O’Loughlin Gaels knock out Carlow champions after unusual dismissal

Leinster hurling championship: O’Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny) 2-16 Mount Leinster Rangers (Carlow) 0-13

O’Loughlin Gaels suppressed a second-half Mount Leinster Rangers rally at Dr Cullen Park to safely book their place in the semi-finals of the Leinster club senior hurling championship.

Mount Leinster Rangers finished the game with 14 men after an unusual sending-off, with the first of sub Diarmuid Byrne’s two yellow cards was shown because he entered the field of play without the proper protocols being followed.

His second infraction, picked up for a foul when stopping a scoring chance, arrived in the 54th minute at a stage when just four points separated the sides.

O’Loughlin Gaels seized their numerical advantage and outscored Mount Leinster Rangers 1-4 to 0-2 over the remainder of the contest.

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Byrne’s arrival on the field did not appear to follow the standard formalities when a change takes place, but Mount Leinster Rangers manager Paul O’Brien felt the booking was overly fussy officiating.

“We tried to do things right when we had a free, get a fella on, get a fella off. The fella that came off was off the field, he was up in the stand and had to go from the stand back on the pitch,” said O’Brien.

“Like, that kind of stuff is ridiculous. And I’m not making an excuse out of it, it’s just silly. Just trying to put a sub on and there’s a f**king ordeal to it.”

Some of the parameters regulating subs include a player having to enter the fray from the substitution zone (five metres either side of the centre line) ”when given permission by the referee” during a break in play, while the note documenting the change must also be handed to a match official.

After receiving that 40th-minute yellow card, Byrne made his way off the field again, with Tony Lawlor returning to the pitch. Mount Leinster Rangers then made the change again seconds later, Byrne officially entering the game already on a booking.

Two minutes after he was sent off in the 55th minute, O’Loughlin Gaels sub Luke Hogan put the game to bed with a second goal for the Kilkenny champions.

Still, had Mount Leinster Rangers finished the game with 15 players it would have taken quite a whirlwind final few minutes to cause an upset in a provincial club quarter-final they never once led, and which they trailed from the moment of Owen Wall’s fifth minute goal all the way until the final whistle.

O’Loughlin Gaels led 1-10 to 0-4 at the interval, though that gap was possibly unfair on Mount Leinster Rangers as they had created plenty of chances only to suffer from registering nine first-half wides.

They were over-reliant on Chris and Jon Nolan up front, with the O’Loughlin Gaels defence holding the rest of the starting Mount Leinster Rangers forwards scoreless.

At the other end, Wall’s pace and trickery caused Michael Doyle plenty of problems while captain Mark Bergin was consistent in front of the posts for the victors, finishing the game with 0-8, three of those from play.

O’Loughlin Gaels won the Kilkenny final a fortnight ago while Mount Leinster Rangers were playing their first game in 13 weeks, having triumphed in the Carlow decider in August.

So, it was no major surprise to see Brian Hogan’s O’Loughlin Gaels start stronger in this contest, and by the quarter hour mark they were 1-6 to 0-2 ahead in a game which started in glorious November sunshine but finished under floodlights.

Despite being nine adrift at the break, Mount Leinster Rangers hit a run of form on the restart and outscored O’Loughlin Gaels 0-7 to 0-2 in the first 20 minutes of the second half. However, 1-12 to 0-11 was as close as the game got and Luke Hogan’s goal ensured O’Loughlin Gaels would advance to a semi-final meeting with Kilcormac-Killoughey.

“A win is a win, coming off the back of the county final it was important just to get on the road,” said manager Brian Hogan.

“Relieved, I suppose there was a period in the second half there where we lost our shape and got very sloppy. To be fair, they were always going to get a period of dominance and it was that period, but overall a nine-point margin at the end of it, we would have taken that before the match.”

O’Loughlin Gaels: Stephen Murray; Mikey Butler (0-1), Huw Lawlor, Anthony Forrestal; David Fogarty, Paddy Deegan, Jordan Molloy; Jack Nolan (0-3), Cian Loy (0-1); Conor Heary (0-2), Mark Bergin (0-8, 4f, 1 65), Eoin O’Shea; Owen Wall (1-0), Paddy Butler (0-1), Seanie Bolger. Subs: Luke Hogan (1-0) for O’Shea (39 mins); Jamie Ryan for Loy (45 mins); Conor Kelly for P Butler (52 mins); Kevin Murphy for Nolan (57 mins)

Mount Leinster Rangers: Dean Grennan; Michael Doyle, Jack Murphy, Seán Joyce; Tony Lawlor, Kevin McDonald, Richard Coady; Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Evan Kealy; Ted Joyce, Donagh Murphy, Jon Nolan (0-3); Ciaráin Kavanagh, Edward Byrne, Chris Nolan (0-9, 6f, 1 65). Subs: Paul Coady for Joyce (ht); Diarmuid Byrne for Lawlor (41 mins); Dean Tobin (0-1) for E Byrne (51 mins); Tim Brennan for Kavanagh (57 mins); Michael Malone for Kealy (60 mins)

Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford)