Kilmacud Crokes U8’s on the Road!
Oulart the Ballagh Blitz in Wexford
On the morning of Saturday 12th October, 13 excited boys from the U8 grouping headed down to Oulart the Ballagh, in Wexford to take part in the home club's blitz, along with other teams from Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary and Wexford. It was a fine day for hurling and the day kicked off with the 8 teams being paraded around the two fine sized pitches, led by a lone piper.
First up for the Crokes squad was a match against a very strong host team from Oulart. Despite an early point from Conail O’Riain, Oulart were giving very little away, and led by 0-2 to 0-1 at half time, having had the advantage of the wind. We knew the first goal would be crucial, but it was Oulart who struck first early in the second half and went on to a well-deserved 2-4 to 0-2 victory.
Up next came Kilkenny side Danesfort who had been hit for 4 goals by Mount Sion in their first match. We knew we had no margin for error after the Oulart game, and came out very determined to put in strong performance. The scores flowed, and despite Danesfort scoring a late consolation goal, we were back in the running with a 5.3 to 1.0 victory. Word came through that Oulart had beaten a physical Mount Sion side by 2 points, so our last group game was effectively a final to stay in the main competition.
The Crokes lads were very fired up for the match, and with the aid of the wind in the first half, bombarded Mount Sion for a series of scores. Full forward Ruairi Walsh struck for 3 goals and hit the crossbar with another attempt as Crokes got on top early, whilst our half backs to half forwards, closed down any chance of possession for the Mount Sion, and delivered a series of quality passes into our forwards. Mount Sion had the wind behind them in the second half and mounted a very strong comeback. They struck for 2 goals and 1 point, but tigerish defending throughout, combined with some crucial counter attacks to relieve the pressure, left the final score at 4.2 to 2.1 and we were through to the semi-final.
The other Group had been won impressively by Waterford’s De LaSalle, who had recorded 14 goals in three matches in winning the group ahead of Cashel King Cormac’s from Tipperary, and O Loughlin Gaels of Kilkenny. We had come across De la Salle on our travels this autumn, and knew they were very strong, but our players were settling into their positions and we felt up to the challenge.
Goalkeeper James Kilroy was having a super day, playing the role of sweeper and goalkeeper throughout, whilst also hitting booming puck-outs to our centre-fielders. We have two teak tough full backs in David Lucey and Tom Maher, who were rock solid under any high balls launched into them, whilst allowing no space to any inside forwards around our square. In our half back line, Ben Lynch was sacrificing his attacking instincts to man mark the oppositions main threat, although he still managed to sneak forward for a long range point in one of our games. Ciaran Donovan and Cormac Hall also had that knack of getting ahead of their forward to initially flick the sliothar into space, before making long range clearances.
Our two midfielders, Conail O’Riain and Brendan Kenny got through mountains of work, up and down the pitch, as well as both raising numerous green and white flags though-out the day. In very physical games, both took several knocks, but kept coming back stronger and stronger. On such big pitches our half forwards had a lot of work to do, between covering back to crowd midfield on opposition puck outs, to driving the ball into our full forward line. Colm Kelly and James Clancy were great in both roles, always keeping the flow of balls in the right direction.
Our inside forward line of Ruairi Walsh, Cillian Scallan, and Michael Funge kept showing for the ball, winning possession and ensuring we kept the scoreboard moving.
Our semi-final with DeLaSalle was a real battle, and was a great game. The referee kept things flowing, and the ball was flying up and down the pitch. De la Salle had the wind first and got the opening point. At the other end Crokes replied with a goal by Ruairi to take the lead, and James then made a couple of super saves to keep us ahead. De la Salle eventually broke through with a goal just on half time to lead by 1 point at the break. Again we knew the first goal would be crucial. Crokes piled on the pressure, and Conail had a great goal effort come back off the post. De la Salle then broke and scored again to lead by two, but we weren’t finished. Crokes upped the pressure and Brendan got the crucial goal we needed to retake the lead. De La Salle mounted one last attack, and looked to have a two on one v James , however James was out like a rocket and cleared to safety. The final whistle sounded and we were in the final on the back of a 2.0 to 1.2 victory.
Tipperary’s Cashel had beaten the hosts Oulart in the other semi-final and were to be our opponents in the final. We had another hard tactical battle, and in the final Cashel went with 5 backs and 3 forwards, further compressing space, and making scoring chances hard to come by at both ends. Crokes played with the wind in the first half and Conail got us off the mark with another of his trademark points. Cashel replied with a point of their own, and then Cillian broke free and goaled for Crokes. Still Cashel kept coming hard, and a super point reduced the deficit to 1.1 to 0.2 at half time. We had a small lead to defend, but we were still determined to lift the cup. Cashel scored a point early in the second half, but still every ball throughout the pitch was been so keenly fought for. Brendan got on the end of a Crokes move to add a point, and the lead was back up to two. We were into the dying minutes, but Cashel kept coming at us. Their pressure yielded a 14 metre free, and everybody knew they were going for goal. We put 6 players on the line, and whilst we stopped the first effort, we couldn’t get to the rebound, and Cashel goaled to take the lead. Still our guys tried for one last attack. We won a long range free into the wind, and the referee advised it was the last puck of the game. It fell just short, in what was a super game and a brilliant tournament, and Cashel were the deserving winners on a 1.3 to 1.2 score-line.
Whilst our players were disappointed to have come so close, the Cashel manager came over and was very complementary and gave our guys words of encouragement. He mentioned that Crokes Senior player Ryan O Dwyer was a former Cashel club man, whilst he had an idea how the players felt as he himself had lost an All-Ireland Minor final to Kilkenny in 1991. Presentations of medals were then made by our excellent hosts Oulart. They put on a great day, and their hospitality was superb throughout with a steady supply of food and drink to sustain all throughout the day. They mentioned that they are unavailable to come to our blitz in two weeks’ time, but they are a club we will no doubt hook up with again in the future. All in all, it was a great day out, with a lot of super hurling, and some excellent contacts made with some very strong teams for the future.
