Duggan brothers shine as The Harps seal second spot in Group B

James Duggan scored 2-4, while his brother Justin finished with 1-3 Sign up to our Ireland Live newsletter Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Ireland Live within your account. The Harps secured second spot in Group B of the 2026 Laois Shopping Centre SHC with an impressive victory over Ballinakill in Laois Hire O'Moore Park on Saturday evening in their Round 5 clash. While The Harps were already looking good for a quarter-final berth due to their huge score-difference advantage over their Group A rivals Borris-Kilcotton and Rathdowney-Errill, there was heaps of pressure on Ballinakill, who had to win if they were to have any hope of qualification from their group. Ballinakill and Abbeyleix came into the weekend level on points and Ballinakill had a much healthier score difference, but their loss here left them waiting for the outcome of Abbeyleix's game against Rathdowney-Errill on Sunday and as Abbeyleix came out on top, Ballinakill will have to face Ballyfin in a relegation decider. The Harps will now be facing Borris-Kilcotton in their quarter-final in a fortnight, with the winners going on to face Clough/Ballacolla in a semi-final two weeks later. All the damage in this one was done very early on as James Duggan found the net twice and his brother Justin followed with a third, heaping the pressure on Ballinakill from the outset. Duggan continued to have an excellent game, finishing with 2-4 in total as he led The Harps' youthful attack from the front and their pace and quickness off the ball had Ballinakill at sixes and sevens for much of the first half. Read More Ballinakill dug in deep and battled back, but crucially they could never get the chances at goal that The Harps got in that period and while they picked off some fine points, it was goals that they needed to have any hope of a resurgence. Though Ballinakill got the first score of the game into the Abbeyleix end through a Brian Duggan point, it was The Harps who celebrated most in the opening minute when Justin Duggan found his elder brother James in front of the posts and he finished well for a goal. Eoghan Murphy and Ciaran Comerford added points to The Harps tally before Duggan was in for a second goal when he pulled off a trademark flick in the air after an inch-perfect pass up the field from Podge Delaney as he was being shouldered into the stand sideline. Ballinakill kept their own scores ticking over with one from play by Ryan Quinlan along with a brace of frees from Duggan, but they were struggling with the sheer pace coming from The Harps when they were in possession. That continued with points from Justin Duggan and Eoin Delaney before Justin Duggan rattled in their third goal in 12 minutes after an excellent ball down the right-hand side from Ciaran Flynn. The game settled somewhat after the third goal as Ballinakill opted for a more defensive approach with three in midfield, which helped to contain The Harps' attacks. Points did still come, however, from James Duggan and a Comerford free, but Ballinakill reeled them back in slightly with a brace of Duggan frees and an excellent effort from play by Gearoid Lynch. An air of sloppiness began to creep in on both sides as they handed possession back to each other for six minutes straight without a score until a brace of frees from Comerford ended the drought. Ballinakill hit back with two from play late on through Seamus Fitzpatrick and Ethan Drury, but they trailed 3-8 to 0-9 at the break. Read More Ian Shanahan launched over an excellent score to open the second half, but The Harps continued to excel with a double from James Duggan followed by another free from Comerford. Cha Dwyer received a yellow card for a foul on Murphy for Comerford's free and he replied with a wonderful sideline cut under the stand before Duggan followed with a free. Ballinakill's task was made much tougher when Ryan Quinlan received his marching orders for a shoulder into the face on The Harps captain Padraic Dunne just seven minutes into the second half. The sides went on to trade a trio of scores, three frees from Duggan for Ballinakill, while Comerford hit two at the other end and James Duggan slotted from play. Justin Duggan then got in on the act with a quick brace of scores along with an excellent strike from Eoghan Murphy, as the result looked to be set in stone in the final ten minutes or so. Ballinkaill continued to battle down to the wire and added scores from Dwyer, Ben O'Mara, Ethan Drury and Dylan Doyle, but the jig was up and The Harps held on for the win. ​SCORERS - The Harps: James Duggan 2-4, Ciaran Comerford 0-8 (0-6 frees), Justin Duggan 1-3, Eoghan Murphy 0-2, Eoin Delaney 0-1. Ballinakill: Brian Duggan 0-9 (0-8 frees), Cha Dwyer (0-1 free, 0-1 sideline) and Ethan Drury 0-2 each, Ryan Quinlan, Seamus Fitzpatrick, Gearoid Lynch, Dylan Doyle, Ben O'Mara and Ian Shanahan 0-1 each. ​THE HARPS: Bobby Murphy; Eoghan Doheny, Cody Comerford, Jack Kennedy; Ciaran Flynn, Podge Delaney, Eoghan Murphy; Rian Edwards, Padraic Dunne; Ross Deegan, Ciaran Comerford, Eoin Delaney; Justin Duggan, Hugh Whelan, James Duggan. Subs: Tiarnach Doheny for Flynn (49 mins), Tony Mahony for Deegan (50 mins), John Brophy for Delaney (53 mins), Mikey Monahan for Whelan (56 mins), Donal Deegan for E Doheny (58 mins). ​BALLINAKILL: Paul Simms; Cathal O'Shaughnessy, Ian Shanahan, Lir McDonald; Andrew McDonagh, Gearoid Lynch, Ethan Drury; Cha Dwyer, Dylan Doyle; Ben O'Mara, Brian Duggan, Dan Bergin; Ryan Quinlan, Jamie Drury, Seamus Fitzpatrick. Subs: Conor McDonagh for D Bergin (48 mins). ​REFEREE: Alan Doheny (Castletown)