*Photograph: Mark Hayes
Corofin recorded a comfortable victory over Bodyke in the final of the RealPrint Division 2 Hurling League final on Friday evening.
Corofin 5-21
Bodyke 0-14
Venue: Clarecastle
The title was on its way to the North Clare parish long before the final whistle as they dominated the exchanges from an early stage.
Bodyke played the final quarter with fourteen men after their top scorer Seanie Doyle was sent off after pcking up a second yellow card following a clash with Clare senior footballer Jamie Malone.
Manager of the beaten finalists Sean Doyle was shown a red card at the interval after he had commented to match official Aaron Hogg from Clonlara.
The game had threatened to boil over on a couple of occasions and the match official could have waved another red card or two as matters became a little heated on the sideline.
Conditions were difficult with the rain making under foot conditions slippery. Seanie Doyle opened the scoring when he converted a 50m free in the second minute but Cillian McGroarty levelled for Corofin a minute later before a Shane O’Brien point gave them a lead they would hold to the finish.
The game’s first goal came in the sixth minute when Gearoid Cahill found the nets after good work involving his brother Diarmuid and they had a second goal before the end of the quarter, Gearoid Kelly finding the net.
Seanie Doyle kept the East Clare side in touch from placed balls while Paddy Fitzgerald landed a brace shortly before the half time whistle, the first of which was his side’s first score from play in the twenty ninth minute.
The final score of the half came from a ‘65 converted by Gearoid Kelly and this gave the winners an eight point advantage, 2-9 to 0-8, at the interval.
Any hopes of a Bodyke fight back were quickly dispelled on the resumption when Gearoid Cahill landed a superb point in the opening minute of the new period.
Two from Seanie Doyle, one from play, gave hope to the East Clare side’s supporters but five in a row in the next six minutes killed those hopes and put the Joe Cahill managed outfit into a commanding lead.
Three points in the space of a minute, one from Gearoid Kelly and two from Diarmuid Cahill left the score at 2-18 to 0-10 at the three quarter stage, a minute before Seanie Doyle was dismissed.
Diarmuid Cahill struck for a goal with eleven minutes remaining and there was no way back for Bodyke. Further goals followed from Jamie Malone and Diarmuid Cahill as a rampant Corofin sealed an easy win.
The Cahill and Kelly brothers were prominent throughout for the winners along with centre back Killian O’Connor.
For a disappointing Bodyke who had recorded a five point win when the sides met earlier in the campaign, Éanna and Sean Doyle, Cian Minogue and Patrick Fitzgerald did well.
Scorers Corofin: D Cahill (2-5), G Kelly (1-5), G Cahill (1-2), J Malone (1-0), M Kelly (0-3), C McGroary (0-2), S O’Brien (0-2), K Neylon (0-1), F Killeen (0-1).
Scorers Bodyke: S Doyle (0-7 6f), P Fitzgerald (0-4 2f), T Wiley (0-1), J Wiley (0-1), M Howard (0-1)
Corofin;
1: Liam Corbett
2: Shay Malone
3: Damian O’Loughlin captain
8: Fionn Clancy
5: Damian Ryan
6: Killian O’Connor
7: Sean O’Brien
11: Gearoid Cahill
9: Jamie Malone
10: Gearoid Kelly
17: Diarmuid Cahill
24: Cillian McGroary
13: Michael Kelly
14: Micheál Duffy
15: Shane O’Brien
Subs:
18: Killian Neylon for Duffy (half time)
20: Eoin Davoran for McGroarty (46)
19: Michael Cahill for Sean O’Brien (53)
12: Fergus Killeen for Shane O’Brien (53)
21: Colin Fitzgerald for S Malone (56)
Bodyke
16: Daryl O’Donnell;
6: Sean Wiley
3: Eanna Doyle
18: Sean Cooney
12: Cathal McKenna
5: Cian Minoguee
7: Ian Murray
8: Cathal Dyle
9:Jamie O’Donnell
17: Tomas Minogue
11: Seanie Doyle
10: Thomas Wiley
15: Jamie Howard
14: Patrick Fitzgerald
13: Michael O’Brien
Subs:
19: William Fitzgerald for Minogue (43)
4: Tadhg Kilkenny for Cooney
27: Sean Browne for Murray (inj);
Referee: Aaron Hogg (Clonlara)
