St Finians Swords suffer defeat against Cloughbawn in the Leinster Championship

ST FINIAN’S SWORDS 0-14 

CLOUGHBAWN 4-9

Cloughbawn struck 2-3 without reply in the closing stages to defeat St Finian’s Swords by seven points in their AIB Leinster Junior Club Football Championship Round 1 encounter at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon. 

A goal from Conall Flood handed the Wexford champions the early initiative but three points from placed balls by Scott Brennan saw St Finian’s enjoy a marginal 0-7 to 1-3 advantage at half-time.  

The hosts held that lead for the bulk of the second-half but Flood’s brace and another goal by Shane Kehoe were enough to see Cloughbawn home, albeit by a flattering margin. 

The visitors enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages but it was St Finian’s that opened the scoring through the trusty left boot of David Hattie in the 3rd minute. 

The heavy pitch mitigated against free-flowing football but Cloughbawn cut through the home defence in the 8th minute and while Stephen McNally saved Shayne McDonald’s initial attempt, Flood was on hand to calmly slot home the rebound from close range. 

That score opened up the game slightly as dual player Senan Crosbie halved the St Finian’s deficit three minutes later only for the lively Bob Whilly to reply in kind for the visitors in an instant. 

David Butler clipped over a superb score from wing-back for the Dublin champions in the 13th minute and they edged back in front by the start of the second quarter courtesy of an excellent two-pointed free from Brennan. 

Whitty (free) and Matthew Murray traded points as the contest evolved and that trend continued as Shane Kehoe briefly restored parity for Cloughbawn before a 22nd minute free by Brennan inched his side back in front by the interval.

A patient and precise build-up was rewarded within three minutes of the restart as Conor Halpin doubled the St Finian’s lead. 

However, Whitty soon brought the teams back on level terms with two fine points inside of thirty seconds before Brandon Caffrey and Halpin popped over points to hand their team some much-needed breathing room. 

That didn’t last too long as Flood found the net for the second time, crashing home at the second attempt in the 40th minute after Cathal Kehoe had made a telling burst down the middle. 

A two-pointed free from Halpin had the teams deadlocked once again heading into the final quarter and a fisted effort from Crosbie in the 51st minute reflected the control that the hosts were exerting in the final stretch. 

Their fallibility at the back proved their undoing in the 57th minute however as Shane Kehoe was afforded far too much time and space close to goal as he left McNally helpless with a stunning finish. 

That sucker punch proved too much for St Finian’s, with Flood on hand to complete his hat-trick with a scruffy finish in injury time.      

Scorers – St Finian’s Swords: C Halpin (1 F2), S Brennan (1F2, 1f) 0-4 each; S Crosbie 0-2; D Butler, B Caffrey, M Murray, D Hattie 0-1 apiece. Cloughbawn: C Flood 3-1; S Kehoe 1-2; B Whitty 0-5 (2f); S McDonald 0-1. 

St Finian’s Swords: S McNally; E O’Connor, A Mallon, D Gray; D Butler, L Kavanagh, C Collier; B Caffrey, A McGuirk; K Ryan, M Murray, S Crosbie; D Hattie, C Halpin, S Brennan. Subs: O O’Hea for Hattie (half-time), N Foster for Collier (40), F Martin for Ryan (51), F O’Donnell for Murray (58). 

Cloughbawn: J Flood; N McDonald, D Kehoe, M Fleming; L Flood, P Cullen, J Dempsey; C Kehoe, D Doyle Murphy; P Whitty, B Whitty, S Kehoe; D Redmond, C Flood, S McDonald. Subs: G Murphy for L Flood (46), K Murphy for Redmond (52). 

Referee: Ultan McElroy (Louth).