Extra-time drama as Courtwood edge St Joseph’s to book county final place

Courtwood 2-16 

St Joseph’s 0-20 (AET) 

COURTWOOD are back in the Laois Shopping Centre SFC final after surviving a dramatic extra-time battle with St Joseph’s in Portlaoise on Sunday.

In a contest that changed direction several times, Courtwood looked to have thrown away their chance of reaching a second successive decider before Dylan Keane struck the decisive goal in extra-time.

They will now meet Portarlington in the county final on October 11 and Courtwood will be hoping to overturn the result of last year’s showpiece. Before last season, Courtwood had never appeared in a Laois SFC final. They have now reached two in a row.

The game had already produced plenty of drama before extra-time was required. St Joseph’s had shown they could hurt Courtwood whenever they moved the ball quickly, while Courtwood’s response came through their ability to make the most of frees and create openings around the square.

Neither side was able to establish control for long, and every time one team appeared ready to take charge, the other found a response. That pattern continued right through to the final whistle in front of a big crowd.

There was an early delay before the action could begin, with work required on the goal at the Abbeyleix End after one of the stanchions came away from the post.

Once play got underway, Alan Kinsella settled Courtwood with a free inside two minutes and added another shortly afterwards. St Joseph’s had an opportunity to respond when Oisin Hooney rounded Matthew Byron, but his effort flashed wide.

The momentum then shifted towards St Joseph’s. A free was moved forward to the 21 after Jake Doyle was penalised for taking steps and failing to return the ball. Eoghan O’Flaherty converted, before Eoin Johnson, Brian Daly and James Kelly followed with points to put St Joseph’s 0-4 to 0-2 ahead.

Courtwood endured a lengthy spell without scoring before Cian Doyle finally got them moving again. St Joseph’s restored their four-point advantage late in the half when Daly landed a two-pointer with the wind at his back and Kelly added his second.

Courtwood finished the half strongly. Matthew Byron converted a two-point free and Tadhg Slattery also scored after Jake Doyle forced a turnover from a St Joseph’s kick-out. That left St Joseph’s narrowly ahead, 0-7 to 0-6, at the interval.

The second half almost began with a goal for St Joseph’s. Niall Brennan flicked the ball towards the net, but Byron produced an excellent low save. Michael Keogh collected the rebound but could not find the target.

Daly and Darragh Farrell then extended the St Joseph’s lead to three, but Courtwood responded with their best spell of the game.

Byron converted two two-point frees in quick succession before Courtwood finally found the net. Ryan Little supplied Sean O’Flynn, who kept his composure to slot the ball beyond Aaron Cooney.

Kinsella followed with his third free, completing a 1-5 unanswered run which had Courtwood five points clear with 10 minutes remaining.

St Joseph’s refused to fold. They launched a remarkable comeback and scored five consecutive points to level the contest at 1-11 to 0-14 with only a minute of normal time remaining. Dylan Doyle contributed twice during the rally, including a superb two-pointer, while Keogh and Kelly also scored points.

Courtwood appeared to have done enough during four minutes of added time. Rob Tyrrell and Little both scored to put them two ahead, but there was still one final twist.

Cian Doyle brought Daly down on the edge of the arc and Farrell was handed the responsibility of keeping St Joseph’s alive. He made no mistake, kicking the two-point free over the bar to force another 20 minutes.

Johnson edged St Joseph’s ahead with a free at the start of extra-time, but Courtwood captain O’Flynn answered with a two-pointer.

Josh Lacey levelled the game again before Courtwood produced the moment that ultimately decided it. O’Flynn drove at the St Joseph’s defence and found Keane, who finished into the top corner to put Courtwood three ahead at half-time in extra-time.

The drama continued after the restart. Lacey struck again to reduce the gap before Byron denied Dylan Doyle with another outstanding save at close range.

Farrell converted the resulting 45 to leave only a point between them, but Little settled Courtwood’s nerves with another score to restore their two-point cushion.

St Joseph’s were reduced to 14 men when Robbie Murphy received a straight red card, and Courtwood held on to secure their place in the final.

SCORERS:

Courtwood: Matthew Byron 0-6 (3tpf), Sean O’Flynn 1-2 (1tp), Dylan Keane 1-0, Alan Kinsella 0-3 (fs), Ryan Little 0-2, Robert Tyrrell, Cian Doyle and Tadgh Slattery 0-1 each.

St Joseph’s: Brian Daly (1tp), Darragh Farrell (1tpf, 0-1 45) and James Kelly 0-4 each, Dylan Doyle (1tp), Eoin Johnson (0-1f) and Josh Lacey 0-2 each, Michael Keogh and Eoghan O’Flaherty (f) 0-1 each.

COURTWOOD: Matthew Byron; Eddie Boland, Dan Boland, Adam O'Halloran; Jake Doyle, Sean O'Flynn, Eoghan Slattery; Mark O'Halloran, Rob Tyrrell; Paul O'Flynn, Alan Kinsella, Tadhg Slattery; Cian Doyle, Ryan Little, Niall Donoher.

Subs: Darragh McEvoy for E Slattery (Temp, 5-11m), Danny Luttrell for P O'Flynn (19m), Collins Ugochukwu for J Doyle (ht), Dylan Keane for Luttrell (40m), Darragh McEvoy for E Boland (40m), Jake Doyle for T Slattery (Start ET), Eddie Boland for E Slattery (67m), Tadgh Slattery for C Doyle (77m), Ciaran Boland for M O’Halloran (79m).

ST JOSEPH'S: Aaron Cooney; Jack Lacey, Adam Campion, Niall Brennan; James Kelly, Danny Hickey, Sean Brennan; Brian Daly, Mikie Dempsey; Eoin Johnson, Mick Keogh, Robbie Murphy; Oisin Hooney, Darragh Farrell, Eoghan O'Flaherty.

Subs: Dylan Doyle for Murphy (36m), Ian Shanahan for Hickey (45m), Josh Lacey for Hooney (45m), Oisin Hooney for O’Flaherty (Start ET), Robbie Murphy for S Brennan (ht ET), Ciaran Condron for Daly (79m), Danny Hickey for Jack Lacey (82m).

Referee: Ciaran McManus (O’Dempsey’s)