By Kevin Egan

AIB Leinster Intermediate Club Football Final

Mattock Rangers 1-14 Mullinavat 0-11

Mattock Rangers drew the curtain on Mullinavat’s fairytale run through the Leinster Intermediate club championship this afternoon, with a powerful second-quarter surge the key to their 1-14 to 0-11 win over the Kilkenny side in the provincial decider, played at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda.

Jamie Fennelly and Ian Duggan were in excellent form for the Kilkenny champions as they played with the wind in the first half and moved into an 0-7 to 0-2 lead after 20 minutes. However, that lead was cut to just a single point, 0-8 to 0-7, by half time as Adrian Reid, David Reid and Shane Hickey all kicked crucial scores to set the Collon men up with a very strong foundation from which to build after half time.

Mullinavat, who were hoping to become the first Kilkenny club to win a provincial football title, kicked the first point of the second half but they dodged a bullet when Ryan Leneghan cracked a shot off the crossbar and were rocked back on their heels when Brian Corcoran palmed Dan Bannon’s pass into the net for the Louth men.

Brendan Leacy and Aaron O’Brien kicked excellent scores to push the gap out to three points by the three-quarter mark and while Mullinavat kept pushing hard to get back into the game, Mattock Rangers always had enough in hand and secured provincial glory, and a clash with Magheracloone in the All-Ireland semi-final.

AIB Leinster Junior Club Football Final

Rathgarogue-Cushinstown 0-13 Clann na nGael 0-12

Rathgarogue-Cushinstown of Wexford won the junior decider against Clann na nGael by the bare minimum, and needed a full 80 minutes before emerging 0-13 to 0-12 winners over the Meath side in Páirc Tailteann.

Daire Bolger did the bulk of the scoring with six points, five from frees, but in total the Wexford men had seven different scorers from play, in contrast to Clann na nGael who were heavily dependent on dead ball scores from Cian Swaine, Jack Doherty and goalkeeper Enda O’Gríofa.

Clann na nGael had a couple of chances at the end of normal time but failed to take them so it finished 0-11 each at the end of the hour, and points from Jason Dunne and Matthew Cody in the first half of extra time were enough to see the Model County men over the line.