*Eoin O’Regan loses his hurley on the attack for Éire Óg. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CRATLOE, Éire Óg, Inagh/Kilnamona and Sixmilebridge have qualified for the semi-finals of the U21A hurling championship.
Round two games on Saturday confirmed who the final four are in the Berwick Callinan Murphy Solicitors under 21 A and B hurling championships. Score difference was required in both grades.
First round losers, St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and Clarecastle went into their contest at Clarecastle needing victory. A win for Doora/Barefield and defeat for Sixmilebridge would mean that score difference would determine which of the two would take second spot. Clarecastle needed to win and should that have happened they needed the ‘Bridge to win so that it would come down to score difference.
A late goal saw Doora/Barefield win that one by the minimum margin which left them on minus 3 for their two games which Sixmilebidge finished on plus 1 which was enough to see them though.
In the other group Clooney/Quin knew that they had to record a comfortable win if they were to have a chance of progressing. Despite emerging with a 35 point winning margin over Ballyea, they are out of the title race as Inagh/Kilnamona who lost to Éire Óg go through on the head to head rule having beaten Clooney/Quin in the opening round.
In that game, played at Éire Óg, the home side looked to be out of the competition as they trailed by two as the game went into ‘injury time’ but they struck for a match winning goal which keeps their title hopes alive.
In the A semi-finals Cratloe will play Inagh/Kilnamona while Éire Óg will face Sixmilebridge.
In the B competition Feakle/Killanena and Broadford played out a 1-15 2-12 draw and with a win and a draw each they both go through with Feakle/Killanena taking top spot on score difference. Their result meant the scheduled tie between Corofin/Ruan and Clonlara didn’t proceed on Sunday as the knockout places were finalised.
Scariff/Ogonnelloe have topped the other group with the second spot here filled by Tulla who just ousted Kilmaley on score difference. Scariff/Ogonnelloe didn’t let the journey to Kilmaley stop them when recording a 3-13 0-12 victory.
Mistaken identity hurt Newmarket-on-Fergus’ cause and subsequently Kilmaley’s, referee Joe Mullins incorrectly booked Seán Arthur and later showed him a second yellow card, a dismissal which was a turning point in the game as they let their grip on the lead slip with Tulla inspired by Ryan Hayes and the Culloos emerging with a 2-16 2-15 victory.
Cratloe take control in second half
Cratloe 2-14
Sixmilebridge 0-16
Venue: Ó Eithír Park, Cratloe
Although they ended up losing to their neighbours, scoring the final four points in the contest proved crucial for Sixmilebridge as it steered them past St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on score difference and into the semi-finals as the runners up in the group.
A strong third quarter in which they outscored their opponents 1-5 to 0-1 proved crucial for Cratloe.
After an evenly contested first half visitors Sixmilebridge took a two point advantage to the dressing room, 0-10 to 1-5.
Cratloe would not have been flattered to hold the lead at this stage but they were guilty of a lot missed chances both from play and frees.
They changed free takers three times with Marc O’Brien doing best and he finished the tie with 1-6, 0-4 from frees and 0-1 from a ‘65.
Sam Sheedy had the opening score for the winners but the visitors then hit five in a row by the tenth minute.
In a five minute spell the home side scored 1-3 without reply, the goal coming from Marc O’Brien after Tadhg Lohan had provided the pass. The ‘Bridge who relied heavily on Seamus O’Connell for scores, then replied with five unanswered points before Marc O’Brien had the final score of the half
The home side showed the greater urgency on the resumption and after Evan Crowe had pointed twice to level the tie, O’Brien found the net and Sam Sheehy followed with a point to put them four clear.
Seamus O’Connell followed with a point but Cratloe were now in control and they responded with five unanswered scores to seal their passage to the semi-finals.
The ‘Bridge battled to the finish, landing the last four points to ensure they are still in the race for the title.
Jamie Moylan again led the charge for Cratloe, dominating in the heart of the defence. Midfielders Sam Sheehy and Evan Crowe, Rian McNamara at corner back and Marc O’Brien up front also did well.
Sixmilebridge goalkeeper Mark Sheedy was outstanding and he pulled off four outstanding saves over the course of the hour. Seamus O’Connell, Callum Phelan and Dara Fitzgerald worked hard throughout.
