Carlow dump Wicklow out of Tommy Murphy Cup

Carlow 1-10 Wicklow 0-11

A late goal from James Clarke sent Wicklow crashing out of the Tommy Murphy Cup as Carlow claimed a 1-10 to 0-11 victory at a sunny Dr. Cullen Park tonight.

Liam Hayes’ Carlow side had nine points to spare over the Garden men when they clashed in the Leinster championship in May, but the spirited visitors almost gained revenge.

Carlow’s lack of recent training would have had a lot to do with that, but corner forward Clarke, a former goalkeeper, eventually saw them come good with a personal haul of 1-01.

The St. Patrick’s clubman pounced three minutes from time to set up a quarter-final date with London next weekend.

Despite the absence of team captain Leighton Glynn, who is currently in America, Wicklow were on top for long periods of the first half and they led 0-06 to 0-05 at the break.

Nippy corner forward Garrett Doyle, who top-scored with 0-04, and wing forward Jonathan Daniels, who landed three frees in all, were to the fore for Wicklow.

Into the second half, midfielder John Paul Dalton missed what looked a certain Wicklow goal when his effort was blocked. Dalton’s centre-field partner David Dillon took his tally to 0-02 as the visitors, jointly managed by Gerry Grehan and Jimmy Callaghan, maintained their lead.

But Clarke was sprung from the Carlow bench - replacing the injured Thomas Walsh - and he made the difference as he smashed home past goalkeeper Ray Daniels.

Spare a thought for Daniels though - it was the fifth goal he had conceded to a Carlow player this summer. The Blessington net minder conceded four when making his championship debut against the Barrowsiders in May.