Landers sparkles as Beagh advance

Date Published: 02-May-2012

Beagh 0-21

Clarinbridge 1-15

Alan Dooley at Kenny Park

A powerful finish from a resolute Beagh side produced one of the many surprise results of round one of the Salthill Hotel senior hurling championship when they accounted for the somewhat lacklustre challenge of Clarinbridge at Kenny Park, Athenry on Saturday evening.

When the sides met two years ago, Clarinbridge resurrected themselves from near extinction in the group stages with late scores to scrape a draw which kept them in the hunt for county honours and paved the way for a gloriously successful run to a first All-Ireland club crown.

On this occasion, Paul Coen goaled again for Clarinbridge and Mark Kerins once more was metronomic in his free taking duties, but when push came to shove in the final 10 minutes Beagh had game winners in the shape of Padraig Landers, who lit up the contest with seven sparkling points from play, and centre half forward Kevin Keehan.

Landers drifted all over the forward division in search of loose ball and was a constant menace, while the powerful Keehan gave David Forde plenty of food for thought on the ’40. Tied at 1-14 to 0-17 with 10 minutes left, a snappy point from Tommy McKeown, two from Keehan (one free) and Landers’ fifth of the half gave Beagh breathing space and Clarinbridge had no answers.

The early momentum appeared to be with Clarinbridge when Paul Coen’s determined run ended with him rattling the net with only five minutes gone. Earlier scores from Clarinbridge’s Barry Daly and Beagh’s McKeown and Keehan (free) left Clarinbridge two points to the good, but Beagh to their credit had pulled level by the 12th minute through two well-taken Keehan points (one free).

While Beagh continued to pose Clarinbridge problems in the second quarter, they gave away soft frees far too often and Mark Kerins fired over seven successful efforts between the 17th and 29th minutes. Added to a late Billy Lane point, this gave Clarinbridge a healthy tally of 1-9 with wind advantage to follow.

However, Beagh were only four behind as the last minute of the half came to pass, through points from Joe Gantley, Landers, a Keehan free and another excellent Landers effort from midfield, and they crucially cut the gap to only two when Joe Gantley again drove over at an opportune moment and Keehan slotted a free when a more liberal use of the advantage law may have given Beagh a goalscoring opportunity.

Motoring along in the forwards, the onus was now on Beagh’s defence to cut out the concession of silly frees and with Adrian Diviney, Jonathan Morris, and Kieran Diviney all stepping up to the task, they steadily began to shut down the Clarinbridge forward line.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.