Two goals in the opening 10 minutes set Trim on their way to victory over Wexford opponents Crossabeg-Ballymurn at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon.

Trim ............................. 2-15
Crossabeg-Ballymurn ..... 0-10

A strong response to Crossabeg-Ballymurn's first-half rally was also significant in securing a provincial final date with Clara, currently fixed for January 15.

Wing-back Conor Quigley bagged the first in the second minute with Mikey Cullen nailing the other with assistance from Eoin O'Connor and Aaron Lynch to leave it 2-1 to 0-1.

In between those scores Trim 'keeper Peter Farrell did well to deny Andrew Butler a goal at the hospital end.

From that promising start Trim struggled for a spell. Their restarts were problematic while they found it difficult to get their frontline into the game.

With Conor Devereux and Paudie Foley driving them forward from midfield, the team hailing from a few miles north of Wexford town gradually chipped away at the deficit.

Butler's frees and a spread of points from play moved Crossabeg-Ballymurn to within a point of Trim by the 27th minute after midfielder Paudie Foley sent over for the team in green.

Kevin Reilly's men closed the half with a four-point flourish. They might have had a penalty when Mikey Cullen was fouled. Aaron Lynch pointed the subsequent free.

A Cullen point from a Rob Bourke delivery was the penultimate score of the half. Top scorer Aaron Lynch (free) closed the scoring to leave it 2-8 to 0-9.

Trim upped their game from the resumption, outscoring Crossabey-Ballymurn by 0-7 to 0-1.

Diarmaid McDonald's side opened the second-half scoring. Butler's 35th minute free proved to be their only score after the break.

Trim moved seven points clear by the second water break, with two points from sub James Murray notable.

They might have had a third goal but Aaron Lynch's hesitation allowed the visitors' defence to smother the effort.

Butler was wide from a scoreable free before Aaron Lynch's superb point from an acute angle put further distance between the teams. He added two further points from play in the final quarter with Cullen also registering.

Foley's late rasper almost pulled a goal back for the visitors but Farrell blocked the effort before another Crossbeg-Ballymurn player was wide from the rebound.

While the great start sustained Trim, the improvement in defence in the second-half was also important.

Scorers: Trim - Aaron Lynch 0-6 (2fs); Mikey Cullen 1-2; Conor Quigley 1-0; Alan Douglas 0-3; James Murray 0-2; Rob Bourke, Sean Fitzgerald 0-1 each.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn - Andrew Butler 0-4 (fs); Oisin Foley 0-2; Conor Devereux, Paudie Foley, Mark O'Connor, Bill Eviston 0-1 each.

Trim - Peter Farrell; Gerard Dwane, Luke Moran, Declan Dowling; Conor Quigley, James Toher, Ciaran O'Rourke; Rob Bourke, Sean Fitzgerald; Ciaran Caulfield, Alan Douglas (c), Daire Lynch; Mikey Cullen, Aaron Lynch, Eoin O'Connor. Subs - James Murray for D Lynch (36), Ian Bermingham for Toher (57), Ciaran Joyce for E O'Connor (58), Paul Munnelly for Quigley (58), Ben Holden for Dowling (60 + 1).

Crossabeg-Ballymurn - Ben Turner; Martin Redmond, David Kehoe, Conor Barlow; Robert Murphy, Ronan Devereux, Seamus Carroll; Conor Devereux (c), Paudie Foley; Eoin O'Connor, Oisin Foley, Mark O'Connor; Cian Kinlough, Bill Eviston, Andrew Butler. Subs - Martin Sludds for Barlow (26), Aaron Cummins for Kinlough (43), Mark Byrne for O O'Connor (45), Oran Maddock for M O'Connor (49, Joe Kelly for Eviston (56),

Referee - Kieran Harris (Kildare)

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