Castletown use the tail end of Storm Dave to pave the way for first win
Castletown goalkeeper Patrick Mullaney looks to clear his lines as Liam Kirby (The Harps) moves in to hook in the ACHL Division 1 game on Sunday Photo: Denis Byrne
Castletown 2-21
The Harps 1-18
CASTLETOWN got their first points on the board in Division 1 of the ACHL on Sunday afternoon when they came away from Durrow with a hard fought six point win over The Harps in blustery conditions.
Once a venue greatly covered by a row of towering trees on the far bank, the developments in recent times at The Harps’ base in Durrow saw the trees cut, meaning the pitch, up on the height on the entrance into the town, is at the peril of the elements and the tail end of Storm Dave meant the wind played a major role in the game as it swirled around continuously for the duration.
Castletown had the benefit of it for the first half and they made it pay with all six forwards getting on the scoresheet from play in the opening 30 minutes as they cut through the heart of The Harps defence on a couple of occasions to take an eleven point lead at one stage led by youngsters Kyron Cuddy and Tom Óg Phelan alongside the experienced Conor Phelan.
The Harps battled back well before half time with Ciaran Comerford proving very accurate on the frees and when they appeared for the second half with the wind advantage they cut the gap back to a single point but a late charge from Castletown saw them go on to regain the lead and take the win.
Matthew Peters opened the scoring for the visitors with a well taken point before Kyron Cuddy and Conor Phelan went score for score to slot a brace of wonderful points each as Castletown took a five point lead early on.
The Harps came back with a quick brace from Ciaran Comerford and a single point from his brother Dan, but their hard work was cancelled out when Conor Doran fed a ball inside to Benny Reddin and he hammered it home for a goal.
The Castletown dominance continued with scores for Tom Óg Phelan and Ryan Peters before a flurry of four in a row after an initial reply from a Comerford frees.
Points from Conor and Tom Óg Phelan along with two Cuddy frees saw them take a commanding lead that was increased further when Doran pounced on a loose ball and rattle the net himself this time around.
The second goal appeared to wake the hosts up from their slumber as they saw out the final five minutes of the half on the up with a brace of Comerford points along with one from Michael Monahan after a very well taken goal by Liam Kirby to make it 2-12 to 1-8 at half time.
Despite hurling into the wind Castletown opened the second half scoring through Cuddy, but it would be their last point for about 20 minutes as The Harps dominated and hit seven in succession through the Comerfords, Rian Edwards and Kirby to reduce the gap down to a single point with 10 minutes remaining.
After the lull period Castletown suddenly found a few more gears and thought they were in for a goal but the ball was judged by one of the umpires to have not crossed the line, however Cuddy still pointed a free and added another soon after.
Comerford fired back for The Harps but all the momentum was with the visitors in the closing stages.
Conor Walsh struck an excellent point from midfield and he was followed by Conor Phelan, Dylan Conroy and a Cuddy brace to give Castletown an unassailable lead as the clock ticked into injury time and they held on for a big win.
SCORERS:
Castletown: Kyron Cuddy 0-10 (0-8fs), Conor Phelan 0-4, Tom Óg Phelan 0-3, Conor Doran and Benny Reddin 1-0 each, Matthew Peters, Ryan Peters, Conor Walsh and Dylan Conroy 0-1 each.
The Harps: Ciaran Comerford 0-11 (0-10fs), Liam Kirby 1-1, Michael Monahan and Daniel Comerford 0-2 each, Rian Edwards and John Brophy 0-1 each.
CASTLETOWN: Paddy Mullaney; Killian Cuddy, Shane Phelan, Ryan Peters; John Gaughan, Tadhg Cuddy, Tommy Goode; Conor Walsh, Callum Peters; Kyron Cuddy, Conor Phelan, Tom Óg Phelan; Benny Reddin, Conor Doran, Matthew Peters.
Subs: Dylan Conroy for T Phelan (45m), Sean Óg Byrne for M Peters (55m).
THE HARPS: Peter Walsh; Cathal Phelan, Ciaran Flynn, Eoghan Doheny; Tiarnach Doheny, Cathal Murphy, Conor Brophy; Daniel Comerford, Rian Edwards; James Duggan, Ciaran Comerford, Michael Monahan; John Brophy, Pat Walshe, Liam Kirby.
Subs: Ben Dunphy for Monahan (ht), Lochlann Curran for T Doheny (ht).
Referee: John Lalor (Shanahoe)
