Laragh ease into Division 2 final

ACFL Division 2 semi-final

Lavey 1-7

Laragh 2-18

Laragh left a serious mark on neighbours Lavey on Sunday afternoon last in New Inns as they cruised to a 14-point win in the Division 2 league semi-final. A goal and eight points either side of half-time for the Stradone-based side put the game to bed with 23 minutes remaining as Lavey’s attack failed to fire.

Laragh’s ruthlessness in front of goal was in complete contrast to Lavey’s wastefulness as Lavey missed frees, dropped shots short and totalled more wides than scores. Lavey’s cause wasn’t help by the yellow card turned red shown to Darragh Conaty after he returned from the sin bin early in the second half.

A Paul Smith free and a Jack McKenna ’45 opened the Laragh scoring but Shane Tierney replied in the fourth minute for the home side. Paul Smith soon had his personal tally up to three with a well-taken point from play and a free, followed by a Paddy Rudden special on the 10-minute mark.

Everything Laragh hit landed but for Lavey, they missed, as Laragh looked to be able to find their scores a lot easier. A Chris Conroy free offered a brief respite for Lavey before a long ball to Paddy Rudden broke kindly for Jack McKenna who squared to Pauric Reilly for the game’s first goal. Laragh now held a comfortable six-point lead.

After the water break, Paul Smith sailed over a beauty to extend the Laragh advantage. For the first time in the game, Lavey hit two in a row with a Conroy free and another from Shane Tierney but Lee Reilly became Laragh’s fifth scorer when he split the posts.

A third converted free from Conroy followed by a Gerard Smith point saw Lavey close the gap to four with half-time approaching. Referee John Emo then sent Darragh Conaty off with a black card and Laragh used the advantage to the maximum.

Pauric Reilly slotted home his second major of the afternoon and added a point for good measure before the break along with points from Paul Smith, Lee Reilly and Niall Fitzpatrick. Laragh entered the interval holding a 2-11 to 0-6 lead.

The second half saw the physicality rise a level. Paul Smith converted three more frees around a point from Pauric Reilly to leave Laragh 15 points ahead when Conaty returned to the game. His return was short lived as he picked up a yellow card almost immediately, leaving Lavey with 14 players for the remainder of the game.

In the eighth minute of the second half, Gerard Smith managed to swing his left foot while off balance to hit the top corner of the Laragh net while most people’s attention was on the scuffle at the other end of the field. Niall Fitzpatrick’s second point of the day left the score 1-6 to 2-16 at the second water break.

The final quarter saw Laragh hold possession of the ball for long periods as they added another point from Paddy Rudden and a free from Jack McKenna while Shane Tierney’s third point of the day closed off the Lavey scoring.

Laragh will now face the winners of Mullahoran and Cuchulainns in the league final for the single promotion place on offer.

Lavey: Conor Martin, Diarnuid Conaty, David Conroy, Philip Smith, Daragh Tierney, Darren Jordan, Darragh Conaty , Paul Gilchreest, Christopher Conroy (0-3f), Conor Smith, Gerard Smith (1-1), Raymond King, Emmett Brady, Shane Tierney (0-3), Ray Cullivan

Subs: Darren Monahan, Aaron Smith, Oisin Tynan, Martin Cunningham, Declan Conroy.

Laragh United: Fergal O’Rourke, Ciaran Cooney, Darragh Tully, Stephen Cooney, Lee Reilly (0-2), Jason Walsh, Ian Leddy, Evan Kelly, Fergal McKenna, Jamie Cooney, Paul Smith (0-8, 6f), Jack McKenna (0-2,1f, 45), Niall Fitzpatrick (0-2), Paddy Rudden (0-2), Pauric Reilly (2-2)

Subs: Sean Tierney, Evan Brady.