Hurling

For the second time in the 2009/10 season, Cistercian College, Roscrea edged out Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar in dramatic circumstances in the Leinster Colleges senior hurling ‘B’ championship, with last Friday’s astonishing turnaround in injury-time in Rath, County Offaly cruelly eliminating Niall O’Brien’s charges at the penultimate round stage.

It will be of no consolation to the losers that they were the better team on the day, but a lack of concentration in the dying minutes was to prove fatal, as an unanswered 1-2 in the first five of the six added minutes (which seemed excessive) propelled the school on the Offaly/Tipperary border to the provincial final.

Despite the bitter cold, conditions were ideal for hurling in the Drumcullen ground, near Kilcormac. Coláiste Mhuire’s Niall O’Brien opened the scoring with exactly a minute played, but Kevin O’Connell soon equalised with a well-taken score. Aonghus Clarke restored the Mullingar side’s lead from a routine free as the action continued to move from end to end. Cathal Scally, whose long-range freetaking was right out of the very top drawer, pointed an 80-metre free in the seventh minute. However, the winners had a purple patch between the eighth and 13th minutes, rattling up 1-3 without reply in that period. Alert corner forward Rory Skelly whipped in a goal, after Conor Lynch failed to hold the sliotar under pressure, and points followed from David King (two frees) and Micheál Vaughan.

It was all square by the 19th minute, an Aonghus Clarke free from 50 metres preceding an opportunist goal from his Castletown-Geoghegan clubmate, Neal Kirby in a goalmouth scramble. Reliable freetaker David King restored Roscrea’s lead but another monster strike from a free by Cathal Scally was superbly met in midair by Neal Kirby for a great goal for Coláiste Mhuire in the 23rd minute. Micheál Vaughan and Kieran Yourell (a terrific solo score) exchanged points. The latter player scored his second point in the last minute of normal time – he seemed to have a goal on his mind – but Roscrea rounded off first-half scoring in injury-time courtesy of a fine point from 60 metres by Daniel Africano. At the break, Coláiste Mhuire led by 2-6 to 1-7.

David King reduced the deficit to the bare minimum within three minutes of the resumption, from another free. However, three points in an impressive four-minute spell opened some daylight for the boys in green and white, all three coming from defenders, as Patrick Laide’s wonderful score from play was followed by two fabulous converted frees from Cathal Scally. Daniel King (35 metres) and Cathal Scally (from the halfway line) traded points from frees, leaving Coláiste Mhuire ahead by 2-10 to 1-9 at the midpoint of the half. Aonghus Clarke came close to finding the net, following yet another huge free by Scally, before the losers’ two midfielders combined for Willie McGrath to slot over a lovely point in the 17th minute.

David King and Aonghus Clarke exchanged points from frees, before Neal Kirby put the Mullingar lads six points to the good with an opportunist point. A successful free by David King and a neat effort from Rory Skelly reduced the gap to four points and this remained as Coláiste Mhuire’s advantage when Jack O’Driscoll and Niall O’Brien traded points in the dying moments of normal time. Coláiste Mhuire seemed certain winners, but Cistercian College continued to plug away and David King’s low shot crept into the net from a 20-metre free, in the third minute of added-time. The same player then equalised from a 50-metre free and extra-time looked on the cards when Rory Skelly’s shot went just wide. However, there was still time for Kevin O’Connell to emerge as his side’s hero with a last-gasp point, following Damien Egan’s long-range free. Aonghus Clarke was unable to get in a shot in the last action of the contest and a dejected Mullingar side soon left the pitch as their opponents celebrated a classic get-out-of-jail victory.

Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar: Conor Lynch; Thomas Egan, Cathal Scally (0-4, all from frees), Shane McGovern; Conor Thompson, Patrick Laide (0-1), Brian McLoughlin; Willie McGrath (capt) (0-1), David Gavin; Shane Fagan, Kieran Yourell (0-2), Aonghus Clarke (0-3, all from frees); Niall O’Brien (0-2), Tadhg Kelly, Neal Kirby (2-1).