B Team Prove Too Good for Laune Rangers

Molyneaux Cup Rd. 1:
Laune Rangers 1-5 Austin Stacks 2-12

Our B team had a productive trip to Killorglin on this Friday evening (5th Aug) in the first round of the Co. Championship (The Molyneaux Cup).Both sides took stock of one another early on before we opened with a well worked point in the 5th minute. Alan Crean fielded beautifully and sent Eoin Colgan through. Eoin passed to St. John Hegarty who found the overlapping Des Fitzgerald who pointed.

Rangers equalised in the 7th minute but we then took control with Gearoid McCann and Ronan Shanahan beginning to dominate around the middle and when Thomas Moore gave us the lead with an eight minute point we were never caught again.

Thomas extended the lead in the 13th minute when he goaled from a penalty after Dale Counihan was fouled in the square.

Between then and half time both sides scored three each, ours coming from Joey O’Connor and Des Fitzgerald from play and a pointed free in between by Thomas, following a foul on Paddy Fitzgibbon, who was just on the pitch for the injured Sean Purcell.

This left us ahead by 1-5 to 0-4 at the break.

Shortly after the resumption Sean Purcell was reintroduced after shaking off his leg injury and we really upped a gear from then on.

By the end of the third quarter we added a further 1-4, without reply from the opposition.

Paddy Fitzgibbon scored 1-2, following great support play by Thomas Moore in particular.

Tomas O Se has on many occasions scored two points in the course of a game with Kerry, but never four in the one game, as was achieved by our wearer of the no. 5 jersey in this game – Des Fitzgerald being the scorer of our other two points in that third quarter, to bring his tally to four for the hour.

In the final quarter Ronan Shanahan scored a beauty from long distance (49m), followed by two more from Thomas Moore (from play on 51m and from a free on the stroke of full time).

Rangers tally in the last quarter was a point (47m) and a goal (58m) which some of our backs tried to claim as an og, such was their desire to get on the score sheet.

Team: Jonathan Conway (Capt), Padraig Lynch, Seamus Bastible, Shane Fitzgerald, Des Fitzgerald (0-4), Sean Purcell, Alan Crean, Gearoid McCann, Ronan Shanahan (0-1), Padraig Breen, Eoin Colgan, Joey O’Connor (0-1), Thomas Moore (1-4 – one penalty; 2 frees), St. John Hegarty, Dale Counihan.

Sub: Paddy Fitzgibbon (27m) (1-2 – one free).

We now play John Mitchels in the quarter final of the Cup in Boherbee on Friday week (19^th Aug).