Excellent outing for U9's in Roanmore Tournament

2003 hurling - U9 had a great day out in at the Roanmore hurling tournament in Waterford on Saturday 15th September 2012

It was a very busy day as parent and their boys had to head directly from go games in the morning straight to Waterford to play in the tournament, starting at 2.30pm. A total of 12 players played for Kilmacud in the tournament:
Kieran Maguire, Joe Quinlan, Darragh Harrison, Brendan O Connell, Conan Hargaden, Patrick Corbett, Darren Crowley, David Langley, Colm Crean, Conor Hughes, Oisin Farrington and Sean Purcell.

1st match: Kilmacud Crokes vs Conahy Shamrocks (Kilkenny)

Probably the toughest game of the 3 played down in Roanmore. The tournament was ground hurling only but, we agreed with Conahy that we would play 1 half as ground and 1 as full hurling but no solo. Crokes started well and were soon pressing hard for a lead but Conahy were determined to defend their goal. About halfway through the 1st half Kilmacud made the breakthrough when Patrick Corbett netted after a determined run through the Conahy defense. Kilmacud had the better of exchanges and it was no great surprise when Conor Hughes added another goal to bring the 1st half to a close with Kilmacud in front by a couple of goals. The 2nd half was a different game. It was clear that Conahy were comfortable with full hurling and came more into the game - they had a great mid field player who effortlessly rose and struck numerous balls towards the Kilmacud goal but the defense was solid. Kilmacud tightened up in midfield and began to close down the couple of very strong Conahy players and this allowed more ball to travel to the Kilmacud forwards who began to prosper with Darren Crowley scoring a couple of great points. However, Conahy never gave up and scored a well deserved goal near the end to close the scoring.
Final score: Kilmacud 2-2 Conahy Shamrocks 1-0

2nd Match: Kilmacud Crokes vs Ballyduff upper (Waterford)

This game was all ground hurling. Kilmacud started well and peppered the Ballyduff goal - however, the Ballyduff team showed great spirit and held out well for most of the 1st half. Near the end of the half the ball broke about 10 yards out and Sean Purcell was the 1st to react and he pounced to open the scoring with a great goal. Half time arrived with just the single score between the teams. Kilmacud moved the tall Darragh Harrison to midfield with immediate effect as he struck a great ground stroke to the net after only about a minute of the 2nd half played.This score relaxed the Kilmacud players who played with great teamplay for the remainder of this half and scored goals from Sean and Darragh again as well as a great point from Darren Crowley off the ground.
Final Score Kilmacud Crokes 4-1 Ballyduff upper 0-0

3rd Match: Kilmacud Crokes vs St Patricks (Waterford)

It was clear from the off that this was going to be a hard game for Kilmacud - the go games in the morning and the 2 previous games were beginning to take their toll - players were asking to spend time on the sideline as subs!! However, Kilmacud stuck to their task and were determined to complete the three games with another win. The ball was played mainly in the St Patricks half but they had a great goal keeper who stopped and cleared many balls that came near the danger area. Half way through the 1st half Kilmacud made the breakthrough when Kieran Maguire struck for a great goal. No further scores came and Kilmacud lead at halftime by the single score. The 2nd half took a similar pattern with Crokes doing most of the pressing but with St Patricks dangerous on the break. Kilmacud soon opened a 2 goal lead when Darren Crowley struck a firm shot to the net. Darren also closed out the win with another great ground stroke over the bar for the final score of the game.
Final Score Kilmacud crokes 2-1 St Patricks 0-0


So the parents left delighted with 3 wins and the kids were delighted with medals and especially the crisps and orange! While some players were mentioned above for scoring - the games were won because all 12 playes contributed greatly. Joe played great in many positions around the field and his puck outs from goal were a great help to ensure Kilmacud were put onto attack. David Langley played mainly in the backs and he was resolute - attacking the ball and clearing many times. Brendan O'Connell and Colm Crean played extensively in midfield and hit lots of great ball to the forwards. Conan did great work especially in the forwards and played a great ball across to Darragh for one goal. Oisin played in many positions and worked really hard for the team.

All in all, we were proud parents who saw a great display of teamwork and pride in their boys playing for Kilmacud.