U-16 Hurling Championship Quarter-final
St Pauls 2-13-0-22 Dunloy
Kevin Herron reports from Pairc Naomh Pol
DUNLOY battled back in the final stages to see off league Champions St Pauls and advance to the semi final of the U-16 hurling championship with a 0-22-2-13 win at the Shaws Road on Tuesday evening.
It was St Pauls who held a slender advantage in the early stages, Jude Burns was first to score from play before Aidan Johnston added a further score from the placed ball.
In response Oisin O’Brien shot over two placed balls from range. Further scores were exchanged with St Pauls edging ahead again through a Sean McMullan point following Ben Gamble’s lay-off, though Ronan Elliott converted a free after a foul of Padai O’Kane.
Dunloy hit the front for the first time through Elliott’s second free and their first score from play doubled their advantage, courtesy of Harry Blaney- who dropped a shot over the bar.
The deficit was halved through a second Aidan Johnston free of the half and that would be the last score for ten minutes of play before the visitors built up a four-point lead.
Oisin O’Brien added another point from range, this time from a 65’, and Elliott converted two straight forward frees to move his side 0-8-0-4 ahead.
In reply, Matthew O’Neill dropped over a placed ball from midway, though Ronan Elliott brought his tally to 0-5 from frees to push the gap to four again.
Jude Burns doubled his tally after Matthew O’Neill’s free dropped into the path of Aidan Johnston to find Burns in a shooting position, and Johnston clipped over a further free in first half injury time to ensure their side were 0-9-0-7 in arrears at the interval.
The bare minimum separated the sides early in the second period with Johnston adding his fourth free of the contest.
Padai O’Kane swung an angled shot over to open his account and after Daire Gault batted away Oisin O’Brien’s free, Harry Blaney was on hand to pop over and make it 0-11-0-8.
The first goal of the evening came in the 37th minute and tied up proceedings for the third time with Sean McMullan on hand to stroke home past Tom Richmond.
Frees from Padai O’Kane and successive Ronan Elliott efforts between Aidan Johnston’s had the Cuchullains in the ascendancy ahead of St Pauls retaking the lead with little over a quarter of an hour remaining.
Matthew O’Neill would have been hoping to half the deficit from a free from halfway, but his effort dropped over goalkeeper Richmond and into the net to edge his side 2-9-0-14 ahead.
Parity was restored for a few minutes when Ronan Elliott turned provider for Blaine Mullan to pop over, though O’Neill swung over a fine free and Jude Burns conjured a magnificent angled less than 60-seconds later.
Dunloy should have found the net when Ronan Elliott’s shot came off the large post and fell to Cayden McGuckian whose near post attempt was magnificently diverted behind by Daire Gault- who was in outstanding form all evening between the sticks.
The resulting 65’ was dropped over by Oisin O’Brien, with Matthew O’Neill responding from a free to maintain the hosts two-point advantage (2-12-0-16).
Frees were exchanged between O’Brien and O’Neill, as St Pauls were struggling to keep Dunloy at arms length.
Quickfire scores from O’Brien (free) and an angled Padai O’Kane score had the sides level again, and with momentum behind his team, a seventh placed ball from Oisin O’Brien had Dunloy leading 0-20-2-13.
The visitors took the sting out of things and a late double from Ronan Elliott (both from frees) ensured the North Antrim outfit would run out 0-22-2-13 winners at the conclusion as they progressed to the last four.
ST PAULS: D Gault, M O’Duibhfinn, L Hardy, C Digney, A McNally, M O’Neill (1-4f), C McCabe, J Gamble, J Hilland, T McCaughey, S McMullan (1-1), J Burns (0-3), C Richie, A Johnston (0-5f), B Gamble.
DUNLOY: T Richmond, H McQuillian, A Richmond, N Bradley, O O’Brien (0-7, 0-5f, 0-2 65’), L Martin, R McCloskey, B Mullan (0-1), H Blaney (0-2), P O’Kane (0-3, 0-1f), R Elliott (0-9f), C Doherty, P McMullan, C McGuckian.
REFEREE: Paul McDonnell (ROSSA)
