Under 11 hurlers secure comfortable wins against local rivals
The two under 11 panels were in action on Saturday morning 11th May, against local rivals Cuala and Olafs
Panel 1 played in Thomastown, while Panel 2 hosted Naomh Olafs in Deerpark. Both games were played in bizarre weather conditions, with sunny spells interrupted by heavy showers. And the wind played its part too. In Thomastown the two teams on Panel 1 started off against the strong wind, but with quick ground hurling and clever passing managed to keep in touch with Cuala up to half time. Stout defence by Michael Nealon, Oscar O’Laoide, Luke Gilleran and Leo Fearon at one end, together with clinical finishing by Ben Marnell and Robert Donovan at the other meant Team 1 were only 2 points behind at half time. Meanwhile, on the other pitch solid goal-keeping by Cathal Kennedy and strong defence from David Curtin, Adam Crowe and Mike Lynch actually allowed Team 2 to go into the half-time break with a slight lead.
The second halves were delayed by another down-pour but once the refs had re-started it all went Crokes’ way. Team 1 settled quickly with a point from John McEntee and before long Brian Hayes and Daragh Purcell were lording it in mid-field with a comprehensive victory for Crokes
Team 2 weren’t holding back either. Daire McNulty and Eoghan Murphy both scored early and strong play throughout from Jack Tiernan and Jack Sherry meant Dan Kearney had a quiet time in goals for the second half. Cuala fought hard to the end, but the whistle couldn’t come soon enough for them as Crokes won well in the end.
Meanwhile in Deerpark, Panel B were hosting Olafs, with similar weather conditions.
The welcome return of Davy Crowe from injury opened the scoring with a great goal from just inside the half way line within a minute of throw in. This spurred the team on and from the puck out Mark Murphy cleanly caught the ball to put it over the bar. Up front Michael & Cian Donnelly worked exceptionally well with some great hand passing resulting in a few more scores going over the bar. However Olafs fought back but had to get passed Daniel Daly and Ciaran Browne in defence who were outstanding in their determination to clear the ball preventing any goals in the first half.
Second half we were against the wind and it took its toll. Half time talk emphasised the need to get stuck into every play. Gareth Steward Lord and Luke Kelly took the instruction on board and put in some great hooks and blocks preventing an early attached from Olafs. Colm Roche moved to mid field and he showed some great skill in the cleaver use of ground hurling to get the ball into space. Joseph Neary in defence ensured that Olafs could not get a run on the score board, but had to work hard, as Olafs came out a stronger team in the second half.
The match finished with a comprehensive win for Crokes and the team demonstrated some great skill and determination in difficult conditions.
Team 2 also took on Naomh Olafs and lined up as follows Gordon Linehan, Dara MacGabhann, Seamus O’Donnell, Matthew Byrne, Ian Farnan, Henry Dolphin, Jack Reddy, Owen O’Flynn, Michael Egan. All players performed exceptionally well given the horrendous conditions. Dara and Jack held the defensive line well in the first half and were rarely breached. Michael Egan in goals was very accurate on the puck outs finding Seamus and Matthew in midfield. This midfield combination dominated possession and combined very well with Owen, Henry and Ian up front. After a second half positional reshuffle the Crokes boys tacked on a few more scores to win well overall.