MONAGHAN SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL.

C'Blayney 1-13
Inniskeen 1-11

Reigning champions Castleblayney retained their senior hurling championship title when they held out for victory in this closely contested final that built to an exhilarating finish in Aughnamullen on Sunday evening.

Inniskeen whom C'Blayney defeated in last year's final were left to rue a number of missed chances particularly in the first half but they also found life difficult against a hard-working Castleblayney defence in which brothers Mark and Peter Treanor were outstanding. Castleblayney raced into an early four points lead and that gave them a cushion that helped them hold the edge during an increasingly competitive first half at the end of which they led by 0-9 to 0-7.

Castleblayney extended their lead with points by man of the match Gary Boyd and Fergal Rafter in the opening five minutes of the second-half but they found Inniskeen difficult to put away. They seemed to have achieved that objective though when Fergal Rafter flashed in an opportunist goal in the 23rd minute after a centre by Gary Boyd broke loose in the Inniskeen area. Michael McHugh then added a point from a free to put the champions seven points in front and victory looking assured. However they were clinging on by their fingertips in the closing minutes as Inniskeen fought back for a goal and two points to leave just two between the sides with three minutes of normal time remaining. Full back Padraig Dowdall crashed in the goal from a free to reduce the margin to two but Castleblayney held out for what was overall a deserved victory.

Scorers: C'Blayney: M McHugh 0-5 (4f), F Rafter 1-1, S Forde 0-3, H Byrne 0-2, G Boyd and J Lacey 0-1 each. Inniskeen: R Meegan 0-4 (3f), M Lennon 0-2, D Meegan 0-2, S Loftus, D McGahan and P Meegan 0-1 each.

C'Blayney: R McAteer, P Murphy, M Treanor, P Collins, C McNally, P Treanor, B Connor, J Lacey, G Boyd, B Reilly, H Byrne, F Rafter, B McGuigan, M McHugh, S Forde. Subs: D Crowe for C McNally, P Finnegan for B Connor, S Lambe for F Rafter, T Forde for H Byrne.

Inniskeen: G Ruddy, TJ Byrne, P Dowdall, C Meegan, S Loftus, P Brooks, PJ Boyle, T Hilliard, D McGahan, S Shevlin, M Lennon, M Murphy, P Meegan, R Meegan, D Meegan. Subs: P Donohoe for S Shevlin, P Rooney for D McGahan.

Referee: J O'Rourke ( Monaghan HC). Tweet

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