*Gearoid Kelly hit 0-12 for Corofin. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
COROFIN’s Munster crusade came to an abrupt stop but not without a bit of drama in Limerick City on Saturday evening.
Castlelyons 3-16
Corofin 0-19
Venue: TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
Anthony Spillane’s first-half hat-trick was decisive to the outcome as Corofin came up against their stiffest test of the year and for the first time didn’t have the answers.
Fog caused a twenty two minute delay in the second half when a total of thirty four minutes had been played.
What the first four attacks demonstrated was that the clinical team would prevail and the early exchanges highlighted that this was Castlelyons.
Michael Kelly had the first score of the game for Corofin inside twenty two seconds, Diarmuid Cahill controlled the sliotar well to find the on-rushing James Organ who popped to Kelly and his shot went above the crossbar.
From the puckout, Castlelyons had the sliotar in the back of the Corofin net. David Morrison at corner forward played the ball across the square, Killian O’Connor hesitated in the air and Anthony Spillane duly caught the sliotar before planting it in the net.
Goalkeeper James Barry then made a critical interception as Corofin endeavoured to get an immediate response. Gearoid Kelly was powering through and distributed a handpass across the danger area towards Shane O’Brien but Barry was quick off his line to retrieve the sliotar.
Again Castelyons worked the ball up the field immediately and struck for their second major. It was Spillane again to raise the green flag with just two minutes and thirty seconds on the clock.
Alan Fenton hit three points in a row to put Castlelyons in a comfortable position against a shellshocked Corofin.
Conor Leen who was operating as a sweeper then drifted further back to his own goal-line and his influence in proceedings began to grow, aiding them to steady the ship somewhat.
Matters may have become less precarious in the backs but scores did not become plentiful at the other end for Corofin so they failed to make the necessary inroads in this sector which left them twelve points adrift at the sounding of the half-time whistle.
Visibility become far poorer during this interval with fog sweeping across the Gaelic Grounds from Limerick City. Play did resume for four minutes at the start of the second half but locating any action in the City end where the Corofin defence and Castlelyons attack were situated was a very difficult task.
It prompted referee Conor Doyle to announce a pause of ten minutes with both teams retreating to the warmth of their dressing rooms. A decision was later made to restart at 19:20 with Doyle handed a yellow sliotar from Munster GAA Chiefs.
Not alone did the fog lift but so did Corofin’s performance as they began to put up a fight, gradually chipping away at the sizeable deficit.
From when play resumed following the fog, Corofin were the more efficient point-scoring side and of the fifteen subsequent scores, they had ten of them, crucially none of these were a green flag and so the comeback came up short allowing Castlelyons to lift the provincial title for the first time.
Best for the winners were Anthony Spillane, Colm Spillane, Niall O’Leary, Jack Barry and Keith O’Leary.
Jamie Malone’s absence was missed by Corofin who were led by Conor Leen, James Organ and Cillian McGroary.
Scorers Castlelyons: A Spillane (3-2), A Fenton (0-8 5f), K O’Leary (0-4), J Kearney (0-1), B Murphy (0-1).
Scorers Corofin: G Kelly (0-12 10f), M Kelly (0-2), S O’Brien (0-2), D Cahill (0-1), J Organ (0-1), K O’Connor (0-1).
Castlelyons:
1: Jack Barry
2: Jamie O’Leary
3: Colm Barry
6: Colm Spillane
4: Dara Spillane
5: Niall O’Leary
20: Leo Sexton
9: James Kearney
12: Oscar Hallinan
24: Keith O’Leary
11: Alan Fenton
26: Barry Murphy
13: David Morrison
28: Anthony Spillane
14: Leon Doocey
Subs:
7: Shane Moroney for J O’Leary (34)
10: Colm McCarthy for Murphy (48)
8: Peter Roche for K O’Leary (59)
15: Brian O’Donovan for Morrison (62)
23: Rob Feeney for Doocey (63)
Corofin:
1: Liam Corbett
2: Marc O’Loughlin
3: Killian O’Connor
4: Damien O’Loughlin
5: Cillian McGroary
6: Conor Leen
7: Damian Ryan
9: Fionn Clancy
8: Gearoid Cahill
10: Kevin Keane
14: James Organ
12: Gearoid Kelly
11: Diarmuid Cahill
15: Shane O’Brien
13: Michael Kelly
Subs:
18: Eoin Davoren for Ryan (48)
19: Fergus Killeen for O’Brien (57)
Referee: Conor Doyle (Tipperary)
