U-15 Roinn A County Final Battle of the champs goes to the Village James Stephens 2-11 2-8 Graigue Ballycallan Scorers: James Stephens: Sean Casey (1-3), Stephen Minogue (0-6, 0-5 frees), Bill McDermott (1-0), Andy Murphy (0-2)Graigue Ballycallan: Aaron McEvoy (0-5, 0-4 frees), Ryan Corcoran (1-1), Jake O’Brien (1-0), Billy O’Keeffe (0-2, 0-1 free) The 2018 & 2019 U-13 County champions clashed in this Duggan Steel U-15 Roinn A county final played in Dunmore. This was not of faint hearted as the level of skill and determination on display was immense and it was a pity so many of their family members would not get to see the action in person. James Stephens just about came out on top to see Daniel Power lift the cup at the end of 60 odd minutes play. The first half belonged to the Kilmanagh outfit but they shot a number of wides in the opening half which was to prove vital. Aaron McEvoy & Andy Murphy shared opening four points equally before McEvoy ensured that Graigue Ballycallan led at the first water break with a difficult pointed free. James Stephens hit the front for the first time with Stephen Minogue & Sean Casey grabbing a point a piece before a great piece of from Ryan Corcoran saw the corner forward feed the onrushing Jake O’Brien who lashed the sliothar to the net. Minogue & Corcoran saw out the half with a minor each with Graigue Ballycallan ahead 1-4 to 0-5. The start of the second half saw the men in light blue come under intense pressure with some excellent rear guard action from Sean Roberts, Billy O’Neill & Aidan Comerford keeping the Kilmanagh side in it as Casey & Minogue split the posts with two points apiece. O’Neill & McEvoy popped over a pointed free each before sub Bill McDermott got the villages first goal of the morning when he bundled the ball home. McEvoy instantly responded with a superb point that saw the sides level 1-7 each at the water break. Minogue hit a purple patch after this knocking over hat trick points before Casey took on the baton pointing & hitting the crucial second goal. Lesser sides would have folded but in an instant it was game on as Corcoran rifled the sliothar to the roof of the net before Billy O’Neill landed a inspirational point. They tried invain to get the equalising goal but Oisin Bateman, Liam Holohan & Bill Whelan returned the ball with interest. It was tough on the Kilmanagh outfit to lose out but the can be proud of their body of work over the last two years and one wouldn’t back against them turning the tables at minor level. For James Stephens goes the spoils and it was an over all team effort that gained the victory. James Stephens: Daniel Power, Noah Minogue, Liam Holohan, Bill Whelan, Sean Deely, Oisin Bateman, Ed Lahoof, Sean Bergin, Stephen Power Kellet, Jacob Breslin, Billy Young, Stephen Minogue, Andy Murphy, Joe Greene & Simon Casey. Sub: Bill McDermott Graigue Ballycallan: Sean McGrath, Ben Young, Sean Roberts, Aidan Comerford, Dean O’Brien, Billy O’Neill, Patrick Purcell, Jeff Neary, Ryan Cody, Martin Brennan, Paidi Egan, Jamie Casey, Jake O’Brien, Aaron McEvoy & Ryan Corcoran. Ref: Sean McMahon (Erins Own). Minor B Bennettsbridge 2-19Kilmacow 1-10Thomastown was the venue for the Roinn B Minor Hurling Championship semi final between Kilmacow and Bennettsbridge. The Bennettsbridge captain, Ivan Kelly, selected to play with the strong wind after winning the toss. This decision paid off, with Bennettsbridge getting the better start and scoring three points from placed balls, the first from Bill Hughes from a long range free and two points from John Doyle before Kilmacow replied. Kilmacow’s first score came from a James Walsh free in the 5th minute. Bennettsbridge were quick to respond with two successive points from play from Oisín Meegan, the first coming after a strong run to evade the Kilmacow defenders. In the 10th minute of the game, Bennettsbridge were awarded a penalty after a foul on Eimhin Cassin. Up stepped Bill