The final of the U 21 competition was evenly balanced until midway in the second half when a goal from a penalty strike by Niall Croke after Liam Deane was fouled set St Barnabas on the road to victory.
Prior to this game changer the contest was tense and close as both teams had difficulty adapting to the very adverse weather conditions as they wasted some very promising goal chances. Meanwhile Conor Hogan had the opening score straight from the throw-in but the St. Barnabas squad failed to capitalize on the early plentiful possession that they enjoyed. Early attempts from Rangers' Shane Carty were unsuccessful but a Keegan Talty point soon settled the team down. Rangers jumped ahead with a brace of points from Carty but then Pauric McDaid struck a beautiful point from the sideline to stay on their tails. Carty, Rangers' danger man, chipped over another but the opposition responded with two to leave Rangers leading by 0-5 to 0-4 at the break.
On the resumption Rangers were doing most of the pressing but missed opportunities plus a good save from keeper Schumacher kept the scoreboard static. The goal from the penalty was the catalyst for St Barnabas as they began to play with much more conviction and fluency. Soon Shane Flanagan, Brian McGovern and company were floating over points while defenders Mullens, Hogan and McDaid kept a tight rein on the Rangers, limiting them to just a single point. The icing was soon on the cake as Flanagan finished the rebound from Adrian Wynne's attempt to the net. Though Kevin Daly, Daniel Lehane, Brian Twomey Shane Carty, Donnacha O'Dwyer and Shane Carty strove to the end, they had no answer to the fire power of St, Barnabas especially in the last quarter.
St. Barnabas: Matt Schumacher, Pat Hallinan, James Mullen, Nick Schmidt, Frank McDermott, Shane Hogan, Paidi McDaid(0-1), Niall Croke(1-0), Tom Vaughan, Shane Flanagan(1-5), Dan McEnaney, Brain McGovern(0-2), Liam Deane(0-1), Jack Hannon, Conor Hogan(0-1). Subs. James Hannon, Brendan McMorrow, Kevin Hallinan, Rory Redican, Adrian Wynne, John Clarke Rangers: Aiden Tansey, Emmet Croker, Donnacha O'Dwyer, Phil Kennedy, Gareth Moore, Dan Lehane, Dan Wagner, Kevin Daly(0-1), Tom O'Brien, Keegan Talty(0-1), Brendan Hynes, Jimmy Murphy, Phil Normally, Shane Carty(0-3), Brian Twomey. Sub. Joe Shankey Referee Martin O'Connor, Man of Match Shane Flanagan
Galway bridge 21-year gap
Galway easily disposed of the Tipperary challenge to book their spot in the New York senior hurling final on next Sunday. The Tribesmen last appeared in the final in 1990, and they won it in 1989. There was little doubt that Galway were by the far the superior team against rivals Tipperary, though both teams played admirably despite the atrocious weather conditions.
Galway threw down a marker quickly as their speedy and skillful forwards hit four points in the opening ten minutes. Aiden Harte was a major threat from play and placed balls while the whole forward division moved with elegance and effectiveness. At the other end defenders Lynch, dual player Greville, Cahill and Geary kept their the rear guard tight, holding the opposition to just four points in the first half and three in the second. Kevin Reilly came off the bench midway in the period and immediately heralded his arrival with three superb points. Overall his play and scoring were in the super sub category. Galway led by 0-9 to 0-4 at the break.
On the resumption Harte landed three points while Aiden Purcell and John McLoughlin combined for a brace. Veteran John Madden and Tipp's most effective player Cathal Parlon responded with two for Tipperary but these were mere speed bumps against the cruising Tribesmen. On the day everything seemed to fall into place for Galway as when tenacious tackling by Greville forced a turnover which was then parlayed into a fine score by Purcell at the other end. Reilly finished off a very fine game with a goal as Galway dominated this game from start to finish. They will need a similar performance plus bit a more if they are to derail Offaly from their quest for five in a row.
Galway: Aiden Mullins, David Lynch, Paul Greville, Paul Cahill, Shane Kavanagh Kieran Geary, John McLaughlin(0-1), Liam Butler, Robby Jackson(0-1), Aaron Farrell, Aiden Harte(0-10), Aiden Purcell(0-1), Aiden Moylan. Subs. Tadgh Lyons, Alan Sherlock, Kevin Reilly(1-4), Dermot Kenny.Tipperary: Ray Murray, Padddy Tuohey, Dan Guidera, Conor Hayes, Brian Burke, Ray Maloney(0-1) Cathal Parlon(0-1), John Madden(0-1), Enda O'Loughlin, Brian Brooks(0-1), Shane Dooley(0-2), Fintan Meehan Paul Loughnane. Subs. Dave Loughnane, Niall Garry(0-1), John Sadler, David Costigan. Referee, Dermott Flynn, Man of Match Aiden Harte.
