Seniors prevail against Brigid's, 26 Aib 2008

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On Saturday 26th April 2008 Crokes prevailed in their opening round robin game of the Senior Hurling Championship against St Brigids in O’Toole Park.

Inside ten minutes Crokes were 2-1 to 0-1 ahead, with the help of a fortuitous eight minute goal, and seemingly set for an easy passage.  By the seventeenth minute the Kilmacud side, without sparkiling, were 2-4 to 0-3 in front.  Then, in a two minute spell, from the nineteenth to the twenty first minute, the concession of two soft goals turned the match on its head and Brigids were level at 2-4 apiece.  In the remainder of the first half points from Barry O’Rorke and Eoin Fitzgerald (two frees) to a solitary Brigids reply gave Crokes a 2-7 to 2-5 interval advantage. 

Within two minutes of the restart Brigids had attained parity.  Another Fitzgerald free edged Crokes ahead.  Brigids replied in kind.  There immediately followed an exchange of points before the Brigids goalkeeper buried a 20 metre free to the net in the thirty eight minute.  This was one of several frees the Russell Park men got and converted from monster puck outs landing on the twenty metre line.  These prompted sterling defensive work from Niall Corcoran and Dave Mahony in particular. 

By now Crokes had brought Fitzgerald to centre forward.  Over the course of the remaining twenty minutes the move was to have a decisive effect.   In the forty first minute the number 15 pointed a 50 metre free and, with Alan Tiernan, was instrumental in setting up Fergal Armstong for an over.  Brigids raised a white flag of their own but their cause was not helped by a straight red carding in the forty sixth minute.  It still took a Barry O’Rorke point and a free from Fitzgerald to level matters at 2-13 to 3-10 with ten minutes to go.  In the fifty first minute Fitzgerald’s eight placed ball conversion nosed the Stillorgan team ahead.  From yet another free conceded under a puck out Brigids equalised.  Three Crokes’ wides further frayed the nerves and it wasn’t until the fifty eight minute that Barry O’Rorke split the posts to give his team sight of the finishing line.  Fergal Armstrong replicated but Brigids were not finished and a final minor from them left it 2-16 to 3-10 at the conclusion.  The final whistle came as a relief.  On an evening where the performance did not meet expectations, Niall Corcoran put in a man of the match display, ably assisted by Dave Mahony and Eoin Fitzgerald while Adrian Grogan and Fergus Garvey did little wrong.

Team: Paul Graham, Adrian Grogan, Dave Mahony, Fergus Garvey, Aodhan de Paor, Niall Corcoran, Damien Byrne, Fergal Armstrong (capt) (0-2), Barry O’Rorke (0-3), Brian Motherway (0-1), James Burke (1-2), Alan Tiernan (1-0), Donal McGovern, Neil Casey, Eoin Fitzgerald (0-8, all frees).  Subs:  Conor Clinton for N Casey (50 mins), Niall Butler for D McGovern (51 mins), Daithi de Paor, Willie Ryan, Andrew Hopkins, Shea Gillen, Ray Mangan, MacDara O’hOgain, Michael Dalton, Eoin de Paor

 

For Hill16 report see http://www.hill16.ie/viewstoryhill16.asp?mainheading=Word+on+The+Hill&id=9947&viewstory=yes

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