Castletown get the better of The Harps for first win in Laois GAA ACHL Division 1

Castletown got their first points on the board in Division 1 of the ACHL on Sunday afternoon when they came away from Durrow with a hard-fought six-point win over The Harps in blustery conditions.

Once a venue greatly covered by a row of towering trees on the far bank, the developments in recent in The Harps’ base in Durrow saw the trees cut, meaning the pitch up on the height on the entrance into the town is at the peril of the elements and the tail end of Storm Dave meant the wind played a major role in the game as it swirled around continuously for the duration.

Castletown had the benefit of it for the first half and they made it pay with all six forwards getting on the scoresheet from play in the opening 30 minutes as they cut through the heart of The Harps’ defence on a couple of occasions to take an 11-point lead at one stage, led by youngsters Kyron Cuddy and Tom Og Phelan alongside the experienced Conor Phelan.

The Harps battled back well before half-time with Ciaran Comerford proving very accurate on the frees, and when they appeared for the second half with the wind advantage, they cut the gap back to a single point, but a late charge from Castletown saw them go on to regain the lead and take the win.

Matthew Peters opened the scoring for the visitors with a well-taken point before Kyron Cuddy and Conor Phelan went score for score to slot a brace of wonderful points each as Castletown took a five-point lead early on.

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The Harps came back with a quick brace from Ciaran Comerford and a single point from his brother Dan, but their hard work was cancelled out when Conor Doran fed a ball inside to Benny Reddin, and he hammered it home for a goal.

The Castletown dominance continued with scores for Tom Og Phelan and Ryan Peters before a flurry of four in a row after an initial reply from a Comerford frees.

Points from Conor and Tom Og Phelan, along with two Cuddy frees, saw them take a commanding lead that was increased further when Doran pounced on a loose ball and rattled the net himself this time around.

The second goal appeared to wake the hosts up from their slumber as they saw out the final five minutes of the half on the up with a brace of Comerford points along with one from Michael Monahan after a very well-taken goal by Liam Kirby to make it 2-12 to 1-8 at half-time.

Despite hurling into the wind, Castletown opened the second half scoring through Cuddy, but it would be their last point for about 20 minutes as The Harps dominated and hit seven in succession through the Comerfords, Rian Edwards and Kirby to reduce the gap down to a single point with 10 minutes remaining.

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After the lull period, Castletown suddenly found a few more gears and thought they were in for a goal, but the ball was judged by one of the umpires to have not crossed the line, however Cuddy still pointed a free and added another soon after.

Comerford fired back for The Harps, but all the momentum was with the visitors in the closing stages.

Conor Walsh struck an excellent point from midfield, and he was followed by Conor Phelan, Dylan Conroy and a Cuddy brace to give Castletown an unassailable lead as the clock ticked into injury time, and they held on for a big win.

Castletown will welcome 2025 Laois SHC champions Clough/Ballacolla at home next time around, while The Harps will travel to face Portlaoise in Round 3.

FINAL SCORE

Castletown 2-21

The Harps 1-18

​SCORERS - Castletown: Kyron Cuddy 0-10 (eight frees), Conor Phelan 0-4, Tom Og Phelan 0-3, Conor Doran and Benny Reddin 1-0 each, Matthew Peters, Ryan Peters, Conor Walsh and Dylan Conroy 0-1 each. The Harps: Ciaran Comerford 0-11 (ten frees), Liam Kirby 1-1 Michael Monahan and Daniel Comerford 0-2 each, Rian Edwards and John Brophy 0-1 each.

​THE HARPS: Peter Walsh; Cathal Phelan, Ciaran Flynn, Eoghan Doheny; Tiarnach Doheny, Cathal Murphy, Conor Brophy; Daniel Comerford, Rian Edwards; James Duggan, Ciaran Comerford, Michael Monahan; John Brophy, Pat Walshe, Liam Kirby. Subs: Ben Dunphy for Monahan and Lochlann Curran for T Doheny (both ht).

​CASTLETOWN: Paddy Mullaney; Killian Cuddy, Shane Phelan, Ryan Peters; John Gaughan, Tadhg Cuddy, Tommy Goode; Conor Walsh, Callum Peters; Kyron Cuddy, Conor Phelan, Tom Og Phelan; Benny Reddin, Conor Doran, Matthew Peters. Subs: Dylan Conroy for T Phelan (45 mins), Sean Og Byrne for M Peters (55 mins).

​Referee: John Lalor (Shanahoe)