Carlow champions St Mullins bow out of Leinster Championship at hands of Annanough

St Mullins bowed out of the Leinster Junior Football Championship after a three-point defeat to Laois champions Annanough in SETU Sport campus on Saturday.

Annanough's Damien McCaul stole the show as he notched up an impressive tally of 1-6 to propel the visitors to victory.

Annanough 1-11

St Mullins 1-8

Annnanough got the ball rolling as a quick free from John Scully found Cathal Kelleher who split the posts after two minutes. Good build-up play was to the fore for the next Annanough score as Simon Shortall found himself on the end of a well-worked move to raise their second white flag after three minutes. St Mullins got their first point of the game through a mark as Seamus Murphy slotted it between the posts.

St Mullins followed that score up with two more points as two hurlers from the Carlow Senior team James Doyle and Marty Kavanagh both curled the ball over the bar. John Scully levelled the game with a good score after he had went on a good run through the middle of the field.

Damien McCaul, who was on form in the Junior final, rattled the back of the net after a superb piece of passing play. Johnny Fennelly carried the ball upfield before passing to Killian Horgan who in turn found Shortall and he teed up McCaul to drive the ball beyond Paul Kehoe in the St Mullins net. McCaul added to his goal with a stunning point after he had sold his marker with a dummy solo. James Doyle kicked the half’s last score as Annanough 1-4 to 0-4 at the break.

Having held a three-point lead at the break, Annanough’s advantage was reduced to a single point within two minutes of the restart. Seamus Murphy kicked over his second mark of the game while Murphy got his third point this time through a free. McCaul took his tally to 1-2 as he raised a white flag through a free. The Laois side’s lead was eradicated with the next score as St Mullins got in for goal. Chris Kavanagh produced a stunning finish to put St Mullins a point up.

That would St Mullins’ last score for quite some time as Annanough hit the front and fired over six points unanswered. McCaul kicked four of those points as the forward finished with 1-6 of Annanough’s 1-11 total. Fennelly and Horgan got the other two points. Chris Kavanagh pointed to leave four between the sides before his team were reduced to 14 men after Marty Kavanagh was shown a second yellow-card. Murphy kicked a late free for St Mullins as they went in search of a goal but they couldn’t break through the Annanough defence.

Annanough will have a home quarter-final in two weeks time where they’ll face Glyde Rangers of Louth.