Veteran O'Toole the scoring star as Éire Óg/Corrachoill ease to Junior Hurling Championship title
Broadford 0-10
Éire Óg/Corrachoill 1-17
Kildare JHC final
Veteran forward Declan O'Toole bagged 1-9 for himself as Éire Óg/Corrachoill's second team easily swept aside the challenge of Broadford with a solid 60 minute display in Saturday's Junior Championship final. O'Toole, who is in charge of the Raheens football side that will be contesting the Intermediate Championship final tomorrow(Sunday), led from the front, though Broadford's poor shooting ensured that they never really threatened to win themselves.
The opening 15 minutes of this game will not live long in the memory as both teams struck numerous wides and the play was generally sloppy, with most of the action coming from skirmishes and rucks for the ball. Broadford were slightly more accurate during those opening exchanges however, and led by their captain, Dean Hanley, they put three points on the board before Éire Óg/Corrachoill offered any response.
Aaron Smyth opened the scoring after three minutes, before Hanley floated over a free and then crept a shot inside the upright with a sensational effort from the righthand touchline, putting the men from the Offaly border in a commanding looking position. Éire Óg/Corrachoill eventually got off the mark in the 18th minute when Declan O'Toole set up Vincent Feeney to point, before JP Crotty then slotted over a free to cut the gap to one.
O'Toole levelled matters with a beautiful effort from halfway, before Broadford responded with another score from Smyth. Pauric Ryan and Hanley then swapped points at either ends of the pitch as the game began to really come to the boil, and it was around this period that the thundering challenges started to become more ferocious.
It would be Éire Óg/Corrachoill that would go into the break with the lead however, as Crotty pointed a '65 before O'Toole got his second of the game from close range to give Éire Óg/Corrachoill a 0-6 to 0-5 advantage.
From the moment the second half started it was complete dominance for Éire Óg/Corrachoill however, as they continue to tally up the points in an impressive display. O'Toole was the dominant figure in this half of hurling, guiding his team through with serious composure as he remained accurate from play as well as taking over free-taking duties.
Hanley scored Broadford's only point of the third quarter within six minutes of the restart, but Éire Óg/Corrachoill struck five points during that period as O'Toole landed three, while Ryan and substitute Cathal Carr also raised white flags. Caelum Flanagan eventually ended the dominance for a brief moment, but O'Toole posted four of the next five points while Carr also added another score to his own tally as Éire Óg/Corrachoill put the game beyond all doubt.
Mickey Barea and Hanley pointed for Broadford on the run in, but O'Toole's 57th minute goal put the gloss on a stirring individual display and a fine team performance for Éire Óg/Corrachoill.
Scorers for Broadford: D Hanley 0-5(3f), A Smyth 0-2, C Flanagan, B Reilly and M Barea 0-1 each.
Scorers for Éire Óg/Corrachoill: D O'Toole 1-9(3f), R Ryan 0-3(1f), C Carr and JP Crotty(1f, 1'65) 0-2 each, V Feeney.
Broadford
T Reilly; J Dempsey, C Flanagan, D Fox; S Regan, D Ryan(D Dowling 32mins), D Carroll; G Scanlon, S Flanagan; D Hanley, L Flynn, C Flanagan; M Barea, G Lennon(M Kelly 43mins), A Smyth.
Éire Óg/Corrachoill
J Dunney; B Reilly(A Delmar 41mins), C Curran, B Connolly; P Tierney, M Kelly, A Deegan; K Monaghan, JP Crotty; D O'Toole(E O'Brien 57mins), V Feeney, R Whelan; S Gleeson, P Ryan, T Cullen(C Carr 40mins).