Clane dominate Clonad on way to Leinster final
Cormac Vizzard (Clane) gets past former Éire Óg Corra Choill and Kildare hurlers Barry Cormack, now of Clonad, during today's Leinster Junior Hurling Championship semi-final Photo: Sean Brilly
Clane moved safely into the Leinster Junior Hurling Championship final with after a sparkling display against Clonad of Laois today in Manguard Park.
The Kildare Senior ‘B’ Hurling champions tore into the game from the off and were dominant throughout.
Cormac Vizzard pulled strings in midfield and scored two points as well as having a hand in a number of others as Clane moved into a 0-8 to 0-1 lead by the 12th minute.
They added the exclamation mark to that start when lively corner forward Shane Henry got in for a goal in the 15th minute, and he quickly added two more points.
It was only really former Éire Óg Corra Choill and Kildare senior hurler Barry Cormack that added any sort of resistance on the scoreboard for Clonad, although Fionn Holland did score a nicely taken goal in the 27th minute but even at that stage it felt like a consolation goal rather than anything that was going to spark a comeback.
Clane led 1-14 to 1-1 half time and although Cormack scored two points soon after the restart, the Laois side never looked like making inroads into the lead.
The icing was placed on the Clane cake in the 56th minute when a sweetly struck sideline ball by Sean Christianseen picked out Caolan Smith and he cleverly readjusted himself before batting the ball into the net.
Clane now move on to play Davidstown Courtnacuddy of Wexford in the final in two weeks’ time.
Mark Doyle 0-1f; Aidan Mooney, Tom Malone, Cian Shanahan, Dan Colbert 0-1, Sean Malone, Aaron Connolly; Sean Shanahan 0-2, Cormac Vizzard 0-2; Simon Healy 0-2, Sean Christianseen 0-1, Hugh Muldoon 0-1, Paddy McKenna 0-4 (1’65, 1f), Caolan Smith 1-3, Shane Henry 1-5. Subs: Paddy Connolly for A Connolly, h/t; Daniel Malone for T Malone, 35; Ger D’arcy for Healy, 48; Riann O’Neill for Henry, 58 James Farrell; Gareth O’Brien, Jack Ahern, Liam Whelan, Charlie Hand, David O’Brien, Cillian Duff; Barry Cormack 0-5 (3fs, 2’65), James Whelan; Dan O’Sullivan, Fionn Holland 1-1, Jimmy Norton, Colin Delaney, Patrick O’Callaghan, Ross Holmes. Subs: John Noonan for O’Sullivan, 22; Jim Holland for Delaney, 35; Ray Killeen for Norton, 47; Ciaran Donohue for Ahern, 48.
Richard Holland (Kilkenny).