Hughes, whose shot was saved by the ever dependable Sean Dowling in the Kilmacow goal. James Walsh, Kilmacow and John Doyle, Bennettsbridge, traded scores from frees. A point each from play from James Walsh and David Williams concluded the first half. The half time score was 14 points to 7 in favour of Bennettsbridge, with John Doyle unerring in his accuracy from frees and making a personal contribution of 10 points from placed balls during this period. A notable feature of the first half was that of the 21 points that were scored, 17 of these came from placed balls, in a match that was largely played in the true spirit of the game. The second half opened with a bang as substitute Cillian Harding Kelly found the Kilmacow net with his first touch of the game. As was the case in the first half, John Doyle and James Walsh traded scores from frees. The game again came to life in the 13th minute when Cillian Harding Kelly, returning from injury, found the Kilmacow net for his second goal of the game. A point from Cillian Harding Kelly from play shortly after the water break was the next score of the game. Kilmacow continued to try and reduce the lead and were rewarded with a penalty after Ted Doyle was fouled on his way through on goal. Liam Lacey stood up to take the penalty, which was saved by the goalkeeper Jack Forristal to further boost Bennettsbridge’s confidence. A number of wides for both sides, before substitute Jack Campion got the next score of the game with a point from play. Kilmacow eventually breached the Bennettsbridge defence with a goal from James Walsh. However it was too little too late for Kilmacow, who despite battling hard, didn’t achieve the levels of performance that they had shown in previous rounds of the competition. On a final scoreline of 2.19 to 1.10 Bennettsbridge were the better team on the day and deserved victors. Bill Hughes, Ivan Kelly, John Doyle and super sub Cillian Harding Kelly performed very well for Bennettsbridge. While Sean Dowling, Liam Lacey, David Williams andJames Walsh were best for Kilmacow. The old adage that “goals win games” never rang truer than last Sunday afternoon in a breezy Mooncoin as Dunnamaggin overcame Glenmore on a score line of 3-17 to 17 pts in the Roinn B county minor hurling semi-final. After winning the toss, Dunnamaggin took full advantage of the strong breeze in the first half and had hit the Glenmore nett twice before the first water break by which time they had a sizeable lead. Notwithstanding this, Glenmore rose to the challenge in typical fashion. Gaining a foothold in the middle third of the pitch, they began to start hauling themselves back into the game slowly. At the half way point, Dunnamaggin lead by 12 points but there were clear signs that Glenmore had not given up.
The second half commenced as the first had ended, with Alan Murphy’s team working hard to turn things around. Dunnamaggin were surviving on scraps at this stage with some last ditch defending at crucial stages preventing Glenmore from getting the goal they desperately needed. Nonetheless, it was now Glenmore’s turn to take advantage of the elements and they continued to exert huge pressure on the Dunnamaggin defence. As the second half water break approached, a good cross-field ball from Dunnamaggin’s midfield was latched onto by Dunnammaggin’s inside forward line and duly despatched to the Glenmore net, re-establishing Dunnamaggin’s control on the game. Whilst there was no way back from there for Glenmore, to their credit they never gave up, chasing the game to the final whistle. Glenmore had reduced the lead to 8 points with less than 5 minutes remaining. However, the clock was their biggest adversary at this stage and despite winning the second half, they had left themselves with too high a mountain to climb. To the fore for Glenmore on the day were Cathal Beirne and Billy Reid whilst Mikey Kirwan’s excellent puck outs were a feature of the game.
