Intermediate Hurling Championship – Group 1 – Round 1
Friday 25th July
Patrick Sarsfields 0-06 Cloney Gaels 1-28
Report by Niall Kelly from The Bear Pit
Cloney Gaels kickstarted their quest for intermediate glory in emphatic style with a resounding win over Sarsfields. With twenty-five points to spare in the end, it’s fair to say that the visitors were worthy winners. Despite battling for the full sixty, Sarsfields just couldn’t get to grips with the fluidity of their counterpart’s game. The men in red always seemed to be first to the sliotar and when in possession of it, more often than not, picked the right pass as the right time. Their firepower at the business end of the pitch was simply too hot to handle and they were ruthless in front of the sticks with their whole forward line registering scores over the sixty. There were some excellent performers on the evening but there can be little doubt who was the star of the show as Clooney’s chief marksman, James O’Connell, registered a tally of 1-12 over the hour.
The signs were ominous from the get-go for Sarsfields as Clooney raced into a six point lead in the opening ten minutes as the twin threat of James O’Connell and Colla McDonnell ran riot. Matters could’ve been worse too as McDonnell’s thundering effort rattled the Sarsfield’s crossbar agonisingly in what would’ve been a beautifully crafted goal.
The hosts were desperate for a respite and sought to fire the ball long into their full forward line. This nearly reaped rewards as Fionn Jemfrey latched on to one such pass and his drilled effort was well parried away by Aiden Graham in the Cloney goal.
Cloney were relentless though in their offensive pursuits and their high press and constant probing lead to promising turnovers in dangerous areas. Eoin Graham put the finishing touches to one such turnover from a very tight angle with Ronan Graham then following up for his first of the evening.
The game’s only goal came on the fifteenth minute and it was wonderfully fashioned. A driven cross-field pass from Donal Graham was flicked on first time by Colla McDonnell into the path of talisman James O’Connell. The Clooney number 15 made absolutely no mistake as he rifled to the roof of the net with a rasping drive.
The Stewartstown Road side finally opened their account on the twentieth minute as Nicholas O’Mullane sent over a lovely point from range. Their reprieve was to be short lived though as Eamonn Brady surged through to split the posts before Ronan Graham added the finishing touches to another flowing move.
With five remaining until the short whistle, Sarsfield’s misery was compounded further they were reduced to 14 men after one of their players received a red card and the mountain they were tasked with scaling, just seemed to keep growing. Scores were then exchanged between Fionn Jemfrey and Fionnbar O’Neill as the half came to a close and the visitors retreated to the changing rooms 1-14 to 0-02 to the good.
The men in red signalled their intent in the opening exchanges of the second period with a flurry of scores, mirroring their exploits in the early stages of the first half, with O’Connell, Daneil O’Neill, Patrick Graham and Ronan Graham raising the white flag.
Credit though to Sarsfields, as despite the onslaught they faced, their character never wavered, and they continued to battle. Nicholas O’Mullane doubled his tally with another fine score. The men in black and green had rejigged their game plan and looked to stifle the potent forwards of Clooney. Try as they might though, the men in red refused to be silenced and spearheaded by O’Connell and his exceptional ball-striking, they continued to inflict damage and kept Colm McDonnell’s umpire busy.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts rallied and looked to pounce going forward when they could. Their efforts were rewarded as Ruairi McAreavey split the posts from range before Jemfrey fired two in quick succession from range.
However, it would be a case of too little too late, as Clooney continued to transition through the gears to finish strongly and saw out the game with a few fine long-range efforts. The pick of the bunch – Fionnbar O’Neill’s monster effort from his own 65 metre line.
The men from Crosskeys will make the journey back down the M2 very contented with their efforts. Their prowess going forward will surely have others taking note of their credentials and it will be intriguing to see how the rest of their campaign unfolds. They certainly have the potential to make a big impact in this year’s competition. For Sarsfields, it was just one of those days. They will look to dust themselves down and be ready to go again in their next outing against Rasharkin.
Teams:
Sarsfields:
D McKernan; D Coleman, J Cunningham, O Coleman; A McKiernan, D Johnston, R McKenna; O Coleman, N O’Mullane (0-02;) E Ó’Cuinneagáin, A McGarrigle, R McAreavey (0-01;) N McGivern, J McKernan, F Jemfrey (0-03)
Clooney Gaels:
A Graham; H O’Donnell, J Magee, J McFall; F O’Neill (0-02,) D Graham, D O’Neill (0-01;) E Brady (0-01,) C Crossey; D Graham (0-01,) R Graham (0-04,) P Graham (0-03;) C McDonnell (0-02,) E Graham (0-02,) J McConnell (1-12)
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