Croagh-Kilfinny score convincing win over Granagh-Ballingarry in Limerick premier intermediate hurling championship

“FIRST match ever up in premier intermediate, you're thinking about survival but now, after three wins, we want to see how far we can go.”

Manager James Hall was scarcely hiding his delight in Rathkeale's Mick Neville Park on Thursday evening when his Croagh-Kilfinny team not only showed their ambitions with an impressive 2-24 to 1-13 dismissal of neghbours Granagh-Ballingarry but also leaves the winners in a very strong position to make the semi-finals of county hurling's second championship.

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Precision set Croagh-Kilfinny on the road to victory early on as they shot just three first-half wides compared to the ten racked up by their opponents while their second goal just after the restart killed off any chance of a Granagh recovery.

However, the result wasn't just down to the winners taking the chances that came their way. Throughout the entire hour, their ability to cut off opportunities, string passes together and keep the pressure on their opponents over the entire expanses of the pitch left them dictating the pace and the pattern of the play right from the throw-in.

Such was the buy-in into the team effort, that every moment of danger to their lead was quickly snuffed out.

Lining out without two of their main finishers, Granagh-Ballingarry might have found rhythm to their attack had the Croagh-Kilfinny side not marched into an immediate five-point lead and they could never quite overcome the pressure to respond.

It was one of those nights that started on the wrong foot for Granagh-Ballingarry and just never got better as they were forced to take chances they normally wouldn't consider.

In contrast, Croagh-Kilfinny started on fire as Cian O'Carroll pointed a '65' and notched two points from play before Granagh-Ballingarry got the chance to settle down.

However, when they did and evened up the share of possession, they wasted it all on five successive wides.

Even when they did find the target with goalie Denis O'Connor's monster pointed free from well inside his own half, the response was immediately overtaken by points from Bryan Flynn and O'Carroll before they finally found some stability coming up to the quarter mark as Luke Flynn's pointed free was cancelled out by Bryan Flynn, while Michael Russell's score was responded to by O'Carroll's free before Croagh skipper James Lanigan stretched the margin out to five.

After Paudie Murphy and Andrew Meade swapped points, the Knockfierna club suddenly brought themselves back into contact when Tom Horgan soloed on from the right wing and drilled the sliotar to the net.

However, the elation of their supporters was quickly silenced when the next Croagh-Kilfinny attack was pounced on by James Lanigan who jinked past several challenges to shoot inside O'Connor's far post.

Russell managed a point in reply and it could have been better had Luke Flynn's shot come back off the base of the upright.

However, that proved to be the signal for the Kilfinny men to turn the screw again as O'Carroll from a free, Séamus O'Carroll's point from play, another Cian O'Carroll free and Meade all found the target while their opponents were adding to their wides tally but they did manage the final score of the half as Flynn reduced their deficit to 1-14 to 1-7.

Granagh-Ballingarry powered into the restart, drew a free for Flynn to point. However, after O'Carroll's pointed free was met by Murphy's score in reply, the buzz was silenced when Andrew Meade raced in from the right to give O'Connor no chance whatsoever of stopping his pinpoint strike.

Substitute Nessan Leahy then followed up with a point and, after Flynn replied from a free, O'Carroll's pointed free and scores from Bryan Flynn and O'Carroll's enormous strike from well inside his own half had the gap out to 12 points and the game all but won before even the third quater had ended.

As the floodlights came on, play settled down to tit-for-tat. Luke Flynn's score from a free was met by Laningan's score. 

Another long range O'Carroll strike was replied to by points from Russell and Meade and then by Luke Flynn's free.

The Croagh-Kilfinny subs added an injection of energy to the closing minutes to draw a pair of frees for O'Carroll to convert and finish the night's scoring.

SCORERS: CROAGH-KILFINNY: Cian O'Carroll 0-12 (7 frees, 1 '65'), Andrew Meade, James Lanigan 1-3 each, Bryan Flynn 0-3, Séamus O'Carroll, Conor Lenihan, Nessan Leahy 0-1 each; GRANAGH-BALLINGARRY: Luke Flynn 0-6 (5 frees), Michael Russell 0-3, Tom Horgan 1-0, Paudie Murphy 0-2, Eoin Horgan, Denis O'Connor (free) 0-1 each.

CROAGH-KILFINNY: Dave Power; Denis Lenihan, Aidan O'Shea, Eoin Barry; Tom McMahon, Barry Lenihan, Jack Lenihan;Owen Dee, Séamus Lenihan; Andrew Meade, Bryan Flynn, James Lanigan; John Wall, Cian O'Carroll, Séamus O'Carroll. SUBS: Nessan Leahy for Owen Dee (half-time), Liam Lenihan for Séamus Lenihan (39 minutes), Brian Hannon for Jack Lenihan (injured, 48 minutes), Owen Dee for Bryan Flynn (injured, 55 minutes).

GRANAGH-BALLINGARRY: Denis O'Connor; Eoghan Casey, John Kealy, Mark O'Shea: Eoin Horgan, Jack Cagney, Ronan Mullane; Darragh Casey, Brian Sheedy; Michael Russell, Luke Flynn, Tom Horgan; Eoin Lynch, David Condron, Paudie Murphy. SUBS: Jack Mulqueen for Eoin Lynch (43 minutes), Josh Mulcaire for Tom Horgan (43 minutes), Jack Harnett for Jack Cagney (53 minutes).

REFEREE: Kieran Guina (Feohanagh).