Our Junior A and Junior B hurlers were both in action this past weekend, making the long trips to Shanagarry and Rostellan.
East Cork JHL Div 1 – Sat 16th May @ Shanagarry
Carraig na bhFear 3-13 Russell Rovers 2-16
First up were our Junior A Hurlers who took on Russell Rovers on a sundrenched and pristine Shanagarry pitch last Saturday night. Carraig raced out of the traps in this game, with the full forward line of Shane Farrell, Aaron Dorgan and Ronan Spillane dominating the early exchanges. Three first half goals, 1 from debutaunt Shane and 2 from Aaron, helped us to a commanding 3-10 to 1-06 lead at the break. Cian Dorgan, John Forde and Padraig O’Sullivan were in fine form and at the back, Daniel Coleman and Paul Geaney were hurling well.
Carraig started the second half well, exchanging early points with the home side, but after Paul Geaney struck from distance on the 35th minute, we would fail to score for the remainder of the contest. Russell Rovers stormed back into the game, taking over the middle third and striking some lovely scores from distance. A fortuitous goal with 15 minutes remaining reduced our lead to 5 points and the home side pressed home their second half domination to register 5 unanswered points, 3 from frees. Carraigs forwards were under far more pressure now and some good chances went abegging at key stages which could have helped stemmed the flow, but on the balance of both halves, a draw was the fair result in the end.
Special mention to Shane Farrell, scoring 1-01 on his Junior A bow, while fellow minors David Sweeney and Paul Geaney also contributed well. Also good to see Pádraig O’Sullivan back in action.
Team:
B. Sheehan,
D. Coleman, S.Casey, T.Sheehan
P. Geaney, T. Geaney, D. Sweeney
P. O’Sullivan, J. Meehan
C. Dorgan, A. Hegarty, J.Forde
S.Farrell, A. Dorgan, R.Spillane
Subs:
P. Geaney for T. Sheehan, B. Hegarty for D. Sweeney, P. Sheehan for P. O’Sullivan, J. Walsh for S. Farrell, T. Neally for D. Coleman
East Cork JHL Div 3 – Sun 17th May @ Rostellan
Aghada 1-18 Carraig na bhFear 3-11
On Sunday our Junior B hurlers played their first league game of the season. Minus the service of a few experienced players and those sitting the leaving cert in a few weeks time, it was great to see 18 players togged out the day after the Junior A match. Carraig started brightly and some great interplay between Conor O’Brien and Seán O’Sullivan put Paul Sheehan in on goal, but his shot sailed just outside rather than inside the post. Aghada responded well with 2 well taken points before a long range point from Tom Neally had us on the board. Playing with the wind, Aghada had the opening goal when a long ball deceived everyone on its way to the back of the Carraig net for a soft score from our perspective. But credit to Carraig they chipped away with points from Barrie Casey and Conor O’Brien keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Aghada added a few points from frees and a couple from play in the closing stages of the half as we trailed 1-08 to 0-04 at the break.
A marked improvement in performance was evident after the break, with Tom Neally and Padraig O’Sullivan winning great ball around the middle, while Paul Sheehan was proving a real handful for the Aghada defence from his centre forward berth. an early goal after a goalmouth scramble had us back in contention. Barries accuracy from frees cut the gap further and when we added two goals in quick succession from Barrie and Conor, it was game on as we lead going into the closing stages. Aghada emptied the bench and picked off two late scores to put them a point up as we fought in search of another equaliser that just wouldn’t come. A great second half display but unfortunately nothing to show for it in the end. It was great to see Michael Geaney back in action after a long absence through injury. His puckouts were impressively accurate and he cleared his lines well throughout. In front of him David Sweeney and Paul Geaney continue to improve with each outing, while Pádraig O’Sullivan, Paul Sheehan, Conor O’Brien and Tom Neally were standout performers throughout. Next up for B’s Dungourney travel to Carraig on the 25th May.
Team:
M. Geaney
D. Sweeney, T. Kennedy, P. Geaney
P. O’Sullivan, C. O’Reilly, J. O’Donnell
T. Neally, W. Spillane
A. Sheehan, P. Sheehan, C. Hill
S. O’Sullivan, B. Casey, C. O’Brien
Subs:
T. Sheehan for T. Kennedy, S. Farrell for A. Sheehan