Sport

Lambert makes timely intervention

Tipperary SFC final / Ardfinnan 1-5 Loughmore-Castleiney 1-4 : Player-manager, Peter Lambert's point four minutes from time …

Mon Oct 31 2005 - 00:00

Tipperary SFC final / Ardfinnan 1-5 Loughmore-Castleiney 1-4: Player-manager, Peter Lambert's point four minutes from time gave Ardfinnan victory over Loughmore-Castleiney in the Tipperary senior football final at Cashel yesterday afternoon.

Steering his side to their eighth championship, and their first since 1974, was a fitting reward for the former Munster player.

However, fortune smiled on them as the reigning champions, Loughmore-Castleiney, were reduced to 14 men 14 minutes into the second half.

Ardfinnan played with the wind in the first half but at half-time the sides were level on 0-2 each. Ardfinnan were guilty of some poor shooting in that period and it looked as though Loughmore were on course for the win .

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Points by Ken O'Keeffe and Ciarán McGrath in the opening six minutes of the second half put the holders in the driving seat but the game changed dramatically soon afterwards.

After Peter Hally pointed, Lambert set Hugh Bannon up for an Ardfinnan goal in the 12th minute of the second half to put his side 1-3 to 0-4 ahead.

Two minutes later, Loughmore had wing forward Derek Bourke sent off after he received his second yellow card and Ardfinnan then started to dictate matters.

Though Hally had a further Ardfinnan point in the 52nd minute, Loughmore threw the game wide open when Noel Morris flicked a delivery from Ciarán McGrath into the net a minute later to level the scores.

With a draw now looking likely, Lambert had the last say when he shrugged off a number of tackles and took what proved to be the match-winning point.

ARDFINNAN: E Ryan; T Ryan, A J Lonergan, K O'Brien; M Phelan, H Bannon (1-0), C Hennessy; T Maher, L Bannon; A O'Gorman, T Kearns (0-1), J R Murphy; P Hally (0-2), P Lambert (0-2), D Walsh; Subs: S Maher for Hennessy; M English for O'Gorman; J Hackett for Walsh.

LOUGHMORE-CASTLEINEY: D Brennan; G Sweeney, N Ryan, T Long; T King, D Kennedy, E Connolly; M Webster, P Brennan; C McGrath (0-1), M Gleeson, D Bourke; J Egan (0-1), K O'Keeffe (0-2), D Laffin. Subs: S Bohan for Egan; N Morris (1-0) for Laffin.

Referee: P Russell (Emly).