Two really impressive sides hurled their hearts out in dreadful conditions.
CENTAL CARLOW UNDER 16 DIVISION 1 HURLING FINAL
Carlow Town/Setanta 4-11, Burren Rangers 2-5
By Leo McGough
Tom Brown, not of Tom Brown’s Schooldays, but Tom Brown, the pen name for esteemed ‘Evening Press’ hurling analyst Seamus O’Braonáin, that Tom Brown was steadfast in his opinion that the man (or boy) who had the strength of wrist to control and strike a wet sliotar, the man (or boy) who had the resolve to ignore the weather and underground conditions and get stuck in, that that man (or boy) was the ‘real hurler’, that that man (or boy) was superior by far to the sunshine hurler who could only play well in a pleasant climate.
The climate was far from pleasant in Netwatch Cullen Park on Thursday night, cascading rain and a cutting cold wind making even watching from the ‘comfort’ of the Tommy Lennon Stand a bit of an ordeal. Imagine then what it must have been like for the hurlers out on the field for the Under 16 ‘A’ final? That’s why we opened our report with Tom Brown’s take on real hurlers as every single boy on the field had the required skills but, more importantly, every single boy on the field had that resolve Brown looked for, a resolve that in horrendous conditions saw these boys become men: real hurlers, real men.
Yes, Carlow Town/Setanta were impressive winners, very impressive winners but first we salute both teams on providing an entertaining final and if Burren Rangers, appearing in their first ever U-16 A final, didn’t reproduce the all-action performance that saw them torpedo championship favourites Bagenalstown in the semi-final, the Ballon/Fighting Cocks/Kilbride youths could not be faulted on the count of effort, battling hard to the bitter end, playing now for pride in the jersey and procuring a few late consolation scores.
Carlow Town/Setanta, though, held the upper hand for most of the contest and this again brings us back to Seamus O’Braonáin’s analysis for if a core of exceptionally skilful hurlers provided the cutting edge it was the overall energy and bravery of the entire fifteen (and the five who came on) that provided the solid platform for an exhibition par excellence.
Tom Brown too extolled the virtues of, indeed the necessity for a solid diamond’, a solid hurling ‘diamond’, he of the strong belief that the players wearing jersey number 6, 8, 9 and 11 – centre half-back, the two mid-fielders, centre half forward – needed to be top quality hurlers with the drive and determination to provide inspirational leadership.
My word, but did the new champions mentors adhere to that blueprint, their mid-field diamond of Harry Delaney, Seanie McMahon, Finlay Racklyeft and Peter Lynch providing Carlow Town/Setanta with a real cutting edge and ticking all Tom Brown’s boxes with their skillset and application. Harry, the team captain, had a huge game at centre half back, the Rangers finding it extremely difficult to get past the barrier erected by the No 6, aided and abetted by his steely wing half backs Cain McNamara and Adam Haughney The dynamic mid-field duo of live-wire Seanie and all-action Finlay not only dominated that vital sector and provided their attack with plentiful possession, Numbers 8 and 9 also contributed handsomely to the scoreboard, McMahon hitting 1-1, Racklyeft chipping in with a brace of points. When it came to contributing handsomely to the scoreboard No 11 Peter Lynch takes top billing, the centre half forward finishing with a fine personal tally of 2-5, 2-1 from play, 0-4 from placed balls on a night free-taking was a difficult task. Apart altogether from his scoring return Peter played a power of incisive hurling, bringing his forward colleagues into play.
Indeed Tom Brown would have approved of the slick team work of the combined town forces, their cohesion often exemplified in slick stick passes and astute use of the hand-pass, this team work both getting them out of trouble in defence and Rangers into trouble when Carlow attacked with poise and purpose.
Speaking of poise and purpose, No 10 Mark Buggy’s high quality 1-2 came as a direct result of those attributes while diminutive Shane Gurhy was rewarded late in the game for his poise and purpose with a fine long range point while a fine action shot by Pat Ahern captured Shane ‘first to the ball’, a mantra that served the champions well all night.
