Mount Leinster Rangers 0-24 St Mullins 0-16
Title holders, Mount Leinster Rangers, retained the Carlow senior hurling championship at Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday when they proved too good for St Mullins. The platform for victory was set in the opening half where Rangers swept their rivals off their feet with an awesome display of taking scores.
They led 0-17 to 0-7 at the interval with all their points coming from play. Brothers, Jon and Chris Nolan, scored 0-5 each and if they weren’t taking scores themselves they were linking with colleagues such as Eddie Byrne and Denis Murphy who divided 0-5 between them in that opening half.
If one was to be critical of Rangers then they were lax when they failed to take two clear goal chances. Credit to the St Mullins defence, however, who forced errors from goal-bound forwards Murphy and Jon Nolan.
St Mullins had their moments but they were always cancelled out by their opponents who were able to lift their game at will. Intercounty hurler, Marty Kavanagh, scored two points from play and two more from frees. In the second half he repeated that feat but Rangers were relentless. Anything they conceded they atoned at the other end of the field.
Their only point from a placed ball came from a 46th minute free by Murphy. Shortly after that, Chris Nolan did brilliantly to keep the ball in play before feeding Ted Joyce who was fouled in the big square. Diarmuid Byrne’s penalty hit a post and Kevin Kehoe did well to clear the loose ball to safety.
Nothing went right for St Mullins on the day. Twice they conceded unnecessary line-balls to opponents who didn’t have to make them pay.
With time ebbing away James Doyle for St Mullins had a clear goal chance but Dean Grennan made the block in the Rangers goal and the ball was cleared by a side who were willing to give nothing away to opponents who have given them grief in the past.
Mount Leinster Rangers: D. Grennan; G. Kelly, D. Phelan, M. Doyle; G. Lawlor, D. Byrne, R. Kelly; P. Coady, F. Fitzpatrick (0-2); T. Lawlor (0-1), E. Byrne (0-4), K. McDonald (0-1); D. Murphy (0-4, 1f), C. Nolan (0-7), J. Nolan (0-5).
Subs: T. Joyce for R. Kelly (46), C. Kavanagh for T. Lawlor (52), J. Ryan for G. Lawlor (57), R. Coady for Coady (59).
St Mullins: K. Kehoe; G. Bennett, P. Doyle, C. Connolly; M. Walsh, G. Coady, P. O'Shea (0-2); P. Kehoe, O. Boland; J. Doyle (0-1), J. Doran, J. Kavanagh (0-1); O. Ryan (0-2), M. Kavanagh (0-8, 5fs), P. Boland.
Subs: C. Kehoe (0-1) for Doran (21), J. O'Neill (0-1) for O. Boland (h/t), S.Murphy for P. Boland (36), P. Walsh for J. Kavanagh (55).
Referee: J. Hickey.
