The Heath into Round 3 of Laois SFC as Clonaslee St Manman's bow out

The Heath are through to Round 3 of the Laois Shopping Centre SFC after overcoming Clonaslee St Manman's by three points in a closely fought battle in O’Moore Park on Thursday night.

Both teams were evenly matched throughout the game, which provided compelling viewing and went right down to the wire as The Heath held out for a crucial win.

The first half was slow to get going for both teams, but when it did, it developed into an entertaining affair. Denis Browne kicked the first point for The Heath with a good individual effort to give his side an early lead.

Clonaslee St Manman's responded brilliantly, with Cathal Lee levelling matters. Niall Corbet then put his side into the lead with two brilliant points and, all of a sudden, the gap was two.

That sparked the game into life as The Heath responded with the first goal of the game through a well-taken finish from John MacNamara to put them back into the lead.

Conor Booth then kicked a free as The Heath were causing trouble whenever they moved the ball quickly into their forward line. Within two minutes, Clonaslee St Manman's had a goal of their own after a goalmouth scramble saw Cian Conroy finish to the net. They followed it with a point from Cian Callaghan to reduce the gap to a point. The Heath then hit back with two points, one from Conor Booth and the other from Paddy Fitzpatrick.

The next five minutes belonged to Clonaslee St Manman's as they scored five points, with Cathal Lee kicking two two-pointers and Niall Corbet adding another point in between. The Heath hit the final two points of the half through two inspirational scores from Fitzpatrick, leaving the sides level at 2-6 to 1-9 at half-time.

Fitzpatrick continued in the same manner in the second half as he had finished the first, kicking two points in a row, one from play and the other from a free, to put The Heath into the lead.

Both teams then traded scores, with the brilliant Fitzpatrick grabbing The Heath's score while Cian Callaghan kept his side in the game with another fine point.

The momentum then swung in the direction of Clonaslee St Manman's as half-time substitute John Rigney hit the back of the net following quick thinking from Cathal Lee, who took a quick free and found Rigney, who finished to put his side back into the lead.

The Heath responded once again, with Fitzpatrick levelling matters with another excellent point from play. However, Clonaslee St Manman's found a response again and just would not go away. They hit two points in a row through Niall Hogan and James Dunne to put them ahead 2-12 to 2-10 with 10 minutes remaining, and they looked to be in a strong position to claim the win.

The Heath had other ideas, though, and retook the lead in the 53rd minute. Sean Kirby added his first point of the game to narrow the gap to a point before The Heath were awarded a penalty after Brian Ging was fouled by Oisin Keating in the Clonaslee St Manman's goal.

Conor Booth stepped up to take the penalty, but his effort was saved. Booth was on hand, however, to find the net with the rebound and put The Heath back into the lead at 3-11 to 2-12 with seven minutes remaining.

Cathal Lee then landed a free as the game entered its closing stages to ensure a nail-biting finish. The Heath settled again, though, and Jimmy Nerney struck an inspirational score despite playing on one leg for the final few minutes of the game.

Sean Kirby then landed the final point of the game with a fisted effort in the 62nd minute. Clonaslee St Manman's went in search of a late goal, but The Heath held on for a superb three-point win.

Clonaslee St Manman's, having suffered two defeats, are out of the championship and will now drop into the Senior 'B' competition.

FINAL SCORE

The Heath 3-13

Clonaslee St Manman’s 2-13

SCORERS - The Heath: Conor Booth 2-2 (0-2 frees), Paddy Fitzpatrick 0-7 (0-3 frees), John MacNamara 1-0, Sean Kirby 0-2, Jimmy Nerney and Denis Browne 0-1 each Clonaslee St Manman's: Cathal Lee 0-6 (two two-pointers, 0-1 free), Cian Conroy 1-1, John Rigney 1-0, Niall Corbet 0-3, Cian Callaghan, Niall Hogan and James Dunne 0-1 each

THE HEATH: Joe Walshe; James Doyle, PJ Larkin, Alan Whelan; Sean Kirby, Neil Keane, Mark Phelan; Jimmy Nerney, Aaron Thornton; Denis Browne, John MacNamara, Paddy Fitzpatrick; Brian Ging, David O'Brien, Conor Booth. Subs: Patrick O'Callaghan for MacNamara (55 mins), James Phelan for Browne (58 mins), Sam Rooney for Booth (62 mins)

CLONASLEE ST MANMAN'S: Oisin Keating; Diarmuid Conroy, Adam McDermott, DJ Callaghan; James Dunne, Darragh Scully, Noah Flynn; Cian Callaghan, Will Young; Cathal Lee, Ger Reilly, Manus Dunne; Niall Corbet, Cian Conroy, James McRedmond. Subs: John Rigney for DJ Callaghan (HT), Liam Senior for McRedmond (37 mins), Niall Hogan for Manus Dunne (41 mins), Patrick Hyland for Reilly (43 mins)

REFEREE: Clifford Ward (Portarlington)