The Longford hurlers go into next weekend’s Allianz National Hurling League Division 3B Semi-final in excellent form, winning their third successive league match against Cavan at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday by eleven points.
Goals from Emmet Corrigan and Johnny Casey helped the Midlanders to a 2-11 to 0-09 victory against the Breffni side who finished the game with thirteen players.
Playing with a strong wind in the first-half, Longford raced into a 1-02 to no-score lead after just six minutes. Evan Tully and John Mulhern pointed for the visitors while Emmet Corrigan scored the goal.
Although it was a superb finish from Corrigan, the build-up to the green flag being raised was quite fortuitous. Longford were awarded a free which resulted in a fresh air attempt by Paddy Lynam, however, the midfielder quickly recovered to pick out Corrigan who cut in from the right flank and he fired the Sliotar to the Cavan net.
Fiachra Hughes scored the home side’s first point on eleven minutes with a thirty-yard effort from the right, but Longford slotted over the next two scores courtesy of Reuben Murray and Adam Quinn.
Quinn’s point was sublime as he ran onto a Cathal Mullane pass and split the uprights with a splendid strike to put Longford up by 1-04 to 0-01 in the nineteenth minute.
Cavan responded with the next two points through a James Smith free and a fine score from out on the right by Anthony Sheridan.
A glorious flowing move from Longford should have produced another point on the half-hour mark. Mulhern played an exquisite cross-field ball from the left to pick out Aidan Sheridan on the right and he cleverly set-up the advancing Cathal Mullane, only for the usually reliable forward to shoot narrowly wide.
Longford’s Lynam with a sixty-yard score and another James Smith free for Cavan left four points between the sides after thirty-four minutes.
Cavan suffered a triple blow in first-half stoppage time. Goalscorer Corrigan added to his goal with a good point from play, then Lynam scored a free to give Longford a six point cushion.
The biggest blow for the home side came when defender Phillip McCabe was shown a straight red card just before the interval for a striking offence.
Trailing by 1-07 to 0-04 at half-time, the Breffni side had reduced the deficit to just three points by the fiftieth minute, as James Smith registered three unanswered points including two frees, in the opening eight minutes of the half. Mullane and Hughes then swapped points as Longford were up by 1-08 to 0-08.
Successive points from Reuben Murray and Lynam stretched the visitor’s advantage to five points.
Any hopes of a Cavan comeback win were dashed just before the hour mark when they were reduced to thirteen players as Anthony Sheridan was sent-off.
Longford pointed with another Lynam free and then they got their second goal on sixty-three minutes when Cian Kavanagh set-up Johnny Casey, and the Captain rattled the Cavan net from close range to put them nine points clear.
Longford registered three more points in the closing stages with scores from Mullane, Lynam and Quinn, while Smith got Cavan’s last point of the contest.
Longford will take on Leitrim in next weekend’s semi-final after they were narrowly beaten by two points by Fermanagh in Ballinamore, with the Ernesiders automatically qualifying for the final as table toppers.
Scorers- Cavan: James Smith 0-06 (5f), Fiachra Huges 0-02, Anthony Sheridan 0-01.
Sent-off: Philip McCabe (35 minutes +), Anthony Sheridan (59 minutes)
Scorers- Longford: Paddy Lynam 0-05 (2f) Emmet Corrigan 1-01, Johnny Casey 1-00, Adam Quinn 0-02, Reuben Murray 0-02, Cathal Mullane 0-02. John Mulhern 0-01, Evan Tully 0-01.
Cavan: Niall Clerkin, Mark Moffet, Gavin Fitzpatrick, Shane Briody, Philip McCabe, Jack Barry, Liam Og Cooke, Enda Shalvey, Matthew Hynes, James Smith, Diarmaid Carney, Conor Bannon, Fiachra Hughes, Anthony Sheridan, Jack McGuinness.
Substitutions: Rory Farrell for Hughes (51 minutes), Padraig Jackson for Carney (65 minutes).
Longford: Eoin Donnellan, Niall Moran, Enda Naughton, Keelan Cox, Adam Quinn, Diarmuid O’Donnell, Karl Murray, John Mulhern, Paddy Lynam, Evan Tully, Cian Kavanagh, Ciaran Farrell, Emmet Corrigan, Cathal Mullane, Reuben Murray.
Substitutions: Aidan Sheridan for Tully (19 minutes), Johnny Casey for Ciaran Farrell (57 minutes).