The Harps take giant step towards Laois GAA SHC quarter-finals

The Harps have one foot in the knockout stages of the Laois Shopping Centre SHC after a comprehensive thirteen-point victory over Rosenallis in O'Moore Park on Friday evening.

A close game was anticipated to get Round 4 off to a blistering start, but unfortunately it didn't come to fruition and The Harps dominated for the 60 minutes and allowed Rosenallis limited chances to reduce the gap that was created early on.

Despite the loss, Rosenallis remain second in Group A going into the final round, and are all but assured of their quarter-final place providing that a strange set of results don’t go against them.

As for Friday’s game, The Harps were simply better all over the field. Their backs were excellent in dealing with the limited supply that came into the Rosenallis forwards and down the other end, The Harps forwards were clinical when the chances arose.

To their credit, Rosenallis went man for man and defended like dogs throughout and kept a clean sheet, which is rare against the very potent forwards that The Harps have at their disposal.

Five points split the sides at half-time, and Rosenallis remained in with a fighting chance, but the second half was all one-way traffic in favour of The Harps and they ran out comfortable winners.

Eoghan Murphy was outstanding at half-back for the victors while Cody Comerford cleaned up any of the balls inside that made their way past the impenetrable half-back line for The Harps.

While The Harps’ backs were excellent in keeping Rosenallis to a measly seven points from play, their forwards kept busy at the other end with James and Justin Duggan causing their usual problems to the full-back line, while Ciaran Comerford slotted some fantastic scores from centre forward.

Justin Duggan has been in red-hot form in this year's championship and he once again opened the scoring in this one with a point and Ciaran Comerford soon followed with a free to double The Harps’ lead.

Fiachra C Fennell got one back for Rosenallis with an effort from long range and Conor Cosgrove struck a free after a free at the other end for Ciaran Comerford. The Harps ran up the lead early on with two excellent scores from Comerford and James Duggan under intense pressure before Eoghan Murphy fired over from distance and Padraic Dunne got in on the act with another.

Cosgrove slowed the roll momentarily with a free before Comerford struck twice either side of an excellent score from Murphy. Murphy and James Duggan both added to their tallies in the closing minutes of the half, but it was Rosenallis who went into the break slightly happier.

Cosgrove split the posts with a pair of frees before David Dooley won the ball back on his own 45 and burst a gut to make it up the field to get on the end of a great team move to fire over the bar and Charlie Friel added one before the break to make it 0-12 to 0-7.

Justin Duggan again opened the second half scoring and Murphy and Comerford weren't long behind with a pair of frees which were matched by Cosgrove, but the tide was truly turned and The Harps had all the momentum going forward.

Eoin Delaney appeared off the bench and pointed excellently before a brace of frees from Comerford, with a great score from Ross Deegan sandwiched in between. The Harps flexed their muscles from the bench with the introductions of Tony Mahony, Delaney, John Brophy, Tiarnach Doheny and Liam Kirby in the closing stages, which injected a new lease of life into them.

Rosenallis' job was made more difficult when their marksman Cosgrove received a red card for a wild pull on Eoin Delaney with ten minutes left to play. Fiachra C Fennell added his second point of the game moments before the incident, but The Harps hit back with a vengeance again.

A quick double from Ross Deegan but eleven points between the teams before Comerford was on hand once again to split the posts with a brace of frees.

A second point from Eoin Delaney capped off an eventful appearance off the bench for the youngster in his first year in adult hurling and the final score of the game came in vain from Rosenallis sub Darragh McEvoy but the game was well put to bed by that stage.

FINAL SCORE

​The Harps 0-24

Rosenallis 0-11

SCORERS - The Harps: Ciaran Comerford 0-10 (seven frees), Eoghan Murphy 0-4 (two frees, one 65), Ross Deegan 0-3, James Duggan, Justin Duggan and Eoin Delaney 0-2 each, Padraic Dunne 0-1. Rosenallis: Conor Cosgrove 0-6 (five frees), Fiachra C Fennell 0-2, David Dooley, Charlie Friel and Darragh McEvoy 0-1 each.

​THE HARPS: Bobby Murphy; Ciaran Flynn, Cody Comerford, Jack Kennedy; Eoghan Doheny, Podge Delaney, Eoghan Murphy; Rian Edwards, Padraic Dunne; Ross Deegan, Ciaran Comerford, Mikey Monahan; Justin Duggan, Hugh Whelan, James Duggan. Subs: Eoin Delaney for Edwards (35 mins), John Brophy for Monahan (48 mins), Tiarnach Doheny for E Doheny (52 mins), Tony Mahony for Whelan (55 mins), Liam Kirby for Deegan (57 mins)

​ROSENALLIS: Stephen Kelly; John Maher, Diarmuid Dooley, Oran Gorman; Alex Marron, Fiachra C Fennell, Joey Shelley; Charlie Friel, Matthew Bennett; David Dooley, Conor Cosgrove, Jimmy Hyland; Jack Friel, Brian Fitzpatrick, Paddy Keating. Subs: Sam Sommers for Hyland (40 mins), Tommy Keating for Shelley and Darragh Hughes for Bennett (both 48 mins), Darragh McEvoy for Fitzpatrick and Eoin McEvoy for J Friel (both 55 mins)

​REFEREE: JJ Gorman (Clough-Ballacolla)