U9 Hurling Tournament held on 21 October 2012
A fantastic U9 hurling event took place on Sunday 21 October in Glenalbyn.
On the week before the event, it looked as though we were going to have similar weather conditions as last year and there was also a risk that the tournament would be cancelled. However, the weather gods looked down on us kindly last Sunday as the hurling tournament was played in glorious sunshine!
10 teams travelled to Crokes for the event:
- James Stephens and Dicksboro from Kilkenny
- Buffers alley and Naomh Eanna from Wexford
- Durlas Og ( 2 team) and Upperchurch Drombane from Tipperary
- Sarsfields ( 2 team) from Cork
- Mount Sion from Waterford
- Cappataggle from Galway
- Ballinteer St Johns from Dublin
- and Kilmacud fielded 4 teams in the event.
The games were played in great spirits for the most part as we wanted to have a tournament which was competitive but played in the right spirit.
Details from the pool games which involved Kilmacud Crokes teams can be found in the reports from the managers below. All credit to Klimacud Team 2 that made it to the cup semi final only to lose narrowly to eventual winners - Cappataggle. The managers contract will be renewed but for the other managers, I'm afraid it has to be the dreaded vote of confidence....!!!
All joking aside, all Kilmcud teams played fantastically well considering that we played 4 even panels against some teams that brought their best players to the tournament. Great credit to all mentors who are helping the boys with their hurling skills development.
The cup semi - finals were close affairs with Dickboro of KK defeating Sarsfields of Cork by a single point and Cappataggle edging out KC2 as reported below by Roddy.
The Shield final saw Sarsfields of Cork defeat KC2 who had clearly given everything in the previous 4 games. The shield cup was presented to their captain who was delighted to receive the trophy on behalf of the Sarsfield panel of players.
Cappataggle went on to win the final in a very close game with a one point win over Dicksboro. We were delighted to have Matt Collins, the Kilmacud Crokes senior hurling goal keeper (on the team that won the 2012 Dublin senior hurling championship), available to present the medals to the cup winners and runners-up and the cup to the winners Cappataggle of Galway.
Cappataggle were worthy winners of the event and there mentors were equally pleased to have been invited to play at our tournament.
Thanks to all mentors and parents for helping make this tournament a great day for all. Special thanks to Padraig Quinlan and the catering team who did a fantastic job. The program which we sold on the day was a huge hit thanks to the excellent work by Richie McMahon and John O Loughlin. Vincent Hargaden kept us all organised before the event and on the day with his excellent schedule. Thanks also to John Maguire who along with Dermot Crowley did lots of the organising of teams, referees etc.
Apologies if I missed anyone .........thanks to all who helped make Oct 21st memorable!
Team reports
Kilmacud Crokes No 1 tournament report (Manager, Morgan O Connell)
Panel
Daniel Corcoran, Brendan O’Connell, James Hamill, Conor McCarthy, David Langley, Daniel Nolan, Rory Garvey, Óisín Farrington, Conor Hughes, Jack Power , Bill Buckley, Conán Hargaden, Kevin Smith.
A large turn-out for KC1 showed the level of interest in our home tournament that showed the rains of last year were well and truly consigned to the past! The lads started off a little bit slowly and were unfortunate to meet a strong James Stephen’s side for their first match. We allowed our opponents too much comfortable time on the ball and in true Kilkenny fashion they punished us with some easy scores. The boys responded magnificently in the second match against a Cappataggle side featuring one or two giants! Cappataggle barely emerged as single score winners from this well-contested game. A sure KC1 point was cruelly shot down by the half-time hooter and a bit of luck at the other end might have reversed the outcome. A great performance by our lads given Cappataggle’s subsequent progress through the tournament. KC1 heads took heart from this performance and went on to win their next match against local opposition Ballinteer St. Johns. After the break, we fought hard against Sarsfields but agonisingly lost by one score. Tiredness eventually caught up and Durlás Óg prevailed in our last match.
We were to some degree victims of the popularity of the tournament in that we had 5 subs to rotate onto the 9-man team and the lads didn’t get too much chance to get into a rhythm. Nevertheless, they showed strongly against top-class opposition from the pick of hurling country and should be really proud of their display wearing the Kilmacud Crokes colours. While the whole panel contributed to the day, special mention should go to James Hamill for looking so comfortable despite stepping up from the u8s, Conán Hargaden for a goal at a critical time in the tournament, to Conor Hughes for his performances and particularly to Jack Power for great hurling, leading by example and for his never-say-die attitude.
Kilmacud Crokes No. 2 tournament Report (Manager, Roddy Breen)
The Kilmacud No. 2 Team threw themselves wholeheartedly into Sunday's U-9 tournament and took their supporters on a rollercoaster ride in the process! The team lined out as follows;
Panel
Kieran Maguire, Euan Lacey, Luke Ward, Christopher McCann, Joe Quinlan, Robert Breen, Gavin Kirwan, Ciaran Sweeney, Sam McMahon, Sean Coleman, Luke O Loughlin, Sean O Hurley, Eamon Burns
The boys started well against Durlas Og of Tipperary in the opening match but could not get a score. The Tipp boys confidence grew and they had some good chances midway through the half. This was the wake up call Crokes needed! They hit 2 points to lead at the break. In the second half, Kilmacud got the better of their opponents all over the field and scored a goal before the final whistle to win 1-2 to 0-0.
