Newcastle West power into Limerick Co SFC semi-finals at Claughaun's expense

NEWCASTLE West booked their place in the semi-finals of this year's Limerick county senior football championship after securing a deserved 1-15 to 1-7 quarter-final victory over Claughaun at a wet and blustery Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale on Sunday afternoon.

A powerful third quarter surge, in which they racked up seven points as well as succeeding in keeping their opponents scoreless, proved crucial to this Newcastle West success.

Backed by the diagonal breeze, the West Limerick side enjoyed a 1-4 to 0-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Newcastle West goal came courtesy of Sean Murphy who blasted to the net after he was set up by Brian Hurley.

Three of the winners early points were kicked from play by Limerick inter-county star Iain Corbett.

The heavy rain during the second quarter made for very difficult conditions with both sides managing to add just a single point to their tallies, an Eoin Hurley free for Newcastle cancelled out by a similar score from Claughaun's Gary Bateman.

2020 county intermediate champions Claughaun, who trailed 1-5 to 0-3 at half-time, were aided by the stiff breeze in the second half.

However, Newcastle West took a firm grip on the game in that third quarter, stretching their five point interval lead into a 12-point advantage by the second water break, 1-12 to 0-3.

The likes of Corbett, Cian Sheehan, Mike McMahon and Shane Stack added some excellent score for the winners.

To their credit, Claughaun rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponents 1-4 to 0-3. 

The city side's goal was scored by Cian Byrnes in the 51st minute, while Bateman kicked three further points, including two from frees.

However, Newcastle West were never in any danger of relinquishing their lead and scores from the likes of Sheehan, Diarmaid Kelly and McMahon eased them home.

SCORERS: NEWCASTLE WEST: Iain Corbett 0-4, Sean Murphy 1-0, Mike McMahon 0-3 (0-1 free), Eoin Hurley 0-2 (0-1 free), Cian Sheehan 0-2, Eoin Murphy, Shane Stack, Brian Hurley, Diarmaid Kelly 0-1 each. CLAUGHAUN: Gary Bateman 0-4 (all frees), Cian Byrnes 1-0,Padraig O'Raghallaigh, Tadhg Bennett, Ciaran Moran 0-1 each.