Hanley's Heroes stay on course for Leinster glory

They had to withstand some sustained late pressure but for a spirited Clann na nGael side it was mission accomplished as they defeated Ballymore Eustace 2-8 to 1-10 in the Leinster Club JFC semi-final at Trim today. 

On a dank, November afternoon Clann na nGael produced spells of sunshine football to secure their place in the final with the team displaying the kind of gritty tenacity that has been a hallmark of their performances this year. 

Tom Hanley's side trailed 1-5 to 0-9 at the interval but they really pushed on in the second-half upping their performance to get the better of a well-organised Ballymore Eustace outfit. 

Clann na nGael's team conjured up the opening goal of the game after 15 minutes when Tom Hanley passed to Philip Garry who found the net with a powerful shot. Garry added a point soon after to give his team a 1-3 to 0-3 advantage but Ballymore Eustace hit back. Niall Murphy showed the way for the Kildare outfit with four points to help them lead at the break. 

Cian Swaine (three) and Ryan McNamee and were others to split the posts for Clann na nGael in that opening half.  

The Meath side were struggling in the lead up to the break but they really upped their performance in the second-half although they shipped a blow when Stephen Dwyer converted a penalty for the Kildare outfit soon after the resumption. At that stage Ballymore Eustace led 1-9 to 1-6. 

However, undaunted Clann na nGael hit back with two booming points from Jack Doherty and one from Swaine. The Clanns really took a giant step towards victory when on 54 minutes they won a penalty that was superbly swept home by Darragh Griffin. 

The Clann na nGael defence had to withstand some late, sustainted pressure but they managed to do just that to record a famous victory. It says a lot about Clann na nGael that they could hold Ballymore Eustace to just 1-1 in the second-half. 

This was a super team display by Clann na nGael - something that was acknowledged by manager Tom Hanley afterwards. That this was all about a team effort, he emphasised.  

See match report, quotes and photographs in the next issue of the Meath Chronicle  

The Clann na nGael players (below) take to the pitch for today's game.