Match Report - Division 4A League

Clonard 4-18 St. Paul's 1-5

Clonard was the venue for this round 5 division 4 match on a mild and pleasant Sunday afternoon when St. Paul's of Clonee travelled to Clonard looking for their first victory of 2017. Clonard were without their two minors and also without their overseas army man Jason Dowdall, but did welcome back county man Adam Flanagan in the middle of the field.

The Clonard pitch was looking well after its early morning roll and cut and a nice crowd convened to view the action when referee Patrick Foy threw in the ball, and Clonard meant business from the first whistle when the imposing Flanagan knocked the ball down and it was passed to the on-rushing Eoghan Connolly who sent it over the black spot with just 19 seconds on the clock.

The Clonard players were dominating proceedings and combined well all over the field as Pauls struggled to cope with runners from half back and midfield. Scores were taken at ease as both Adam Flanagan and full forward Ian Campbell knocked over two each and Gary Raleigh found the net after only 5 minutes.

It wasn't all good news for Clonard however as marquee forward Ryan Raleigh had to be replaced by Alan O'Donoghue after 15 munites with a reoccurence of a hamstring injury suffered earlier in the year, but O'Donoghue did make his presence felt and found Gary Raleigh with a perfect long pass and 'Gaz' made no mistake to net his second goal of the afternoon.

St. Pauls only highlight of the first half was a late goal when a free from the ground dropped short and a Clonee forward gathered it and made no mistake from seven yards out to shoot to the net past the helpless Paul Sheridan. The half time whistle sounded and Clonard led 2-10 to 1-01.

The second half saw Clonard continue to dominate possession, particular in the middle of the field as Adam Flanagan showed his quality and importance to the team and why he represents his county. He added another two points from play and setup the grateful Gary Raleigh for his hat-trick after just 40 minutes of play.

More points from play followed from the boots of Barry Connolly, Shane Dunne, and Cyril Treacy, the aforementioned trio been eager to to show management they want more game time. The Clonard backs also deserve mention as both Ger Foley and Eoghan Connolly tormented Pauls with strong runs at pace up the middle. Connolly topped off a fine performance with a deserved goal on 50 minutes, as Pauls could only find a couple of consolation points from frees.

The final whistle sounded as Clonard ran out victors on a scoreline of 4-18 to 1-5. The Clonee outfit held a long post-mortum after the game, being on the end of another heavy defeat. However with no underage structure in place it's proving difficult for them find long term improvement. Clonard now look forward to a trip to Donore in two weeks time in search of another valuable 2 points, but they surely won't find it as easy.

TEAM: 1.Paul Sheridan 2.Cyril Treacy (0-1). 3.Paddy Daly 4.Johnny Campbell 5.Eoghan Connolly (1-4) 6.Ger Foley 7.Dylan Flanagan 8.Stephen Reilly 9.Adam Flanagan (0-4) 10.Gary Raleigh (3-2 0-1f) 11.Eoin Treacy (0-1) 12.Ryan Raleigh (0-1) 13.Barry Connolly (0-1) 14.Ian Campbell (0-4) 15.Chris Doyle
SUBS: Alan O'Donoghue for R.Raleigh, Kenneth Darby for G.Raleigh, Shane Dunne (0-1) for E.Treacy