St Joseph’s 1-8 Courtwood 0-8
Laois JFC ‘C’ Final
St Joseph’s were crowned Laois Shopping Centre JFC ‘C’ champions tonight after edging out Courtwood in a tough encounter in the Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise.
Darragh Farrell, Dan Dunne and Peter Kealy were all on top form as their side ran out deserving winners.
St Joseph’s were defeated in last year’s final after a colossal battle with Clonaslee St Manmans. However they turned it around to claim glory tonight.
This is a very talented St Joseph’s side as four of their starting 15 players started in last year’s U-20 A Football final which they lost narrowly to Ballyroan-Abbey.
In horrendous conditions, it was the Kellyvile outfit who got the scoring underway thanks to a sweet effort from Darragh Farrell.
But Courtwood eventually got off the mark after 12 minutes through a Rory Doyle free.
Doyle landed another free to put Courtwood ahead for the first time after 24 minutes of play.
Courtwood were patient in attack which proved fruitful as they held possession for a large period of time before drawing a free which Doyle converted.
However, Dan Dunne nailed a 45 to conclude the first half with Courtwood leading on a score line of 0-3 to 0-2.
The second half was underway and similar to the first, it was Darragh Farrell who kickstarted the scoring as he weaved between a number of defenders before raising a white flag.
Then the turning point of the game occurred as a long ball in was won by Peter Kealy who spun his marker before unleashing a cracker into the corner of the net.
Joseph’s extended their lead as Dan dunne nailed a free before Colin Campion galloped through the middle and drilled the ball over the bar.
Sam Krebbs responded for Courtwood with a clinically taken 45.
But St Joseph’s responded with the score of the game as Dan Dunne raised a white flag from range after great work from Darragh Farrell and Joseph’s led 1-6 to 0-4 with 15 minutes to go.
However, Courtwood were given a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty which Rory Doyle blasted over the bar.
Courtwood refused to lie down as Luke Doyle landed a brace of points before David Duffy scored under serious pressure to make it a one point game with minutes remaining.
But this is as close as Courtwood would get as Dan Dunne converted a free before Kealy found himself in acres of space before splitting the posts to seal victory.
SCORERS – St Joseph’s: Peter Kealy 1-1 , Dan Dunne 0-4 (0-2 free, 0-1 45) Darragh Farrell 0-2 and Colin Campion 0-1 Courtwood: Rory Doyle 0-4 (frees), Luke Doyle 0-2 (one free) David Duffy 0-1 and Sam Kreebs (0-1 45)
ST JOSEPH’S: Brian Fleming; Mark George, Joseph Morrin, David Farrell; Ciaran Carroll, Tadhg Dineen, Michael Dempsey: Colin Campion, Callum Hogg; James Michael Fleming, Cathal Fleming, Reese O’Halloran; James Fitzgerald, Dan Dunne and Darragh Farrell. Subs used: Peter Kealy, Padraic Condron, John Fleming, John farrell and Paddy Joyce.
COURTWOOD: Sam Kreebs; Evan Kelly, Will Boland, Andrew Flynn; David Duffy, Eddie Boland, Ciaran Boland; David O’Connell, Darragh McEvoy; Liam Ward, Rory Doyle, Eoghan McGarry; Liam Burke, Luke Doyle and Tom O’Connell. Subs used: Matt Kelly
REFEREE: Mick Tarpey (Kilcavan)
Man of the Match – Darragh Farrell (St Josephs)
Peter Kealy and Dan Dunne were both brilliant for St Josephs but ultimately we’ve gone for Darragh Farrell.
Farrell kicked two fine points from play while also being the heartbeat of the St Josephs attack as he continuously looked to run at the Courtwood defence which caused havoc.
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