Cratloe: Eoin Deegan; Riain McNamara, Jake Higgins Denis Mundy; Cathal Lohan, Jamie Moylan (0-1), Cian O’Gorman; Sam Sheehy (0-2), Evan Crowe (0-3); Keelan O’Donoghue (0-1) Daire Neville (0-1), Jake Moylan (1-0); Marc O’Brien (1-6, 0-4 f, 0-1 ‘65), Tadhg Lohan, Éanna Collins
Subs; Matt Danagher for Jake Moylan; Harry Strogen for D. Mundy; Sam Mulhollland for C. O’Gorman; Jack McMahon for K. O’Donoghue; Cathal O’Doherty for E. Collins
Sixmilebridge: Mark Sheedy; Mark Mullins, Oisin Breen, Gary O’Callaghan; Dara Fitzgerald, Matthew O’Halloran, John Deasy; Callum Phelan (0-2), Fiachra Ó Braoin; Conor Gilligan (0-1), Seamus O’Connell (0-9), Dylan Keogh; Zak Phelan (0-1), Conor Murphy, Fionn Hayes;
Subs: Rory Chaplin (0-2) for C.Murphy; Jack O’Halloran (0-1) for G. O’Callaghan; Cillian Murphy for D. Keogh; Neil Forde for C. Gilligan
Referee: Brendan Hannon (O’Callaghans Mills)
Meaney’s last minute goal gives Doora/Barefield victory
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 1-17
Clarecastle 1-16
Venue: Clarecastle
A last-minute goal from substitute Frankie Meaney gave St. Joseph’s victory over Clarecastle at the latter’s venue but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the title race.
A long range free dropped short and Meaney was on hand to fist time the ball to the net.
Finishing level with Sixmilebridge with a win each to their credit, the Doora/Barefield outfit’s score difference was inferior to that of the ‘Bridge and so they bowed out of the championship.
Clarecastle had marginally the better of the first half and they took a four point lead to the break when the score was 0-9 to 0-5.
The respective free-takers were the leading scorers with Padraic O’Donovan contributing 0-10, nine from frees for his side, one more than Oisin Whelan for the Magpies and one of his tally also came from play.
(Gallery of photographs by Gerard O’Neill)
St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield; Evan Creavan; Ian Williams, Ciaran O’Driscoll, Senan Crosbie; Paddy Nagle, Conor Daly, Darragh Ball; Mark O’Connor (0-1), Graham Ball; Shane Mescall (0-1), Charlie Hannan, Eoin Lahiffe; Michael Nash (0-1), Thomas O’Connor (0-2), Padraic O’Donovan (0-10, 9f).
Subs; Frankie Meaney (1-0) for I. Williams (inj); Odhran O’Connell for S. Mescall; Eoin McMahon for P Nagle; Joe Mannion for M. O’Connor; Leon Talty for E. Lahiffe.
Clarecastle; Fionn Morgan; Conor Griffin, Niall Brigdale, Mark Griffin; Cian O’Dell, Aaron Hayes, Niall Óg Tuohy; Evan Price (0-1), Evan O’Connell; Scott Brack (0-1), Oisin Whelan (0-9, 8f), Harry Doherty (0-2); James Doherty (0-1), John Casey, Paul O’Connell (0-2).
Subs: Rory Ralph (1-0) for Casey; Darragh Hickey for O’Dell
Referee: Ian Daly (Newmarket-on-Fergus)
Kavanagh’s goal helps Éire Óg top group
Eire Og 1-13
Inagh/Kilnamona 0-15
Venue: Ennis
Éire Óg supporters who were keeping tabs on how the Clooney/Quin v Ballyea game was going were clearly worried as this game entered ‘injury time’ at the Ennis club’s grounds.
At that point they trailed the visitors by two points and Clooney/Quin were comfortably ahead of Ballyea which meant that the town side were on the way out of the championship on score difference.
That both sides wanted to win was clear from the off and the game produced a couple of flash points.