Cavan win very physical contest
Cavan kept their playoff hopes alive as they had the better of the Kingdom in a rather tough physical game. Though referee Sean Jones issued two red cards, he could have used more as there were late hits, off the ball tackling and too much emphasis on taking the man out of it.
In the first half there was nothing between the sides --Cavan had 1-5 on the board at the break while Kerry had 0-8. Ian Davis opened the scoring but Kerry responded well as quick points from Paul Geaney, Barry John Walsh and Kevin Walsh had them three ahead. However Cavan quickly reclaimed the lead as Michael Boyle blasted to the net after Davis set him up. Cavan were soon a goal clear as Stephen Harold finished a nice give and go with Tommy Warburton for a point and then shook off several tackles to land another. Scores from Vinnie Gavin and Kevin Walsh had the minimum between the sides. Kerry kept the pressure on and points followed from Dermie Foley, CJ and BJ but a Gerald McCarthy point from a free had them all square at the break.
Cavan came out strongly after the break as the McCarthy duo struck for a brace while Gerald added another after Brian was fouled. Gavin got one back for Kerry but both teams were soon down a player as Eoghan O'Mahoney and Paddy McCullough were ordered off. Cavan still held the upper hand as McGinley, Cardin and Lambe were doing well in defense while the forwards wound continue to extend the lead. With ten minutes left Cavan were ahead by six but a goal from Vinnie Gavin after Paul Geaney picked him out with a quick free breathed some new life into a flagging Kingdom squad. Another point from Kevin Walsh and it looked as if another great Kingdom comeback was on the cards. However that was as close as they would get as two points from Gerald McCarthy consolidated an important victory for Cavan, though the proceedings were far from pretty at times.
Cavan: Maurice Dee, Paul Lambe, Kevin Cardin, Kieran Martin, Brendan Reilly, Ronan McGinley, Keith Cardin, Paddy McCullough, Alan Carolan, Michael Boyle(1-1), Brian McCarthy(0-4), Tommy Warburton, Ian Davis(0-1), Stephen Harold(0-2), Gerald McCarthy(0-6). Subs. Justin O'Halloran, Joey McKeon, Barry McGinn, Sean McGibney. Kerry: Shane Clifford, Niall Corbett, Eoghan O'Mahoney, James Huvane, Ross Donovan, Kieran Quirke, Jonathon Lyng, Mike Jim Fitzgerald, Darren Courtney, Kevin Walsh(0-3), Barry John Walsh(0-2), Vinnie Gavin(1-2), Dermie Foley(0-1), CJ Molloy(0-1), Paul Greaney(0-1). Sub. Darren Moore, Brian O'Connor. Referee Sean Jones, Man of Match Gerald McCarthy
LEITRIM TAKE, Keep early lead
Leitrim had little difficulty with the Armagh challenge as they went in leading by six points at the break. Armagh were under pressure from the start as Paul Greville opened the scoring after Tommy Freeman set him up. Greville was also involved in the next major attack as he played the ball across the goal mouth for Rory Woods to finish off but the ball was cleared off the line. However Kieran Tavey salvaged a point from the resultant "45". Armagh's opening score came after ten minutes after Ciaran Conlon punished careless Leitrim passing. By midway Leitrim added another two as Johnny and Freeman hit the target while Conlon replied for Armagh. For the remainder of the period Leitrim were in total control as defenders O'Brien, Maguire, Scannell and O'Connor swept forward to support the attack as Adrian O'Connor and Freeman both struck for a brace to leave them leading comfortably at the break. Armagh did manage to breach the rearguard but Pa Ryan answered with a superb save to keep his slate clean.
Leitrim's dominance continued in the second half but a number of missed goal chances prevented them from ending it as a contest. Still they managed to add to the lead as they increased their tally to 0-12 to 0-2 with just ten minutes left. With midfielders Madden and Keane on top, Greville, O'Connor and Freeman tagged on further scores . Armagh did have a late rally as Caolan Short did hit for four points. However the late scores just added a veneer of respectability to what was otherwise a rather one sided game that propelled Leitrim higher in the standings.
Leitrim: Pa Ryan, John Goldrick(0-1), Paudge O'Connor, Kevin O'Brien, Ciaran Scannell, Alan O'Sullivan, Lonan McGuire, Pat Madden, Dermot Keane, Adrian O'Connor(0-3), Rory Woods, Kieran Tavey(0-1), Paul Greville(0-3), Ken O'Connor, Tommy Freeman(0-4). Subs. Jeff Farrell, Mike Creegan, Ryan O'Sullivan.Armagh: Alan Hearty, Stuart Stokes, Collie Fearon, Brian Rogers, Caolan Short(0-4), Patsy Martin, Carl McVerry, Kevin Rogers, Brian Murphy, Alan McFerron,Kevin McGeeney, Rory Kirk, Ciaran Conlon(0-2), Ramie Kane, Kyle Carragher. Subs. Aidan Morton, Eoghan McPartlan, Chris Morton, Kenny Cox. Referee Martin O'Connor, Man of Match Paul Greville.