Sarsfields were the next opponents and the Cork team started brightly and got an early point. Crokes gradually got a grip on the game and scored a point before the referee signalled the change of ends. Our boys again had the better of the second half and scored 1-1 without reply. Final score 1-2 to 0-1.
Game 3 against the fancied Naomh Eanna was a thriller. The Wexford boys roared into the match with an early goal and a point. Crokes were under pressure all over the field and but for some last ditch defending and a point blank save on the goal line, would have conceded more. As the first half was coming to a close, Crokes got a goal direct from a free but Naomh Eanna replied almost instantly with a goal of their own to lead 2-1 to 1-0 at the break. This only inspired Kilmacud to another great second half display! They dragged themselves back into the match and drew level with time running out. Crokes won the resulting puck out in midfield and scored the winning point as the ref blew for full time. Final score, 2-2 to 2-1.
Kilmacud 2 finished as group winners, their prize, qualification for the cup semi final. Cappataggle of Galway were our semi final opponents. The match was a close affair with no more than a puck of a ball between the teams throughout. Unfortunately for our gallant team, Cappataggle secured victory with a late goal. No time for our lads to feel sorry for themselves, we still had a shield final to play. The boys put up a brave resistance against Sarsfields No. 1 in the shield but as the game wore on, the day's exertions began to take their toll on Kilmacud and Sarsfields ran out winners.
The boys showed great skills and determination in all their matches and can be very proud of their days work!
Kilmacud Crokes Team 3 tournament report (Manager, Adrian Crean)
Panel
Colm Crean, Jordan Mynes, Patrick van Zuydam, Rory Durand, Rory O’Donovan, Mark O’Reilly, Daragh Neligan, Mark McHugh, Dara Donovan, Patrick Flood, Cathal Howard, Eoin Keys, Niall O’Mahony
There were no easy groups in this tournament and the KC3 team were matched against the best of Kilkenny, Waterford and Tipperary.
Our first outing was against Mount Sion, the cream of Waterford. The teams were mostly very evenly matched but Mount Sion managed to convert their chances just a little more accurately than Crokes who were very unlucky not to get several points on the board. There was only ever going to be a puck of the ball between the 2 sides with sterling defensive resistance on display and Mount Sion ran out three point winners 0-3 to 0-0.
The second game was against the Kilkenny cats from Dicksboro. This was a classic. Again the teams were very well matched and the quality of the hurling was fantastic. The teams traded score for score for the entire match the only difference being two of the Dicksboro scores being goals. Final score 2-2 to 0-4.
Our third game against Durlas Og was a similar story and again Crokes played very well showing off the skills they have been training so hard on including tackling, hooking, blocking and striking along the ground and in the air. We again came out just the wrong side on a scoreline of 1-1 to 0-2.
Having lost out narrowly on their group games the team were determined to succeed in their remaining games. The game against KC4 was a superb exhibition with both sides being lifted by the great support from the sidelines. Again only 1 score separated the teams with KC3 getting the long awaiting win on a score of 3-2 to 2-2.
To finish off a great day of hurling the last game was against local rivals Ballinteer. Strength in defence, a midfield duo that ran and ran and kept the ball moving, and forwards who made the most of their opportunities helped Crokes run out on top with a score of 3-1 to 1-0.
A great day, fun filled and action packed with great support throughout.
KC4 tournament match report (Manager, Dermot Crowley)
Panel
Sean Purcell, Peter Egan, Patrick Corbett, Patrick Keys, Darragh Harrison, Darragh Geraghty, Barra O Donoghue, Darren Crowley, Eric McMahon, David Hyland, Keelin Murphy, Hugh Moran
KC4 had a very enjoyable outing last Sunday. Pooled in one of the tougher groups with Buffers Alley, Upperchurch Drombane and Sarsfield 1.
We got have off to a slow start in our first match and sound ourselves a few points down early on. We were second to most balls and not pulling as hard as our opponents. We recovered somewhat in the second half with a goal to lose by the tightest of margins of 1-1 to 0-5.
The lads reacted very well in the second game against a very strong Sarsfield team. We were much sharper and a last minute goal from Sars made the scoreline of 3-2 to 1-1 a bit misleading.
Our last group match was the best performance of the days from the lads where we lost to Upperchurch Drombane by 1-1 to 0-1. A disallowed goal when we were on top in the first half was crucial as it would have been a just reward for the lads’ dominance in that half.
In our first play off match, we were narrowly beaten (3-2 to 2-2) by KC3 who were managed by Adrian Crean. This was a very hard one for the manager to take! In a high scoring game, a late goal by KC3 proved crucial.
The lads were a bit down after four narrow defeats but picked themselves up so well for the last game against Durlas Og 2 to win by 1-4 to 0-0. They hurled with incredible enthusiasm and energy considering it was their fifth game of the day and could have won by a bigger margin if there was a little bit more composure in front of goal.
KC4 should be proud of their efforts. We were competitive in every game and showed pride in their jersey in being so determined to win their final game.
