridge offered an immediate response through their first of five goals as Howley’s long ball towards goal evaded Philip Tierney in the Éire Óg Corrachoill goal and landed in the net, while a point from Paul Hogan shortly afterwards levelled matters.

Éire Óg Corrachoill took control for a short spell after that as the lively Rory O’Neill clipped over a point before further efforts from Eoin O’Brien and Cormack arrived. The north Kildare side would go on to dominate the rest of the half however, with O’Flynn firing over a couple of points and Aaron Doran also getting on the scoresheet. Two goals in the space of five minutes ensured they would take a lead into the break, with O’Flynn netting his first of the night when he powerfully scythed through on goal, while his second arrived when the Éire Óg Corrachoill failed to deal with a tame looking John Clarke shot.

Éire Óg Corrachoill remained in touch thanks to a couple of points from O’Neill and one from Cormack, but they trailed by 3-5 to 1-8 at the break.

As Éire Óg Corrachoill gained parity in playing numbers they soon began to take control of the game at the beginning of the second half. Cormack opened proceedings with a pointed free, and while O’Flynn responded by clipping over a couple of fine points for Celbridge, Éire Óg Corrachoill burst into the lead as they bagged 2-3 in the space of six minutes. Rory O’Neill and Eoghan Dempsey plundered the goals for their side, while Cormack chipped in with three points from frees to establish a five-point lead.

O’Flynn kept the Celbridge flag flying as he registered another 1-2 in the final 10 minutes and a goal from Rob Clarke – moved from goalkeeper to full-forward – gave the blues some hope, but Éire Óg Corrachoill got over the line comfortably thanks to points from Dempsey, O’Brien and Cormack, while James Dolan hit their last of the night when angling over a beautiful effort from the left wing to cap a fine performance at centre-back.

Éire Óg Corrachoill meet Naas in the final, who themselves overcame St Columba’s in the other semi-final on Friday.

Scorers for Éire Óg Corrachoill: B Cormack 0-9(6f), E Dempsey 1-2, C Kielty 1-1, R O’Neill and E O’Brien 0-3 each, C Mullally 1-0, J Dolan 0-1.

Scorers for Celbridge: L O’Flynn 3-6(1f), S Howley 1-1, R Clarke 1-0, P Hogan and A Doran 0-1 each.

Éire Óg Corrachoill

Philip Tierney; Barry Connolly, Michael Begley; Adam Flood, James Dolan, Declan Campbell; Barry Cormack, Murray O’Byrne; Eoin O’Brien, Rory O’Neill, Eoghan Dempsey; Eoin Wilson, Conor Kielty, Shane Gallen.

Sub used: Cian Mullally HT.

Celbridge

Rob Clarke; Sean Carroll, Cillian Byrne, Aaron Doran; Caomhan Ó’Hogáin, Sean O’Sullivan, Sean Leonard; Paul Hogan, Senna Howley; John Clarke, Liam O’Flynn, Ciaran O’Shaughnessy; Cian Doyle, Joe Leonard, Cian Quigley.