Round Towers Lusk Fall To Defeat To Clara in Leinster Intermediate Football quarter-final

ROUND TOWERS LUSK 0-16

CLARA 0-18

It proved a disappointing day for Round Towers Lusk as they succumbed to Clara by two points in their AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship quarter-final at a blustery Glenisk O’Connor Park on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts played with the benefit of the breeze in the first-half and two-pointed efforts from Josh Fleming and Cormac Delaney saw them take a narrow 0-12 to 0-9 lead into the break.

Crucially, the midlanders dominated the early stages of the second-half to extend their lead and while Towers brought the deficit back to a solitary point in the closing stages, a levelling score proved elusive as they exited the championship.   

It didn’t take long for Clara to take the lead as Marcas Dalton burst forward from centre-back to point within thirty seconds only for Cormac Howley to level matters with a classy effort within a minute.

The tone was set for an even contest as Clara’s Conor Egan and Liam Bohan (free) traded points soon after and the sides were deadlocked once again by the 10th minute as Lusk’s Evan Ferguson gained reward for his influential start.

The home captain Dalton added his second point in an instant but Towers edged themselves in front for the first time as Bohan kicked two points in quick succession by the 13th minute.

The economy of shooting from both teams was admirable given the conditions as the hosts regained the lead by the end of the first quarter through a two-pointed score from full-forward Fleming.

Points from Ferguson and Luke White kept the away scoreboard ticking over in the second quarter but Clara were beginning to click into gear as Cormac Delaney added a fine two-pointer to leave four points between the teams by the 26th minute.

Bohan (free) and Howley responded for Lusk but an injury time point by Fleming ensured the Offaly champions entered the break on a relative high, leading by three points.

The hosts resumed in an impressive manner and pushed further clear through points in the opening three minutes by Thomas Deehan and Fleming (free).

The former added two further scores by the 36th minute and as Towers struggled to make any impression at the opposite end, they found themselves facing a seven-point deficit.

Seán Bollard offered some cause for optimism as he opened Lusk’s second-half account in the 38th minute but Fleming’s fifth point of the game continued to keep Clara on the front foot. 

A black card for Egan at the end of the third quarter handed the visitors a welcome opportunity and they availed of their numerical advantage to kick the next three points through Darragh Kelly and a Bohan brace.

A two-pointed free from Bohan and a point by substitute Adam Burns left just a point between the sides but an excellent Conor Doyle score in the 60th minute handed the hosts a deserved win by the final whistle.      

Scorers – Round Towers Lusk: L Bohan 0-8 (3f, 1 F2, 1 ’45’); C Howley, E Ferguson 0-2 each; L White, S Bollard, D Kelly, A Burns 0-1 apiece. Clara: J Fleming 0-5 (1 P2, 1f); C Delaney 0-4 (1 P2, 1f); T Deehan 0-3; M Dalton, C Doyle 0-2 each; C Egan, G Guilfoyle 0-1 apiece.  

Round Towers Lusk: R O’Brien; F Moore Fogarty, D Clarke, J Hanratty; L Caul, C Tonge, L White; S Moore, S Harford; A Naughton, L Bohan, E Ferguson; S Bollard, D Kelly, C Howley. Subs: D Kiely for Harford (42), A Burns for Naughton (46), R Caul for Ferguson (59).

Clara: A Scanlon; C McKeon, R Carroll, D McKeon; C Doyle, M Dalton, C Stewart; E Cullen, G Guilfoyle; B Egan, A Kelly, C Egan; C Delaney, J Fleming, T Deehan. Subs: D Falsey for B Egan (40), D Fleming for Deehan (51), M Handy for C Egan (56), J Reynolds for J Fleming (59), K Minnock for Guilfoyle (63). 

Referee: Darragh Byrne (Wicklow).