Cuchulainns 2-09
Baileborough 0-10
2 goals in a 15 minute 2nd half purple patch for the home team was enough to earn all 2 points in this encounter.
After been resoundingly bet last week by a very strong Coothill team the home team started of this affair not as they expected as Baileborough came out of the blocks flying and were ahead by 5 points to 1 after 15 mins mainly due to their accurate free taking. County man Conor Gilsenan slotted a couple of long range frees in this opening period which the away team looked like running away with. In the first 10 minutes, both sides were guilty of missed chances, with the home team having the bulk of the chances early on.
The first real goal chance of this game came in the 15th minute, but the Baileborough wing forward cracked the ball of the crossbar and away to safety much to the relief of the home team. It was after one of the Baileborough Midfielders received the dreaded black card that Cuchulainns started to get a foothold around the middle of the park.
Conor Smith (3) and Marty Lynch fired the home team back into the lead with 4 unanswered points with Smith looking increasingly dangerous inside. Kilian Lynch popped up with a point from wing back before Seamus Clarke added another, after good work by Smith gave Clarke the opportunity to fist to the net but it sailed over the bar to go into the break with a narrow 1 point lead.
Half Time
Cuchulainns 0-07
Baileborough 0-06
Cuchulainns maintained the pressure on the B’boro defence straight away after the restart and Smith popped over his 4th point of the day after good work by Conor Flanagan. The home team eventually breached the Baileborough goalmouth in the 45th minute, with Conor Smith rising highest to a long ball played in from midfield to flick to the net. Baileborough tapped over another free before Terry Keating sent over a massive long range point from outside the 45 yard line after coming on for the injured Adrian Taite.
Seamus Clarke then finished a free flowing move all the way from the full back line to the net and gave Cuchulainns a comfortable 8 point lead with 10 to go.
At this stage all was going well for the home team until Aoghan Daly received his 2nd yellow card of the day and sent to the line. Relentless pressure from the away team was to follow but they could only muster up 3 points in the final 10 mins to give Cuchulainns a 5 point win.
Cuchulainns: M Clarke; M Lynch (0-2), J Flanagan, K O’ Connell; K Lynch, R O’ Connell, S Lynch; A Taite, C Flanagan; A Daly, G Daly, D Carolan; S Clarke (1-1), C Smith (1-5), D Foxe. Subs: T Keating (0-1) for Taite; R Clarke for G Daly.
Referee: Margaret Farrelly
