Forresters Cup School’s Hurling Quarter-Final @ Allen Park, Antrim
St. Mary’s 6-18 | St. Killian’s 0-13
PICS BY BERT TROWLEN
St. Mary’s delivered a masterclass in attacking hurling to comfortably advance to the next stage of the Forresters Cup, putting St. Killian’s to the sword with a commanding 6-18 to 0-13 victory at Allen Park. Powered by a phenomenal scoring exhibition from centre-half forward Conal Dempsey, St. Mary’s had too much firepower for their opponents on the day.
St. Mary’s Set the Tone Early
The tone was set from the throw-in. St. Mary’s wasted absolutely no time, with corner-forward Gerard Deery rattling the net for a goal in the opening minute. Following a Conal Dempsey point shortly after. Dempsey continuted what would be a devastating individual performance, slotting over his second point on four minutes.
St. Killian’s worked hard to find a foothold, registering a point around the four-minute mark and getting a fine score from play through Conor McMullan in the sixth minute. However, St. Mary’s were relentless. Dempsey fired over another point from play before breaking through to score his first goal of the game in the 9th minute, firmly putting his side in the driver’s seat.
St. Mary’s showed their ability to score from all distances and angles. Midfielder Matthew O’Neill and centre-field partner Ben McCaul both landed excellent long-range points, while Padraig Kelly and Oisin Kennedy kept the scoreboard ticking over with neat points from play.
For St. Killian’s, Donnlaodh McNaughton took on the heavy lifting. Operating at number 11, he accurately converted his frees and managed a brilliant long-range point from play just before the break. Despite his efforts, St. Mary’s went into the changing rooms with a commanding 2-12 to 0-05 lead following a late long-range point from Dempsey.
Dempsey Completes His Hat-Trick
St. Killian’s emerged for the second half with renewed determination, and McNaughton immediately punished St. Mary’s indiscipline by pointing two frees in the opening four minutes. However, any hopes of a St. Killian’s comeback were swiftly extinguished in the fifth minute when St. Mary’s full-forward Finn Smyth found the back of the net from play.
The St. Mary’s attack was operating beautifully, highlighted by a well-worked team score finished off by the ubiquitous Dempsey on six minutes. Matthew O’Neill and Ben McCaul continued to dominate the middle sectors, each adding to their tallies, while Rian Laverty managed a hard-earned point from play for St. Killian’s in the 10th minute.
The highlight of the half came in the 12th minute when Conal Dempsey carved through the St. Killian’s defense to score a brilliant individual goal. Just four minutes later, Oisin Kennedy got in on the goal-scoring action to raise St. Mary’s fifth green flag of the afternoon.
Dempsey capped off his spectacular outing by completing his hat-trick in the 20th minute with a goal from play. St. Killian’s fought bravely to the bitter end, with Donnlaodh McNaughton continuing to accurately convert frees and a beautifully struck ’65 before the final whistle.
Ultimately, the firepower of St. Mary’s was simply too much to handle, as they marched on to a semi-final meeting with Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock
St. Mary’s
- Daire Gault, 2. Ethan Hughes, 3. Eoin Flynn, 4. Jude Burns, 5. Ruairi McIlhatton, 6. Adam McCahey, 7. Daire Rainey, 8. Matthew O’Neill, 9. Ben McCaul, 10. Oisin Kennedy, 11. Conal Dempsey, 12. Jude Gamble, 13. Padraig Kelly, 14. Finn Smyth, 15. Gerard Deery.
- SUBS –
St. Killian’s
- Charlie McNaughton, 2. Oliver McQuillan, 3. PJ Kelly, 4. Sean McAuley, 5. Aaron Maguire, 6. Caolan Graham, 7. Dala Ward, 8. Kian McErlean, 9. Rian Laverty, 10. Conor McMullan, 11. Donnlaodh McNaughton, 12. Oisin Daly, 13. Ronan Towle, 14. Jayden Kinney McNaughton, 15. John Taggart.
