Division 3 B League
Round 8
Venue: Rathkenny
Curraha 5-15 Rathkenny 2-13
Curraha advance to the division 3B league final with an impressive eleven-point win over Rathkenny on Friday evening. This was a very competitive game for most of the hour until Curraha sealed the deal with two clinically executed goals by the Coyle brothers Andrew and Gavin in the final five minutes.
Curraha opting to play up the hill at Rathkenny and into a slight breeze in the first half were first on the score board when a long speculative shot by the outstanding Gavin Coyle found its way to the net. This was a lead they never surrendered and the best that Rathkenny could do was draw level on a couple occasions in that first quarter. Curraha grew into this game with the belief stemming from some excellent defensive work by Sean O Hanrahan, Niall McLarnon, Simon McDermott, Conor Joyce, Ruairi McEntee and Rob Dwyer. Up front the Coyle brothers tormented the Rathkenny defence with Gavin hitting 2-2 and Andrew 1-1 in that first half. The half time account read 3-5 to 1-7 in favour of Curraha.
Curraha’s dominance prevailed in the opening exchanges in the second half with Gavin Coyle adding two more well taken points. Rathkenny pounced on a few Curraha kickouts and kept the contest interesting as they cut the deficit to three points in that third quarter. Curraha responded well and with a few sweeping moves from back to front that unfortunately are rarely seen on GAA pitches anymore they added to their points tally through Gavin Coyle (4) Ciaran Phelan (3) and Andrew Coyle (1). Rathkenny were presented with a lifeline with about five minutes remaining as they capitalised on a careless pass at the back by Curraha to rattle the net. They followed up with a couple points and they were suddenly back within three points with a few minutes remaining. Curraha’s leaders rose to the challenge though, with Hanrahan, Mclarnon and the Coyle brothers taking on the responsibility of ensuring a league final spot. Hanrahan and Mclarnon worked hard and gained valuable possession. They then drove hard at the opposition while up front Andrew Coyle a netted again to seal his hat-trick. Fitting enough man of the match Gavin Coyle was to have the final say when he fired to the net in the closing minutes after a well worked move to ensure the victory.
Curraha: PJ McMahon, Simon McDermott, Conor Joyce, Ruairi McEntee, Sean O Hanrahan, Rob Dwyer, Niall McLarnon (0-1), Robert Reid, Gavin Coyle (2-9), Evan McGovern (0-1) Ian Battersby, Ciaran Phelan (0-3) Andrew Coyle (3-1)
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