Limerick champions Castletown-Ballyagran bow out of Munster Junior 'B' club title race

LIMERICK junior B football champions Castletown-Ballyagran saw their interest in the Munster championship come to an end at the first hurdle when they fell 2-13 to 1-5 to Cork's Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas in Knockaderry on Sunday.

With the strong breeze behind them at the throw-in, Ó Mathúnas built up a lead of nine as they held their opponents scoreless in the first-half and turned it into a match-winning margin when they added a goal and a point on the restart.

Ballyagran turned the game into a contest when they reduced the deficit by more than half but they failed to keep the pressure up long enough before the winners rediscovered their scoring touch in the closing minutes.

Ó Mathúnas early use of the conditions resulted in three wides and Jack O'Callaghan blasting off the crossbar before O'Callaghan's free got them off the mark and, keeping up the pressure, Kevin O'Donovan and O'Callaghan put them three ahead.

Ballyagran's difficulties in getting out of their own half eventually told on their overworked defence when Robbie Lucey beat off the challenges boring in from the left and handpassed across the square to his brother Jamie to drill to the net.

The Limerick champions got into the game as the pressure eased for a few minutes but the tight game they were using wasn't getting enough passes together to get inside the scoring zone.

When the Cork men lifted it again, winning ball in midfield and the front men for Robbie Lucey's free, his shot from play and Gearóid O'Donovan shooting them into a lead of 1-6 without reply by the break.

They also got the restart that Ballyagran wanted as Matthew Draper rounded the advancing Darragh Clifford and laid off to Jamie Lucey to finish low to the net before O'Callaghan then added a free.

However, when Cian McNamara's fisted point finally got the South Limerick club off the mark, they found some fluency to their when it was followed by Michael McElligot's free and Edmond O'Donnell.

As the watch ticked over into the final quarter, an unlikely resurgence was taking place as Daniel Shelton was pulled down in the square for McElligot to blast home the penalty and then followed up with a free to reduce the margin to six.

He sent over another in reply to Robbie Lucey's breakaway point but that was as far as Ballyagran got as Ó Mathúnas brought on the fresh legs and. Despite having Patrick Crowley's goal disallowed for a square ball, the Cork side sailed out of danger with a closing burst of points from O'Callaghan, Kevin O'Donovan, Gearóid O'Donovan, Gavin Aherne and Draper.

SCORERS: DIARMUID Ó MATHÚNA'S: Jamie Lucey 2-0, Jack O'Callaghan 0-4 (2 frees), Robbie Lucey 0-3 (1 free), Kevin O'Donovan, Gearóid O'Donovan 0-2 each, Gavin Aherne, Matthew Draper 0-1 each; CASTLETOWN-BALLYAGRAN: Michael McElligot 1-3 (1-0 penalty, 0-3 frees), Cian McNamara, Edmond O'Donnell 0-1 each.

DIARMUID Ó MATHÚNA'S: Gavin O'Leary; Joseph O'Driscoll, Ronan McCarthy, Nick Hilliard; Cathal Mangan, Seán Crowley, Jeremiah Hurley; Gearóid O'Donovan, Kevin O'Donovan; Conor O'Sullivan, Matthew Draper, Robbie Lucey; Jamie Lucey, Seán Hennessy, Jack O'Callaghan. SUBS: Aaron Draaper for Conor O'Sullivan (half-time), Shane Corcoran for Joseph O'Driscoll (half-time), Patrick Crowley for Jeremiah Hurley (41 minutes), Ted Lorcan for Ronan McCarthy (51 minutes), Gavin Aherne for Seán Hennessy (60 minutes).

CASTLETOWN-BALLYAGRAN: Darragh Clifford; Kevin O'Leary, Richie Walsh, John McDermott; Edmond O'Donnell, Paul Hourigan, Harry Dore; Jack Walsh, Ben Herlihy; Ger Barry, Cian McNamara, Stephen O'Mahony; Bill Cagney, Barry McElligot, Daniel Shelton. SUBS: William Enright for John McDermott (half-time). Michael McElligot for Stephen O'Mahony (half-time), Séamus McElligot for Ger Barry (44 minutes), Cillian Cotter for Barry McElligot (44 minutes), Niall Dolan for Daniel Shelton (57 minutes).