Clarina was the location for round 3 of the senior football championship on Thursday evening last. We suffered 2 tough losses in round 1 and 2 of this year’s championship but I think it's fair to say that our lads didn't look like a defeated team tonight. From the word go, Na Piarsaigh looked sharp, and hungry. Fionn O'Tiarnaigh started the scoring on 6 minutes after a well worked move involving captain Evan Sweeney, and Dylan Cronin. Dylan added to this moments later with a lovely score off his left. Sweeney and Dylan both swapped frees before Dylan added his second from play and third of the day with a quick turn off his left, while under heavy pressure from the St. Kieran's defence. Gordon popped up on 24 minutes with a majestic strike from the outside of his right boot that sailed straight over the black spot. The score now stood at 7 points to 1 in our favour. It was only a matter of time before our opponents got some bit of a foothold on the game but our backs had them hard pressed. Our opponents were to strike 3 points before the half time whistle. Half time score: Na Piarsaigh 0-07 St. Kieran's 0-04

Dylan's left leg was to slot it's 4th point of the day 3 minutes into the second half. St. Kieran's were to respond with a point of their own. The resulting kick out saw us work the ball all the way up the field and back into a threatening position. Sweeney gave a kick pass from the 65 into Dylan about 35 yards out from goal. He gave a one-two to get closer to goal and then passed it across the square for a waiting Rueben to palm the ball into an empty net. The goal saw us extend our lead to 6 but that was short lived with our opponents converting a free followed by a goal, capitalising on our wayward kick-out that saw the ball beat Sherlock in a race back to the net. We responded well to the setback with Dylan adding 3 more points, 2 frees and 1 from play. We were awarded a penalty on 50 minutes when Ian Leonards shot on goal was denied by a foot block by the St. Kieran's keeper. The resulting penalty was buried by Dylan to put us into a commanding lead of 2-11 to 1-07. This was to be our last score of the game. The remaining 10 minutes was a tense period, doing all we could to deny the opposition a goal scoring opportunity. Our defence stood firm, limiting St. Kieran's to 3 frees and a point from play.

An outstanding display from 1 to 15 and all the subs that came on. Notable performances from Christy O'Hagan and Ralph Leonard at the back, both providing an added threat in attack. Our oppositions midfield was nullified by the excellent work from Ruaidhrí and Rueben at the centre of the field, while Dylan had a stellar display up front, greatly assisted by the link up play of the 2 Evan's and Gordon. We suffered a couple of injuries throughout the 60 minutes with Cathal McMullan, Evan Egan and Evan Sweeney all having to be withdrawn. The lads that came in did well, Sam Jordan and Darragh Jordan(no relation) both gaining valuable possession at key moments close to the end. Final score: Na Piarsaigh 2-11 St. Kieran's 1-11

Huge credit must go to Micheál and his management team for the work they've put in since the start of the season. This was a well deserved win after an outstanding team display. Next up is Monaleen on Thursday evening in Rathbane. This will no doubt be a season defining game but our lads will have taken massive confidence from the win over St. Kieran's. We'll need everyone out to support the team and drive them over the line. 

Team: Eoghain Sherlock, Christy O'Hagan, Shane Walsh, Jack McCarthy, Fionn O'Tiarnaigh(0-01), Ralph Leonard, Ronan Houlihan, Ruaidhrí O'Conail, Rueben McCarthy, Ian Leonard, Evan Sweeney(0-02, 1f), Dylan Cronin(1-07, 3f, 1-00P), Gordon Brown(0-01), Evan Egan, Cathal McMullan.

Subs used: Sam Jordan for Evan Sweeney, Darragh Jordan for Evan Egan, James Linnane for Cathal McMullan.