Dunnamaggin now go on to play a highly rated Bennettsbridge outfit in the county final on Sunday next in MW Hire centre at Dunmore. U-15 A U-15 Roinn A County Final (pics fromWillie Dempsey to follow) Battle of the champs goes to the Village James Stephens 2-11 2-8 Graigue Ballycallan Scorers: James Stephens: Sean Casey (1-3), Stephen Minogue (0-6, 0-5 frees), Bill McDermott (1-0), Andy Murphy (0-2)Graigue Ballycallan: Aaron McEvoy (0-5, 0-4 frees), Ryan Corcoran (1-1), Jake O’Brien (1-0), Billy O’Keeffe (0-2, 0-1 free) The 2018 & 2019 U-13 County champions clashed in this Duggan Steel U-15 Roinn A county final played in Dunmore. This was not of faint hearted as the level of skill and determination on display was immense and it was a pity so many of their family members would not get to see the action in person. James Stephens just about came out on top to see Daniel Power lift the cup at the end of 60 odd minutes play. The first half belonged to the Kilmanagh outfit but they shot a number of wides in the opening half which was to prove vital. Aaron McEvoy & Andy Murphy shared opening four points equally before McEvoy ensured that Graigue Ballycallan led at the first water break with a difficult pointed free. James Stephens hit the front for the first time with Stephen Minogue & Sean Casey grabbing a point a piece before a great piece of from Ryan Corcoran saw the corner forward feed the onrushing Jake O’Brien who lashed the sliothar to the net. Minogue & Corcoran saw out the half with a minor each with Graigue Ballycallan ahead 1-4 to 0-5. The start of the second half saw the men in light blue come under intense pressure with some excellent rear guard action from Sean Roberts, Billy O’Neill & Aidan Comerford keeping the Kilmanagh side in it as Casey & Minogue split the posts with two points apiece. O’Neill & McEvoy popped over a pointed free each before sub Bill McDermott got the villages first goal of the morning when he bundled the ball home. McEvoy instantly responded with a superb point that saw the sides level 1-7 each at the water break. Minogue hit a purple patch after this knocking over hat trick points before Casey took on the baton pointing & hitting the crucial second goal. Lesser sides would have folded but in an instant it was game on as Corcoran rifled the sliothar to the roof of the net before Billy O’Neill landed a inspirational point. They tried invain to get the equalising goal but Oisin Bateman, Liam Holohan & Bill Whelan returned the ball with interest. It was tough on the Kilmanagh outfit to lose out but the can be proud of their body of work over the last two years and one wouldn’t back against them turning the tables at minor level. For James Stephens goes the spoils and it was an over all team effort that gained the victory. James Stephens: Daniel Power, Noah Minogue, Liam Holohan, Bill Whelan, Sean Deely, Oisin Bateman, Ed Lahoof, Sean Bergin, Stephen Power Kellet, Jacob Breslin, Billy Young, Stephen Minogue, Andy Murphy, Joe Greene & Simon Casey. Sub: Bill McDermott Graigue Ballycallan: Sean McGrath, Ben Young, Sean Roberts, Aidan Comerford, Dean O’Brien, Billy O’Neill, Patrick Purcell, Jeff Neary, Ryan Cody, Martin Brennan, Paidi Egan, Jamie Casey, Jake O’Brien, Aaron McEvoy & Ryan Corcoran. Ref: Sean McMahon (Erins Own).
U-15 B
Duggan Steel Roinn B Championship Quarter Final:2-9-2020
Rower Inistioge 3-20 Galmoy/Windgap 4-5
The Galmoy/Windgap U-15 hurlers bowed out of the Roinn B Championship at the quarter final stage on Wednesday evening last in picturesque Inistioge. The home side had a two point lead at halftime 1-10 to 2-5, but a strong third quarter gave them the advantage that they held to the end despite the best efforts of the visitors.
Conor Doyle got the visitors off to a great start with an early goal but the Rower struck back with a succession of points .Eoghan Lyng was particularly impressive at full forward and should be a name that we will hear more about in the future. It was even steven at the first waterbreak, 1-3 to 0-6. When impressive centre back and team captain Joseph Mulholland deove up field to hit the net for the Rower in the 30th minute he gave them a 1-9 to 1-5 lead. In the 34th minute Niall Drennanwent for goal from a 20 metre free at the other end and his well struck shot hit the net. Cian Murphy brought off a tremendous double save from Niall Drennan and John Dermody respectively to keep his side in the game as Eoghan Lyng added a free to leave his side ahead 1-10 to 2-5 at half time.
Over the course of the third quarter, the hosts dominated to strike six points without reply. The most impressive of these came off the stick of 12 year old Jack Roche from 30 metres out on the right hand sideline. In the 46th minute, Conor Doyle was fouled en route to goal and Niall Drennan stepped up to strike his second goal from a placed ball and give Galmoy/Windgap a lifeline as it was 1-16 to 3-5 at the second waterbreak. Adam Clifford was introduced for The Rower at this juncture and he soon made an impression. Eoin O Shea on the Galmoy/Windgapgoal brought off a cracking save from Ewan Gilsenan, but Clifford was on hand to slam home the rebound and stretch the lead to eight points. Jack O Shea had put in a big effort for the visitors and when cramp set in ,he was moved to the full forward line, a move which paid immediate dividends when he slammed home a fourth goal. Despite having moved to centre back for the final quarter, Eoghan Lyng put the icing on the cake for the home side when he struck home a penalty in the closing moments. Galmoy/Windgap had one last chance but CianMurphy blocked out Niall Drennan’s goalbound shot.
