U11's win Joe McKelvey Cup
Crokes beat O'Donovan Rossa in Final. 1 June 2013
O'Donnovan Rossa were the gracious hosts for the U11 Joe McKelvey blitz in Belfast. There were 16 teams present from Dublin, Galway, Antrim, Down, Tyrone and Kilkenny. The Bank Holiday sunshine was missing for the group stages where the strong cool breeze played a big factor in the quality of the hurling on display.
Crokes came up against a strong O'Loughlin Gaels eleven in the first group game. On a tight pitch with narrow goals, the scores were hard to come by. The midfield battle was dominated by Darragh Purcell who distributed very well into the forward line. Crokes managed to go 2 points up at half time with Brendan Scanlon taking a couple of great scores of his left side. The Kilkenny boys came back with an early score in the second half, however Davey Crowe and Cian O'Cathasaigh were outstanding and ensured that the half back line remained secure for the rest of the game. Further pressure paid dividends as Michael Whelan and Darragh Purcell both managed to hit the back of the net. Final score 2-2 to 0-1 to Crokes.
The second game was against a very strong Ballycastle outfit. The Dubs played some of their best hurling in the initial stages with Mark Kelly getting a fine score from a very difficult angle. Cathal Kennedy also chipped in with a great score after a fine handpass from Conn Lohan., who worked tirelessly all day. Michael Whelan and Davey Crowe both managed goals after some heavy pressure from the Crokes boys. The second half was a different story when the Northern lads came out with all guns blazing. Robert O'Donovan was outstanding in goals and pulled off a couple of great saves to deny Ballycastle certain goals. Rory O'Mahony moved into Full Back and along with Leo Fearon cleaned up an awful lot of ball and ensured that Ballycastle would not breach the Crokes net. Joseph Neary, Ciaran Browne and Sean Delap came into the forward line for the second match and made things very tough for the Ballycastle defence. Crokes ran out winners where the scoreline failed to reflect a tight match 3-3 to 0-2.
Final match was up against the Ballinasloe men in storm-like conditions. Both teams found the scores very hard to get given the slippery conditions but Crokes to go a point ahead after a nice score from Cathal Kennedy. The Galwaymen raised their game and but for some very strong defensive work from Davey Crowe they would have gone in level. The second half was again a scrappy affair and all credit to Ballinasloe for keeping the pressure on and getting a winning score with the last puck of the game, scoreline 0-2 to 0-1.
Crokes still managed to top their group and qualify for the Cup quarter final against a red hot Eoghan Ruadh from Tyrone. They had already scored 19 goals and 4 points without conceding a single score in their group games!! The lads new that they would have to raise their game to a new level in order to compete and they duly obliged. Crokes were very quick out of the blocks with some fine ground hurling resulting in a great goal by Mark Kelly. The resulting puck out was taken by Darragh Purcell who tacked on another quick point. Eoghan Ruadh tried to get their star forwards into play but Leo and Cian were like a brick wall at the back and let nothing through. The Dublin boys went in 1-1 to no score ahead at half-time but we well aware of what the opposition were capable of. The Ulster boys piled on the pressure in the second half and an incredible 'spiderman-like' save from Daniel Daly in goals ensured that the goal remained entact. Some accurate puckouts from Daniel also led to a couple of extra points from Robert and Darragh. The Crokes goal was under siege for the last few minutes but heroic work from Davey and Cian at the back ensured a place in the final, scoreline 1-4 to 0-1.
The Joe McKelvey cup final pitted Crokes against the local boys O'Donovan Rossa. The sun at last broke through and with that the boys began to play some great championship style hurling. Rory O'Mahony dominated the half back line with a wonderful first touch and some fine clearances up to Conn Lohan and Brendan Scanlon who tagged on a couple of quick early scores. The local boys came back strong but Davey once again put his body on the line and won a huge amount of possession in midfield. By now, Daniel Daly's puckouts were finding the half forward line with great accuracy where Joseph Neary was very lively. The second half continued with Crokes putting on the pressure with Sean Delap and Ciaran Browne making a great contribution to a great team performance, scoreline 2-6 to 0-2.
Captain for the day, Darragh Purcell accepted the trophy on behalf of Kilmacud Crokes and thanked the 'Rossa for hosting a wonderful tournament. Davey Crowe was also presented with the Player of the Tournament award by the Sinn Fein deputy Lord Mayor.
Special report by U11 Player, Darragh Purcell:
Under 11s trip to Belfast
The under 11s Kilmacud Crokes went up to Belfast on the 1st of June to play a tournament. The club that was hosting the tournament was O`Donovan Rossa. There were three other teams in Crokes group.
Crokes first match was against O’ Loughlan Gaels from Kilkenny. In the first half, there were not many scoring chances and at half time Crokes were leading 0-1 to 0-0. In the second half, Crokes played very well and we won the game 2-2 to 0-1.
Crokes second match was against Ballycastle from Antrim. In the first half, Crokes played excellently. We did not let Ballcastle have any time on the ball and we took our chances. At half time, we were winning by a good margin. In the second half, we also played very well and did not let them have any chances. The final score was Crokes 3-3 to Ballycastle 0-2.
Our third match was against Ballinasloe from Galway. Both teams were finding it hard to get the ball into their hand as it was raining before. There were not a lot of chances and it was a low scoring game. It was a tight match at half time. In the second half it was raining again and extremely hard to play in. As in the first half, there were not many scores. At the end of the match, we lost by 0-2 to 0-1. Crokes were still through to the semi-final.
Our semi-final was against Eoghan Rughadh from Tyrone. This proved to be our toughest match. It was a very tight match but at half-time we were up by a few points and we deserved to be up. In the second half it was also very tough and there were not as many scores as in the first half. We played very well in the second half and did not let them back into the game. At the end of the match, we had a deserving win. The final score was Crokes 1-4 to Eoghan Rua 0-1.
Our next match was the final. We were playing the home team O`Donovan Rossa. They were expected to be a very strong team. At the start of the match, we got a few scores but they were still in the game. At half time we were up by a few points having played very well. In the second half we got a few scores which put us a few points ahead. Everyone on the team played really well and we did not let them score anything in the second half. We were so happy when the referee blew the final whistle. The score was Crokes 2-6 to O’Donovan Rossa 0-2.
After the final we got a cup and medals. Everybody on the team played really well in every single match. The Kilmacud Crokes captain, Dara Purcell, made the victory speech, giving three cheers for the sporting O’Donovan Rossa boys. The O’Donovan Rossa mentors complimented Kilmacud Crokes on their skills in hooking and blocking. David Crowe received the man of the tournament award.
