PIHC: Castlelyons into the final after impressive win over Castlemartyr

Castlelyons 2-10 Castlemartyr 0-10 

CASTLELYONS held out to defeat Castlemartyr in a thrilling Premier Intermediate HC semi-final in Midleton on Saturday and will now meet Kilworth in the final.

A strong first half from Castlelyons that saw Anthony Spillane and David Morrisson net two goals made the difference, and too many wides proved costly for the team in red and white, while both sides finished with 14 men.

The two centre-backs of Colm Spillane and Ciarán Joyce were impressive, while Niall O’Leary also stood out, and was key in Castlelyons win.

James Kearney won it from the throw in for Castlelyons and set up Alan Fenton who smashed it over the bar from midfield, an indication of what was to come in the first half.

Castlemartyr found themselves under pressure early on, but strong pieces of defending from Ciaran Joyce kept them in touch with Castlelyons, and Mike Kelly levelled it with two excellent frees.

With both teams struggling to deal with a slippery Clonmult Memorial Park, Castlemartyr took the lead with their first point from play through Barry Lawton.

Castlelyons levelled it as Doocey pointed on the quarter of an hour mark, while Kearney followed up with an excellent long-range score to put them ahead.

As Ciarán Joyce set up Eoghan Martin with an excellent pass, they levelled the game for the third time, after 20 minutes of play.

Castlelyons sparked into life three minutes later as Oscar Hallihan dropped the ball into Anthony Spillane, and as Barra Ó Tuama slipped, Spillane got there ahead of Joyce and pulled on it, and it rolled into the back of the net.

Within a minute they had a second goal, as Fenton delivered an excellent cross-field sideline ball to David Morrisson, and the corner-forward did an excellent job to get his shot away and into the top corner amid pressure from the Castlemartyr defence. Castlelyons now led 2-5 to 0-4.

The team in green and gold were on the verge of netting a third, but an outstanding last-ditch tackle from Cathal Martin was enough to prevent Anthony Spillane from bagging his brace.

A free from Kelly at the end of the half left just the two goals between the Imokilly clubs.

Brian Lawton split the posts from out wide with the score of the game on the restart, and a Kelly free narrowed the gap between the sides to four.

As Castlemartyr continued their second half resurgence, Brian Lawton, now at centre-back, leapt high to catch the sliotar, and the subsequent team play concluded with a superb score from Conor Whyte.

While they were much the better side, Castlemartyr only converted one of their next five shooting attempts, but their opponents were 13 minutes without a shot, and 17 minutes scoreless before Fenton landed a big score from midfield.

While Lyons restored their five-point advantage, a second yellow card for Morrisson in injury time gave last year’s beaten finalists a sliver of hope, however, late drama saw Brian Lawton given a straight red, and Castlelyons held out for the win.

Scorers for Castlelyons: A Spillane 1-2, A Fenton 0-5 (0-3 f), D Morrisson 1-1, L Doocey, J Kearney 0-1 each.

Castlemartyr: M Kelly 0-5 f, Barry Lawton 0-2, E Martin, C Whyte, A Kelly 0-1 each.

CASTLELYONS: J Barry; D Spillane, C Barry, J O’Leary; N O’Leary, C Spillane, S Moroney; J Kearney, A Fenton; P Roche, L Doocey, C McCarthy; D Morrisson, A Spillane, O Hallihan.

Subs: L Sexton for Moroney (30+1-4 bs), Sexton for McCarthy (42), B Murphy for P Roche (45), R Fenton for Hallihan (58), S Cotter for Murphy (60+4).

CASTLEMARTYR: D Coughlan; C Martin, J Lawton, B Ó Tuama; D Joyce, C Joyce, M Cosgrave; Briain Lawton, C Whyte; C Sice, E Martin, Barry Lawton; A Kelly, J Stack, M Kelly.

Subs: J McGann for Sice (h-t), D Leahy for Martin (52).

Referee: Mark Maher (St Finbarr’s).