Cloughbawn had Zak Hernan to thank for a hard-earned point after a dramatic late leveller rescued a draw against St. Fintan’s in a thriller that finished 0-17 to 2-11.
It looked like St. Fintan’s were going to edge it, with their two goals giving them a cushion that Cloughbawn had to chase for large parts of the game. But Cloughbawn kept plugging away and Hernan stepped up when it mattered most, grabbing the crucial score that sealed the share of the spoils in the closing stages.
Goals change games, and St. Fintan’s knew that better than anyone on the day. Their two major scores put serious daylight between the sides and forced Cloughbawn to keep the scoreboard ticking over with points just to stay in touch. It is never easy playing catch-up like that, and for long stretches it looked like the gap might just be too much to close.
But Cloughbawn showed real character to keep at it. They worked their way back into the contest point by point, refusing to let the game slip away. The sides were level by the end, which, given how the game was going at certain stages, will feel more like a win than a draw for the Cloughbawn camp.
For St. Fintan’s, it will be one that got away. They had the goals, they had their chances, and they will be disappointed not to have converted that platform into two points. A draw is not the worst result, but when you have two goals on the board you expect to be walking away with the win.
The final score of 0-17 to 2-11 tells the story of a tight, competitive contest where neither side could put the other away for good. Cloughbawn’s tally of seventeen points from play shows they were more than capable of scoring, they just could not find the net when goals might have made life easier for themselves.
Hernan was the name on everyone’s lips at the final whistle, his late intervention earning Cloughbawn a point they will be very grateful for as the championship campaign continues.