A dour first half saw only two points scored.
2024 Talbot Hotel Carlow Junior A Football Championship Semi Final
Leighlinbridge 0-8, Fighting Cocks 0-6
By Stephen Bambrick
While this rearranged High Noon showdown between Leighlinbridge and The Fighting Cocks may have had fewer scores in the first half than an average Vale Wanderers/Burrin Celtic soccer game, with the prize of a place in the JFC A final at stake, it was the 2022 runners-up who eventually saw off the 2023 equivalent. The prize: a date with fierce rivals Ballon.
An Aidan Lillis free for the game’s first score in the 3rd minute was to amazingly be their tally for the half. Ruairi Nevin’s equaliser from a mark on the 16th minute was the other half, likewise for The Cocks. A half if ever you could say both sets of defences were on top; this was it.
With the half’s wide count 5 to 2, it was The Cocks who were the biggest offenders. Both keepers were called on for shots dropping short, with Cian Kavanagh’s fine save from the flying Liam Sheppard in the 22nd minute of the half being a highlight. The Cocks were temporarily down to 14 at this point with Eoin O’Byrne in the sin bin. 0-1 to 0-1 was the half-time score.
If the first half was even (score-wise anyway), then the 2nd was even better (score-wise definitely). Lillis had a free (fouled himself) and a punched point by the 32nd minute, the latter after Charlie Nolan’s goal effort was well saved by Darragh Byrne in The Cocks goal. Super sub last week Emmet Moran, having been introduced at the break, halved the Leighlinbridge lead in the 35th minute. Evergreen Matty Dowling levelled matters following Glen O’Rourke’s run ending in him being fouled in the 38th, making it 0-3 to 0-3.
With Aidan Lillis’s direct running drawing fouls, he split the posts for the lead once more. Though at this point midway through the 2nd half, it was The Cocks who got a hold on the game. Liam Sheppard’s runs caused all sorts of trouble from deep, one giving Dowling another placed ball point with another seeing Sheppard score himself. Dowling from play on the edge of the D had his side 0-6 to 0-4 to the good, a big lead given the low-scoring nature of the game.
Leighlinbridge at this point introduced Val Fleming, who immediately showed his class and experience to draw a foul giving Lillis another free. Fiach O’Toole levelled the game following a great Cathal Brennan fetch, who along with cousin Liam, were putting in the hard yards in the middle third. 0-6 to 0-6 on 49 minutes.
Leighlinbridge would match The Fighting Cocks with their 3rd consecutive score and, more importantly, the lead. Geoffrey Doran was literally held up in The Fighting Cocks square, somehow getting the ball from his hands to his foot for the lead on 49 minutes, making it 0-7 to 0-6.
With time slipping by, Charlie Nolan put Fleming through, but Darragh Byrne kept his clean sheet and his side in it temporarily anyway. It then fell to Aidan Lillis to hit his 6th of the hour in the 62nd minute, Leighlinbridge’s 8th and final score, securing their place in the JFC Final in a fortnight’s time versus Ballon.
Leighlinbridge – Cian Kavanagh, Billy Lennon O’Brien, Daniel Barron, Joey Byrne, Geoffrey Doran (0-1), Cathal Brennan, Alfie Barcoe, Liam Brennan (C), Conor De Lacey, Robert O’Byrne, Darren O’Keefe, Fiach O’Toole (0-1), Aidan Lillis (0-6, 0-4f), Charlie Nolan, Lee Conran
Subs – Cian Brennan for O’Byrne (half time), PJ Haughney for Lennon O’Brien (39 mins), Val Fleming for Conran (46 mins), Kacper Gniedziejko for Byrne (52 mins)
Fighting Cocks – Darragh Byrne, Matthew English Hayden, Eoin O’Byrne, Conor Ruane, James Hickey, Aaron Bolger, Alex Gordon, Jack McDonald, Liam Sheppard (0-1), Billy Nolan, Billy Molloy, Glenn O’Rourke, DJ Sinnott, Ruairi Nevin (0-1m), Matty Dowling (0-3, 0-2f)
Subs – Emmett Moran (0-1) for Nevin (half time) , Trevor Watchorn for Sinnott (39 mins), Alan Quigley for McDonald (53 mins)
Referee – Patrick Murphy (Fenagh)
Footnote – Before the game a minute’s silence was held in memory of the recent passing of both Pat Hogan, member of The Fighting Cocks 1971 JFC winning team and Ned Nevin, member of the Leighlinbridge SFC winning team of 1957 ,
Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam
