Caulry claim decisive local derby win over Tubberclair
Caulry 3-13 Tubberclair 2-8
By John Dingle
A strong first half showing allowed Caulry to build a solid foundation to see off the challenge posed by Tubberclair in this Junior B Championship semi-final at Mount Temple last Sunday.
Kevin Connaughton’s men held an eight-point lead at half-time and although Tubberclair staged a comeback in the second half, a late goal restored the half-time advantage at the finish.
In the decider scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday), Caulry will meet Tyrrellspass after the latter beat Shandonagh in the other semi-final, also by eight points. Tyrrellspass will have home advantage in the final (throw-in 1pm).
The visitors opened the scoring but it was their only highlight in the first half as Caulry took control on the scoreboard thereafter. Finn Duffy was successful with a free kick with two minutes played, but the next Tubberclair score did not arrive until just before the break.
A number of bad wides from frees and open play added to Tubberclair's frustration. In the meantime, Caulry scored 1-7 without reply to take control of this local derby semi-final.
Aside from the opening moments, the hosts were never in arrears. Liam Malynn fired over a free to level matters after five minutes and the first green flag was then raised two minutes later. Shane Lawless set up Luke Buckley who made no mistake with his shot to the net.
Further points had Caulry leading by 1-5 to 0-1 after the first quarter. Buckley followed up on his goal with a point as Alan Malynn and Thomas Dunning (two points) further stretched the lead. A superb long range point after 20 minutes from Buckley put eight points between the teams and a further free from Liam Malynn continued the home onslaught.
A first score in 25 minutes briefly halted the rot for Tubberclair through a second Duffy free kick, but another Liam Malynn free restored a nine-point lead.
Tubberclair completed the scoring in stoppage time when Paul Garvey pointed but Caulry still held a comfortable lead when the half-time whistle sounded, 1-8 to 0-3.
The away team had been second best for much of the opening half but were improved when play resumed as they restored some respectability on the scoreboard. Tubberclair matched Caulry for scores after the break but seldom looked like staging a genuine comeback.
Duffy pointed with just 15 seconds gone in the half and a free from the number ten had the visitors on the comeback trail. It was short-lived though as Caulry responded with three unanswered points. Another free from Liam Malynn followed by points from play by Olan Healy and Glenn Carolan had the men in red and white nine points in front.
The visitors were at less than full strength and used all of their three substitutes during the second half. A Conor Reid free kick kept Tubberclair in touch and the lead remained at eight points heading into the last quarter as both teams then exchanged goals.
Caulry raised their second green flag after 43 minutes through Dunning following good work from Healy but Tubberclair's response was swift as Garvey shot to the net. This left it 2-11 to 1-6 midway through the half.
The goal inspired the visitors who then cut into the lead while also keeping the hosts scoreless for some 13 minutes. However, Caulry's lead was still of considerable proportions and and was too big an obstacle for Tubberclair to climb.
A Duffy free was followed by a point from play by Conor Elliott and had Kevin Claffey then found the net, the closing stages could have been more interesting.
The number five got forward to fire a shot towards the net but the ball was blocked by the home defence. It all but ended their already slim hopes of staging a grandstand finish with their next score - a stoppage-time goal - only putting a gloss on the final result.
Points from Luke Buckley and Sean Murphy put Caulry eight points ahead going into the closing stages with the home side completing their tally in the penultimate minute.
Two substitutes were involved as John Maguire passed to Mark Fitzpatrick who shot to the net with Tubberclair stretched at the back as they pushed forward. The provider was just into the action while the goal scorer had come on midway through the half.
The goal spree continued into added time as Tubberclair completed the scoring when Elliott raised the green flag after 62 minutes.
It pegged Caulry back to an eight-point lead again but there was little doubt at any stage about the dominance of the home team in what was a disappointing last four encounter between these local rivals.
Just four players featured on the scoreboard for Tubberclair who lacked scoring power overall, despite scoring two goals.
The final though will give Caulry the chance to end the year with some silverware as their campaign stretches further into December.
Man of the match: Luke Buckley (Caulry). An early goal from the corner-forward put Caulry on their way to the final with a fine point from long range later in the half increased the home side's lead.
SCORERS - Caulry: L Buckley 1-3; T Dunning 1-2; L Malynn 0-4 (4 frees); M Fitzpatrick 1-0; A Malynn, O Healy, G Carolan and S Murphy 0-1 each. Tubberclair: F Duffy 0-5 (4f); P Garvey and C Elliott 1-1 each; C Reid 0-1 (f).
CAULRY: Cillian Nagle, Glenn Carolan, Sean Murphy, Tom Cloonan, Harry Stuart Trainor, Olan Healy, Shane Lawless, Alan Malynn, Alan Daly, Sean O’Neill, Liam Malynn, Luke Buckley, Thomas Dunning, Will Buckley, Brendan McCormack. Subs: Oisin Shortall for Stuart Trainor (H-T), Alan Lynam for McCormack (40 mins), Mark Fitzpatrick for Dunning (43), John Maguire for Lawless (58), Adam Donoghue for A Malynn (59).
TUBBERCLAIR: Simon Fagan, Shane Irwin, Cian Connell, Joseph Martin, Kevin Claffey, James Clarke, Sean Claffey, Peadar Dolan, Charlie Kennedy, Finn Duffy, Conor Reid, Jack Seery, Luke Maleady, Paul Garvey, Conor Elliott. Subs: Danny Sammon and Ronan Walker for Irwin and Seery (43), Mark Keegan for Maleady (56).
REFEREE: Declan Nugent (Maryland).