In-form Monaleen prove too good for Mungret St Paul's in Limerick senior hurling championship

MONALEEN made it three wins from three games in Group 2 of the Whitebox Limerick senior hurling championship after seeing off city rivals Mungret St Pauls on a 2-23 to 1-19 scoreline in Claughaun on Friday evening.

Goals in the 20th and 21st minutes from Donnacha Ó Dálaigh and Joseph Fitzgerald paved the way for Monaleen to hold an 11-point half time lead, and despite a spirited second half showing by Mungret, they were full value for the victory.

Too often in the opening half, Monaleen had time to pick out the right man in the right position with Ó Dálaigh, Dara Ferland and Eoghan O’Driscoll finding space with ease.

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Darragh Langan and Lorcan Lyons marshalled a watertight defence against what was a toothless Mungret first half showing.

They improved dramatically after the break with Liam Lynch leading the charge. They did drag Monaleen back to within four points after Conor O’Halloran’s goal but didn’t have enough left in the tank to mount a further challenge in the final 10 minutes.

Monaleen took advantage of some early wayward shooting from their opponents to land the first four scores.

Ó Dálaigh (2), Matthew Fitzgerald and Langan all hit the target before a spell of slack shooting of their own ensured Mungret stayed within reach.

Niall Mulcahy got Brian Begley’s side on the board with 11 minutes on the clock but O’Driscoll soon restored the four-point advantage.

Matthew Fitzgerald’s free and a classy Ronan Lyons strike, either side of a Mark O’Brien placed ball, further ensured Monaleen’s dominance.

Right on the 20 minute mark, Ó Dálaigh fired in the first goal. He took advantage of a perfectly placed Lorcan Lyons delivery, rounded his marker and hit the back of the net.

Langan then sent over a fine point from distance before Fitzgerald linked up with Ferland and the Monaleen midfielder added a second three pointer to see his side 2-8 to 0-2 clear.

Three of the next four points was Mungret’s response with Brian O’Meara, Barry Duff and Mulcahy all raising white flags.

Lorcan Lyons, Ferland and Ó Dálaigh made sure Monaleen were back on track soon after as they cruised to a 2-12 to 0-7 half time advantage.

Mungret would have been expecting a sharp second half start but it was Monaleen that provided the spark with scores from O’Driscoll, Lorcan Lyons and Ferland that stretched their lead to 14.

However, Mungret then hit a purple pitch that saw them score six points in the space of five minutes before Lorcan Lyons stopped the mini-comeback.

Brendan Giltenane and Luke Murphy traded blows in the lead up to O’Halloran providing a lifeline after great work from Duff.

O’Halloran’s goal brought Mungret to within six but Monaleen never looked in any danger of collapsing and finished with a seven-point winning margin.

SCORERS: Monaleen: Donnacha Ó Dálaigh, Joseph Fitzgerald (0-2 frees) 1-4 each, Lorcan Lyons (0-1 free), Dara Ferland 0-3 each, Eoghan O’Driscoll, Darragh Langan 0-2 each, Matthew Fitzgerald (0-1 free), Ronan Lyons, Luke Murphy, Ben Hayes and Eoghan Maher 0-1 each; Mungret St Pauls: Liam Lynch 0-6 (3f), Niall Mulcahy and Mark O’Brien (3f) 0-3 each, Conor O’Halloran 1-0, Brian O’Meara and Cian Moloney 0-2 each, Barry Duff, Fintan Fitzgerald and Brendan Giltenane 0-1 each.

MONALEEN: Jamie Power; Simon Griffin, Bryan Canny, Noel Clancy; Ronan Lyons, Darragh Langan, Lorcan Lyons; Joseph Fitzgerald, Lochlann McHale; Luke Murphy, Eoghan O’Driscoll, Andrew La Touche Cosgrave; Dara Ferland, Matthew Fitzgerald, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh. Subs: Ben Hayes for La Touche Cosgrave (33 mins, inj), Eoghan Maher for Fitzgerald (40 mins), Conall O Duinn for Griffen (49 mins).

MUNGRET ST PAUL'S: Conor O’Brien; Jack McCarthy, Matt O’Sullivan, Liam Harrington; Billy Molyneaux, Fintan Fitzgerald, Eoin O’Doherty; Cian Moloney, Brian O’Meara; Barry Duff, Brendan Giltenane, Niall Mulcahy; Conor O’Halloran, Liam Lynch, Mark O’Brien. Subs: Pat Begley for O’Brien (h-t), Cian O’Brien for Giltenane (49 mins), Sean Duff for Mulcahy (52 mins), Conor Flahive for O’Sullivan (57 mins).

Referee: Kieran Guina (Feohanagh-Castlemahon).