The Harps hit top gear to see off Clann na Gael in Laois U-20 Hurling Championship
Goals from Justin Duggan (2), Eoin Delaney and Ross Deegan helped The Harps to a comfortable win
The Harps continued their push for a fifth consecutive Laois U-20 Hurling Championship title with a big win on Saturday evening against Clann na Gael in Clonad.
The reigning champions now have two wins from two and produced another impressive display despite difficult conditions, with persistent rain making the sliotar difficult to control throughout the contest.
Their senior championship-winning players once again played a major role, with Justin Duggan hitting two goals and Eoin Delaney and Ross Deegan also finding the net. Mark Downey, Donal Deegan, Jay Brophy and Tony Mahony were also among those to catch the eye, although it was another strong all-round performance from The Harps.
Duggan nearly opened the scoring inside the first minute, but Clann na Gael goalkeeper Jack Mulhall produced an excellent save to keep him out. John Onions got the first score of the evening, pointing a free after being fouled, before The Harps responded with the opening goal. Delaney and Downey combined to create the opportunity, with Downey picking out Duggan, who made no mistake with a powerful finish.
Clann na Gael responded strongly and moved back in front of The Harps on the scoreboard with three unanswered points. Dion O’Connor got one before Onions converted two frees. Tony Mahony got The Harps moving again when he pointed a 65 after Brophy saw an effort blocked, while Downey soon added another point.
The sides then exchanged scores, with Delaney and Mahony, from a free, on target for The Harps, while O’Connor and Onions, also from a placed ball, replied for Clann na Gael. Onions then converted another free to bring the teams level after 21 minutes, but it proved to be the last time the sides were any way close.
The Harps suddenly found another gear and struck for 2-1 in the space of five minutes to take firm control. Brophy created the opening for Deegan to fire home the second goal, before Downey finished off a strong run by sending over a point. The third goal followed soon afterwards. Mahony’s effort was batted away by Mulhall, but Delaney reacted quickest to the loose ball and finished to the net.
Onions converted another free before the interval, bringing his personal tally to six points, but The Harps went into the break with a commanding 3-5 to 0-8 lead.
Brophy added to that advantage immediately after the restart when he split the posts, although Clann na Gael responded through Evan McSpadden.
Mulhall again denied Deegan a second goal with an excellent save, but there was little he could do moments later when Duggan found the net for the second time. Brophy then added another point as The Harps continued to increase the gap.
Onions converted his seventh free after 38 minutes, but that proved to be Clann na Gael’s final score of the game. From there, The Harps took complete control and produced some excellent point-scoring under the Clonad lights.
Duggan finished with two goals and three points, including an excellent score from close to the sideline. Mahony also added three points, while Downey contributed two and Delaney one as The Harps comfortably saw out the remainder of the contest.
FINAL SCORE
The Harps 4-16
Clann na Gael 0-10
SCORERS— The Harps: Justin Duggan 2-3, Eoin Delaney 1-2, Tony Mahony 0-5 (0-2 frees, 0-1 65), Mark Downey 0-4, Ross Deegan 1-0, Jay Brophy 0-1. Clann na Gael: John Onions 0-7 (frees), Dion O’Connor 0-2, Evan McSpadden 0-1.
THE HARPS: Ethan Lafferty; Eoin Holland, Jack Kennedy, Aaron Mahon; Cormac Dunne, Donal Deegan, Jimmy Whyte; Ross Deegan, Liam Townsend; Lochlan Curran, Mark Downey, Tony Mahony; Eoin Delaney, Justin Duggan,Jay Brophy. Subs: Harry Donoghue for Townsend (43 mins), Conor Dempsey for R Deegan (49 mins), Joey Dempsey for Delaney (53 mins), Jamie Fogarty for Kennedy and Darragh Townsend for Duggan (Both 58 mins).
CLAN NA GAEL: Jack Mulhall; Billy Brennan, Mark Hearns, Ciaran Donohue; Charlie Hand, Patrick O'Callaghan, Liam Whelan; Evan McSpadden, Daniel Thornton; Paddy Farrell, Dion O'Connor, Ruaidhri Kavanagh; John Onions, Jim Norton, Bobby O'Connor. Subs: Jack O’Connor for Donohue (27 mins), Calum Keegan for Thornton and Ciaran Donohue for Hand (Both 55 mins).
Referee: Sean Higgins (Camross)