Rower Inistioge: Cian Murphy,Darragh Murphy,PeterMackey,John Joe Lawless,Eoin Murphy(0-1),Joseph Mulholland(1-1,0-1f),Cathal Langton,Callum McGrath(0-1),Donal Óg O Brien,Tom O Callaghan(0-3),Ewan Gilsenan(0-4),Matthew Hennessy,Patrick Mackey,Eoghan Lyng(1-8, 1-5 fs),Jack Roche(0-2).
Subs:Adam Clifford(1-0) for Patrick Mackey 48 mins, Jack Tennyson.
Galmoy/Windgap:Eoin O Shea, John Dermody, James Purcell,George Culleton , Rohan Lonergan,Colman Moloney , Noah O Shea , Jack O Shea(1-0), Cian O Rourke(0-1), Niall Drennan(2-1,fs), Evan Doyle (0-1), Darragh Doyle, P J Delaney, ConorDoyle(1-1) Ronan O Brien(0-1).
Subs: Conor Darcy for Colman Moloney(inj.) 9 mins, Michael Freaney for P J Delaney 51 mins,Fionn Lonergan for RohanLonergan 51 mins, Cormac Hynes for Jack O Shea(inj)
Duggan Steel Under 15 B Hurling Championship Quarter Final @ 6.30pm
Venue: BallyraggetTeams: St Patricks Vs DunamagginHalf time Score: St Patricks:1-01Dunamaggin: 1-11 Full time Score: St Patricks: 1-04Dunamaggin: 2-16Panel: Oisin Troy, Ruairi Farrell, Micheal Glennon, Taras Biletskyy, Harry Culleton, Thomas Love, Aaron Nealis, Shane Culleton Christopher Delaney, Mark Doheny, Conor Phelan, Josh Dowling, Christian Connick, Mark Bergin, Sean Brennan. Subs: Mark Hogan Tadhg Phelan, Shay Smith and Conor RocliffAn excellent performance from Dunamaggin who’s victory over St Patricks dominated from the outset. Excellent conditions at the St Patricks GAA Grounds gave way to both sides showing an excellent display of hurling, skill and determination. Great effort was put in on both sides unfortunately it was not St Patricks Day. Dunamaggin at half time had a strong lead of 10 points, which left St Pats struggling to fight back in the second half. St Patricks scored from play 1 Goal and 2 points and 2 other points from frees, while Dunamaggin scored 2 goals and 11 points from play, 6 points from frees and 1 from a 65.
U-13 A
Young Irelands 4:10
John Lockes 3:04 This first round of the Championship got off to an exciting start in Gowran, on Friday evening. John Lockes, from Callan made the 6:30pmthrow – in despite the numerous road works on the Kilkenny-Callan road of late!Both teams were hungry for a win, as this was a do or die battle.Aidan Keating struck a goal for Gowran with Billy O’Keeffe adding a point in the opening quarter. Callan retaliated with a goal from Luke Power and a point from Robbie Jackman to make it all square at the first waterbreak.Billy O’Keeffe added a second goal for Gowran and teammate Thomas Langton scored two points before half time. Callan took their chances with both Ollie Donavan and Robbie Jackman finding the back of the net for John Lockes, giving a half time score of Young Irelands 2:3, John Lockes 3:2.The second half saw Young Irelands up their game, slowly pulling away from the opposition. Thomas Langtons scored two goals in quick succession in the early minutes of the second half. This gave the home side confidence to power on. Thomas added a further 4 points, with Ben Drennan, Billy O’Keeffe and Jake Kelly adding a point each. Despite some powerful defending from Callan’s full back; Paddy O’Brien and centre back; Danny Carey, the Young Ireland boys were persistent in their attack. Denis O’Sullivan worked ferociously in the Callan full forward line, but they only managed to score two points in the second half.Though a convincing win for Gowran, the battle on the field was tight and competitive. A great game to behold!
By Mary Morgan Tue 8th Sep
