Laune Rangers: 0-14, Keel: 1-14
by Sinéad Pigott
Keel claimed the Diarmuid O’Sullivan Memorial Cup with a win over Laune Rangers on Saturday afternoon in Cromane. Making better use of the ball when in possession was the winning of the game for Keel in what was a tight game throughout, requiring extra-time to decide the winner.
It was Laune Rangers who got off the mark the quicker with points from Rory O’Connor and Patrick Daly in the opening 4 minutes before Daly added his second from a free in the 7th minute when Callum Moriarty was fouled to let the score 0-03 to 0-00.
Thomas Ladden got the opening score for Keel with a well taken effort in the 9th minute. A poor ball on the re-start saw Keel intercept possession and Eoin O’Neill added his name to the scoresheet and close Laune Rangers’ lead to the minimum.
Patrick Daly extended his tally in the following minutes with two further pointed frees and this was followed soon after by a Roan Moriarty effort to push Laune Rangers’ lead to 4 points (0-06 to 0-02) mid-way through the opening half.
A good delivery from Daniel Ashe allowed Garry Murphy tap over a point for Keel in the 16th minute before Tommy Buckley slotted over a free soon after to close Rangers’ lead to two points; 0-06 to 0-04.
Garrett Prendiville, Garry Murphy and Tommy Buckley added further points for Keel in the closing minutes of the half to swing the lead in Keel’s favour at the short whistle. Half-time score: Keel 0-07 to 0-06 Laune Rangers.
Keel’s Lachlan Griffin scored the game’s only goal on the re-start to extend their lead to 4 points; 1-07 to 0-06.
Gavin O’Shea and Griffin swapped scores in the following minutes before Laune Rangers hit a purple patch of sorts scoring 4 points in the following 8 minutes; two from John Tyther (1 free), along with a Patrick Daly free and a well taken effort from Cian O’Shea and suddenly the game was level once more mid-way through the second half.
Tommy Buckley added another pointed free for Keel in the 19th minute but this was soon cancelled out by a Cian O’Shea effort in the 22nd minute. Eden Murphy added his name to the score-sheet in the 25th minute with a lovely point before the final score of the game, a game levelling point from Patrick Daly, saw the game go to extra-time as the teams couldn’t be separated at the end of normal time. Full-time score Laune Rangers 0-13 to 1-10 Keel.
Tired bodies and legs were very evident during the period of extra time and it was a rather low-scoring affair. Keel opened the scoring in extra-time with another pointed free from the boot of Tommy Buckley in the 2nd minute. Patrick Daly slotted over his own free for Laune Rangers in the closing seconds to leave the score level again at the end of the first period of extra-time; 0-14 to 1-11.
Lachlan Griffin scored a superb effort on the resumption and Keel hit the front once more. Tommy Buckley increased their lead in the 3rd minute, before Buckley sealed victory with a final pointed free to see the game finish Keel 1-14 to 0-14 Laune Rangers.
Laune Rangers: Padraig Ahern, James Treacy, Ciarán O’Sullivan, Oisín Daly, Patrick Carey, Darragh O’Connor, Conor Murphy, Callum Moriarty, Seán Arthurs, Stephen Sealy, John Tyther, Rory O’Connor, Gavin O’Shea, Roan Moriarty, Patrick Daly. Subs: Matthew Leslie, Marc Clifford, Cian O’Shea, Gabriel Griffin, Cathal O’Callaghan.
Keel: Stephen Cahillane, Eden Murphy, Seán Langford, Garry Murphy, Daniel Ashe, Gavin Evans, Seán Corcoran, Darragh Dowd, Thomas Ladden, Lachlan Griffin, Eoin O’Neill, Garrett Prendiville, Seán Foley, Tommy Buckley, Killian Murphy. Subs: James Nagle, Aaron Cahillane, Jack Foley, David Couchman.