The game produced a tremendous tussle between Shane Woods in defence for Inagh/Kilnamona and Éire Óg’s Marco Cleary with Woods managing to hold the highly rated Cleary scoreless
Éire Óg hurling teams are playing with huge confidence this year and this was clear as the town side refused to give in and with the game in the fourth minute of added time they struck for a goal from Tom Kavanagh which gave them the win and top spot in the group and kept them in the race for honours.
The Ennis side lined out without footballers Darren Moroney, Luke Pyne and Cian Howard because of their involvement in the Munster club football quarter final twenty four hours later.
Inagh/Kilnamona had gone to the break with a three point advantage, 0-8 to 0-5 and they continued to maintain that slight advantage throughout the second half.
Top scorer in this contest on the day was Fed Hegarty with 0-6 in a tie in which eight players shared in his side’s tally.
Six players combined for the winner’s tally with Rian Mulcahy and Conor Perrill (0-4 each) and Tom Kavanagh (1-1) were the key contributors.
Éire Óg; Brian Lynch Niall Doyle, Fionán Treacy, Roan McDermott; Jack Lynch, Robert Loftus, Rian Mulcahy (0-4); Luke Malice, James O’Dwyer (0-1); Tom Kavanagh (1-1), Conor Perrill (0-4), David Loftus (0-2); Marco Cleary, Eoin O’Regan, Luke Vaughan;
Subs; Rian Clohessy for Malice; Andrew McElwee for D. Loftus; Bernard Keating for E. O’Regan
Inagh/Kilnamona; Frank Roughan; James Cullinan, Shane Woods, Conor Rynne; Neill Hegarty (0-2) James Hegarty (0-1), Ricky Wynne; Mark Callinan (0-1), Jamie Wynne (0-1); Cathal Ryan, Gearoid Barry (0-1) Jack Mescall (0-1); Sean Rynne (0-2), Jack Callinan, Fred Hegarty (0-6, 5f);
Subs; John Barry for J. Callinan; Dara Murrihy for C. Ryan
Referee: Ger Hoey (Killanena)
(Gallery of photographs by Gerard O’Neill)
Easy for Clooney/Quin but their race is ended
Clooney/Quin 4-31
Ballyea 0-8
Venue: Clooney
Questions are sure to be raised as to how Ballyea were graded A in this campaign in which they suffered defeats of 25 and 35 points in their two games.
Yes, they were hit with the loss of players to injury, particularly for this game but with a huge amount of this panel eligible for the grade for another year or two it was clear that they would probably have been more suited to the B division this year.
Clooney/Quin welcomed Ballyea to Clooney where they were chasing a big win in the hope of keeping their campaign alive. It took them a while to establish their dominance but having taken an eight point lead to the break, the dominated the second half confining their opponents to just a point.
A tally of 1-4 from Jack O’Neill helped the winners to lead 1-12 to 0-7 at the break and at that stage few would have predicted the one side nature of the second period.
With 1-4 each from Dannan Fox and Jerry O’Connor and 1-3 from Sam Scanlan the visitors ran up a huge tally only to have their hearts broken when news came through of an injury time goal for Éire Óg, a score which put a Clooney/Quin side hotly fancied for ultimate honours in this championship out of the title race.
Clooney/Quin: Cathal Leamy; Fionn O’Gara, Evan Maxted, Sean McNamara (0-1); Matthew Corbett (0-4), John Cahill (0-1), David Considine; P.J. McCarthy, Patrick Finneran (0-2); Sam Scanlan (1-3), Jack O’Neill (1-4), Callum Hassett (0-2); Jerry O’Connor (1-8), Darragh McNamara (0-1), Dannan Fox (1-5);
Subs; Donncha Mahon for J. O’Connor; Enda O’Haloran for P.J. McCarthy
Ballyea; Sean O’Malley; Dara O’Neill, Niall Carigg, Conor Hill; Sean McAllister, Eoin Kennedy (0-3), Sam Garry; Daniel Costelloe, Darragh Moylan (0-3); Cian O’Callaghan (0-2), Ciaran Connolly, Eoin Coote; Rory Markham, Ciaran McMahon, Daniel Browne;
Subs; Jack McNamara for D. Moylan (inj); Cillian Moylan for R. Markham
Referee: John Bugler (Whitegate)
