Corbet shoots out the lights as Clonaslee St Manman’s defeat Ballyfin in Laois SFC

Clonaslee St Manman’s survived an awful scare on Thursday evening, after almost letting a commanding lead slip through their grasp. But thanks to a titanic effort from Niall Corbet, they were able to hold off the Ballyfin comeback and force their way into the next round of the championship.

Clonaslee led by 0-7 to 0-0 after a blistering opening 20 minutes, but a gallant Ballyfin clawed their way back into the tie and trailed by just two points with less than ten minutes remaining on the clock.

Clonaslee St Manman's 1-14

Ballyfin 1-10

Ballyfin were beaten by Portarlington in their opening game while Arles-Killen bested Clonaslee St Manman's. The sides met in McCann Park, Portarlington for their first championship match in five years. But what a way to end that spell, as the two teams put on one of the best games this year’s championship has so far seen.

Clonaslee St Manman's got off to an unbelievable start. Niall Corbet opened the scoring before Cathal Lee curled over a second. Corbet tagged on a free before a second score from Lee made it 0-4 after 12 minutes.

Corbet then landed a free either side of a score from Bob Downey as Clonaslee stretched their lead to a staggering 0-7 inside 20 minutes. There was an uneasy feeling around the ground as Clonaslee threatened to close the game out even before the interval.

But Darragh Connolly finally got Ballyfin off the mark in the 22nd minute and quickly added a second, changing the course of the fixture entirely. Niall Corbet put another on the board for Clonaslee but the game soon took a huge swerve.

Connolly played in Sean Moore, who was fouled, leaving referee, Brendan McCann with no choice but to award the penalty. Moore stood up and drove the ball beyond Barry Kelly.

Seconds later and Eamonn Duff was in for another score for Ballyfin, and just before half time, Darragh Connolly kicked his third score to reduce the gap to a single point. Ballyfin's extraordinary fight-back saw them trail by just 0-8 to 1-4 at the break.

5 minutes into the second half, however, and Clonaslee raised a green flag. Cathal Lee looped the ball over the Ballyfin defence towards Niall Corbet. Eoin Connolly made a fine save but Corbet managed to convert the rebound.

Two frees apiece from Connolly and Corbet meant it was a 4-point game going into the final quarter. Jack Cleary and Bob Downey then traded scores before Sean Moore reduced the deficit to 3 with 10 minutes to play.

James Moore reduced the gap further but that was cancelled out by Jack Owens with five minutes to go. Corbet landed a sixth free before James Moore made it a one-score game yet again as the game entered stoppage time.

A Cathal Lee score in the 62nd minute finally decided the game with Clonaslee St Manman’s leaving the field four points better off.