Defending champions Athy back in Towns Cup final
Athy RFC players celebrate after their side's victory in the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup semi-final match between Athy RFC and Longford RFC at Cill Dara RFC Photo: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Defending champions Athy are heading back to the final of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Towns Cup after a masterful win over Longford on Saturday afternoon in Silken Thomas Park, home of Cill Dara RFC.
Longford dominated the opening quarter, but Athy, who play two divisions above Longford in the Leinster League, proved their pedigree in the final hour, running in seven tries in total to win the semi-final by 36 points.
Longford took the lead, but tries from Tom Sheedy and Craig Miller had Athy 15-5 up at half time.
The second half was mostly one way traffic, with further tries from Josh Miller, Aidan Henry and Ciaran Fennessy putting the game beyond doubt.
Longford did get a score back, but a brace of tries from Cathal Fennessy brought the game to an end, with Josh Miller slotting 13 points off the tee despite incredibly challenging conditions.
Aidan Henry (1 try); Cathal Fennessy (2 tries), Tom Sheedy (1 try), Josh Miller (1 try, 1 pen, 5 cons), Ciaran Fennessy (1 try); Craig Miller (1 try), Eoin Farrell; Aaron Rowan, Niall O'Hanlon, Conan Dunne; Lochlann Kelleher, Tom Brady; John Sheedy, Jack Henry, James Sheedy.
Replacements: Matthew Henry, Karol Donohoe, Conor McDonnell, Shane Horgan, Patrick Julian, Daniel Henry, Culann Carbery.
Conor Mulligan; Daithi Connolly, Ryan McHugh, Andrew Farrell, Jamie Byrne; Jayden Boshoff (1 con), Danny McHugh; Padraig O'Farrell (1 try), Ronan Collum, Dylan Quinn (1 try); David Geelan, Alan Crowe; Shane McGuigan, Mark McHugh, Seamus McKeon.
Replacements: Barry Sullivan, Liam Brady, Fred Davis, Dean Rogan, Nigel Reilly, Shane Farrell, Jude O’Rourke, Danny Ryan.
David Williams.
