Longford hurlers fail to reach league final as Warwickshire come out on top

Warwickshire . . . 1-16   Longford . . . 1-12

Hard hit by the absence of a few regulars, the Longford senior hurlers failed to reach the Division 3B league final after crashing to a disappointing defeat against Warwickshire at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday.

The injured David Buckley and Charles Flynn, along with key midfielder Paddy Lynam (unavailable) and the suspended Keelan Cox, did not feature for the home side on this occasion with the manager Adrian Moran now focused on the Lory Meagher Cup Championship which starts with a home game against Lancashire on Sunday April 14.

While Longford led by five points  (1-9 to 0-7) with a determined delivery from wing back Evan Tully creating the opportunity for Micheal Mulcahy to score the goal with seven minutes gone in the game, Warwickshire dominated the second half to come out on top in the finish and now face Fermanagh in the title decider next weekend.

Inspired by their outstanding midfielder Kevin McKernan who fired over a total of seven points (six from play) during the course of the semi-final which was watched by a sparse attendance who braved the bitterly cold weather, the visitors outscored Longford by 1-9 to 0-3 on the changeover over with the significant advantage of the strong wind in their favour. 

The ball broke kindly into the path of full-forward Luke Hands who found the back of the net in the 42nd minute to close the gap to just the minimum of margins and the force was now firmly with Warwickshire who were full value for their victory. 

LONGFORD: Pat Burke (Ringtown, Westmeath); Diarmaid Caslin (Longford Slashers), Eamon Allen (Kilmacud Crokes), Karl Murray (Longford Slashers); Daire Regan (Longford Slashers), Johnny Casey (Longford Slashers), Evan Tully (Wolfe Tones Mostrim); Reuben Murray (Longford Slashers 0-7, 6 frees), Sean Lancaster (Castlepollard, 0-1); Maitiu O’Donohoe (Wolfe Tones), Cathal Mullane (Wolfe Tones, 0-2), Dan Crossan (Clonguish Gaels, 0-1); Darragh Caslin (Longford Slashers, 0-1), Stephen Gregg (Clonguish Gaels), Micheal Mulcahy (Longford Slashers, 1-0).

Subs:- Rory Maher (Longford Slashers) for Diarmaid Caslin (blood, 45 mins); Diarmaid Caslin for S Gregg (49 mins); David Gregg (Clonguish Gaels) for Darragh Caslin (65 mins); Pearse McNally (Wolfe Tones) for S Lancaster (66 mins). 

WARWICKSHIRE: Conor Cummins; Alex Hanley (0-1), Dan Ryan, Noel Lenehan; Oisin  Slattery, Ciaran McKeague, Breen Fallon; Kevin McKernan (0-7, 1 free), Eamonn Brannigan; Paddy Hands, Jack Grealish (0-3, 2 frees), David Devine (0-4, 2 frees); Kelvin McGee (0-1), Luke Hands (1-0), Dan Lowry.

Subs:- Ian Dwyer for P Hands (30 mins); Joe O’Connor for B Fallon (half-time); Robbie Duggan for L Hands (64 mins). 

Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford).