Carnaross 4-13  Blackhall Gaels 0-13

Carnaross made the trip to Dunderry on Saturday evening to take on Blackhall Gaels in a playoff game to decide which team would compete in division 2 in 2019. Carnaross were certainly motivated by the prize on offer and their attitude and energy levels were excellent throughout the game.

The Rossies had the best possible start when they moved the ball swiftly upfield from the throw in. John L McGee gathered possession from a ball across the box and turned his man before being dragged to the ground with Frank O'Reilly converting the resultant penalty. Carnaross cut through Blackhall's defence at will with strong running and support play and soon had a second goal with midfielder Cian O'Reilly making a slaloming run and teeing up McGee who finished calmly.

Carnaross had laid the foundations for victory after dominating the opening exchanges and they kept Blackhall at bay with points from Patrick McDermott, McGee and two from Cian O'Reilly. They received a further boost when Frank O'Reilly converted a second penalty with a sublime finish into the side netting to leave Carnaross with an eight point lead at the whistle on a score line of 3-4 to 0-5.

The two sides traded points at the beginning of the second period but Frank O'Reilly put the result beyond doubt with a superb solo goal. The full forward picked the ball up on the sideline before cutting inside and finishing low from an acute angle. Blackhall began targeting their full forward line as they searched for a way back into the game but the Carnaross rearguard remained vigilant repelling several attacks and preventing any goal chances. Carnaross tacked on a further 7 points to run out winners on a score of 4-13 to 0-13.

This was a tremendous team performance from Carnaross who defended strongly, moved the ball at pace and converted their scoring chances accurately. Their stellar performances throughout the league campaign allowed them to emulate the success of the B league team in gaining promotion and they can now look forward to playing division 2 football next year after an eight year absence.

Carnaross: Conor Kenny; Liam Brogan, John Brogan, Peter Farrelly; Peter Carpenter, Tomás Plunkett, Sam Reynolds; Cian O'Reilly (0-4), Dermot McGee; Killian Porter (0-1), Charles Brogan, Niall McDonnell; Patrick McDermott (0-2), Frank O'Reilly (3-5), John L McGee (1-1). Subs: Ian Donoghue for Liam Brogan, Paul Donoghue for John L McGee, Cormac O'Reilly for Killian Porter, Shane Casserly for Patrick McDermott, Brian Comaskey for Dermot McGee

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