Celbridge capture Reserve Division 2 title in high-scoring final with Eadestown

Celbridge battled their way to the Division 2 title on what was a perfect Sunday afternoon for football in Hawkfield (5-13 to 4-11). The men in their red away strip held the lead by the minimum at the break, and their goals set them on their way. Ben Nicholl’s hat-trick wasn’t enough for Eadestown to turn over the deficit.

Celbridge struck first for their opening goal after three minutes, when Bryan Flynn slid in a lovely goal. Eadestown’s response was immediate, when Ben Nicholl cut through the centre of the opposing defence to bury his first of his two first-half goals. The brace would be completed ten minutes later, when his shot had too much power for Senan Cuffe despite the Celbridge man’s excellent save.

The third goal for Eadestown came from Max Sargent, who improvised on the ground to kick the ball into the net.

Celbridge worked their way back into the game however, and sandwiched between two excellent two-pointers from Bryan Flynn and Davy Hughes was an expertly placed goal from Darragh Finnegan. This gave Celbridge a 2-7 to 3-3 interval lead.

READ NEXT: Kildare manager reflects on emotional quarter-final played after his father’s passing

Cian Bolton landed a lovely two-pointer to level for Eadestown on 33 minutes, but after regaining their lead, Ross Maycock put the ball past Charlie Carroll on 37 minutes, and were six clear five minutes later, until Eadestown pushed for a revival. Starting with goalkeeper

Charlie Carroll’s excellent two-pointed free, the gap was cut down to just two by the time Cillian O’Neill struck for Celbridge in the 49 minute.

Goal number five came three minutes later, when Darragh Finnegan palmed home a pass squared to him by Davy Hughes, and a brace of points from Johnny Owens. Eadestown had the final say, which concluded in a superbly taken finish from Ben Nicholl, who completed his hat-trick.

CELBRIDGE: Senan Cuffe; Eoghan Light, Niall Donnelly, Darragh Morrison; Kevin Gorman, Cian Powell, Cillian Devlin; Conor Plunkett, Darragh Colton; Darragh Finnegan 2-0, Davy Hughes 0-4 (1two-pointer, 0-1free), Bryan Flynn 1-4 (1two-pointer); Cillian O’Neill 1-0, Johnny Owens 0-2, Tadhg Halpin 0-2 (0-1free). Subs: Paddy Wall for Eoghan Light (24), Ross Maycock 1-1 for Conor Plunkett (34), Odhrán Conaty for Cian Powell (46), Ronan Brophy for Darragh Finnegan (53), Darragh Archbold for Tadhg Halpin (57).

EADESTOWN: Charlie Carroll 0-2 (1two-pointer free); Paul Gavin, Kevin Dunne, Daniel Sargent; Danny Walsh, Cian Cahill, Tom Mernagh 0-1; Cian Doyle, Jack Morrin; Max Sargent 1-2, Jack Kelly, Daragh Behan; Conor Martin 0-1, Maurice Sexton, Ben Nicholl 3-1. Subs: Cian Bolton 0-3 (1two-pointer, 0-1free) for Maurice Sexton and Ruairí Flynn for Danny Walsh (half-time), Paddy Brady for Jack Morrin (46), Oisin Dillon for Conor Morrin Liam Walsh 0-1 for Cian Doyle (57).

Referee: Jamie Hoban.