Ballinkillen pull clear in second half
Ballinkillen captain AJ Dooley lifts the under 16 'B' hurling trophy Photo: Pat Ahern
An excellent second half performance saw Ballinkillen clinch under 16 Division 2 Hurling championship title at Netwatch Cullen Park on Thursday.
The eventual winners started best with Thomas Sheehan accounting for their first two points. They were rocked when a side-line cut from Adam Joyce found its way over the goal-line for a fortunate three-pointer at the scoreboard end of the ground.
It took a while for Ballinkillen to recover but they eventually did and went back in front at the end of the first quarter with Zach O’Hara scoring a goal. It was tight after that as Ballinkillen enjoyed the edge but not by much.
Rangers keeper, Jack Ivers, had to be on this toes when saving smartly but he could do little with Sheehan’s rasper when he pulled first time in the big square.
At the interval, Ballinkillen led 2-5 to 1-3.
Six unanswered points from Sheehan all but broke the Rangers resistance in the third quarter but they showed great courage to get back into the game. Noel Jordan saw his free take a deflection and end up in the Ballinkillen net. It took Ballinkillen a while to respond but AJ Dooley’s point dispelled any doubt about the outcome. A second goal from O’Hara completed a satisfactory evening for the entire Ballinkillen team effort who were deserving winners against tough opponents who never gave up.
T Sheehan 1-12 (7fs), Z O’Hara 2-0, AJ Dooley 0-1.
A Joyce 1-2 (1-0 sl, f), N Jordan 1-1.
Jason Salter; Fionn Corcoran, Jayden Tracey, Jack Barrett; Dara Nolan, Billy Konsoulas, Kian Minchin; AJ Dooley, Zach O’Hara; Tadhg Doyle, Thomas Sheehan, Eoghan Murphy; Jim Hughes, Ben Kelly, Callum Jordan. Subs: Finn Lawler for Jordan (h/t), Noah Murphy for Murphy (40), Aaron O’Brien for Hughes (49), Jack Murphy for Doyle (59), Joey Byrne for E Murphy (59), Ben Maher, Louis Hughes.
Jack Ivers; Evan Savage Kelly, Conor Hickey, PJ Doyle; Dara Coady, Noel Jordan, Patrick O’Brien; Darragh Coleman, Eon Condron; James Dalton, Adam Joyce, Michael Murphy; Sean O’Brien, James Flood, Joe Walsh. Subs: Jake Fitzpatrick for Savage Kelly (49), Joey White for, Murphy (54), David Cass for Walsh (55), Aaron Doyle for Jordan (59), Darragh O’Brien, Sean O’Brien, Shane Jordan, Ruairi Murphy, Tom Kehoe, Conor Walsh.
Billy Fanning (Ballon)