The full-back line of Callum Swayne, Liam Ryan and Donnacha Moran were mindful of that mantra too, Daniel Nolan was an alert goalkeeper while John Hendricken, Cathal Kennedy and Alex Donnelly Finn all enjoyed useful outings too as did the five substitutes called on.
Burren Rangers were not short of good hurlers and are better than this showing with captain Kieran Donald leading by example at mid-field, Michael Shanahan and Charlie Salter Bermingham solid in defence, Cathal Treacy, scorer of 1-1, unlucky not to add a few more, carrying the biggest threat in attack where vice-captain James Bergin also stood out.
The story of the scoring: Peter Lynch was quick off the mark with a pointed Carlow Town/Setanta free in the first minute and added a great score from play a couple of minutes later. Burren Rangers, playing into the wind, finally opened their account in the 11th minute, a good Kieran Donald point, so at 0-2 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter the Ballon, Kilbride, Fighting Cocks brigade, considering the elements, looked well poised.
Enter centre stage the ‘Town’ mid-fielders Seanie and Finlay with two rat-tat points in the 17th and 18th minutes, the benefit of these points increased by their inspirational quality, ditto Mark Buggy’s 22th minute minor. Patrick O’Toole kept Rangers in contention with a good point, Peter Lynch converted a free won by John Hendricken and in the 24th minute after a hectic goalmouth tussle at the dressing room end Lynch kicked the sliotar to the net, the closing score of the opening half giving the ‘Town’ a 1-6 to 0-2 interval advantage.
Those who felt that advantage might not be enough had their fears underlined when Burren Rangers struck for a goal of their own just two minutes of the restart, Cathal Treacy finishing with aplomb after a clever flick from substitute Colm Donald. It was now Carlow Town/Setanta showed true resolve, responding to that major in the best possible fashion with a score of their own, Peter Lynch pointing a free won by Shane Gurhy, Little could we have known that that 33rd minute point was the first of a plethora of town scores, the champions reeling off an astonishing 3-5 without reply over the next 22 minutes to establish a mammoth 4-11 to 1-2 lead. 2-4 of that 3-5 came before the end of the third quarter, the green flags coming in the 40th and 44th minutes, Colm Buggy netting the first, an opportunist first time ground strike from close range after a Peter Lynch point-attempt from a free dropped short, Colm quickest to the ‘break; while Lynch himself netted the second, great run and low strike. Seanie Mac supplied goal No 4 in the 55th minute, another great finish. In the closing five minutes never-say-die Burren Rangers scored 1-3, due reward for their resilience when it would have been easier to throw in the towel completely.
A word of praise too for referee Brian Deering whose sensible officiating on a difficult night for hurling added to the entertainment.
Carlow Town/Setanta: Daniel Nolan (CTHC); Callum Swayne (Setanta), Liam Ryan (Setanta), Donnacha Moran (CTHC); Cein McNamara (CTHC), Harry Delaney (CTHC) Capt, Adam Haughney (CTHC); Seanie McMahon (CTHC) 1-1, Finlay Racklyeft (CTHC) 0-2; Mark Buggy (CTHC) 1-2, Peter Lynch (CTHC) 2-5 0-4f, John Hendricken (CTHC); Shane Gurhy (Setanta) 0-1, Cathal Kennedy (CTHC), Alex Donnelly Finn (CTHC). Subs: Jack McDonald (Setanta) for C Swayne (49), Fiach Donnelly (CTHC) for A Donnelly Finn (52), Robbie Carbery (Setanta) 1-0 for C Kennedy (52), Alex McGrath (Setanta) for ? (56), Sean Nolan (Setanta) for J Hendricken (57). Also: Josh McGrath (Setanta), Brian O’Sullivan (CTHC), Danny McMahon (CTHC), Ben Nolan (CTHC), Shay Ryan (Setanta), Patrick Murphy (CTHC), Tom Treacy (Setanta), Dmitriy Shablain (CTHC)
Burren Rangers: Zach Bolger; Adam Cox, Michael Shanahan, Matthew O’Brien; Callum Richards, Charlie Salter Bermingham 0-1, Michael Redmond; Kieran Donald (Capt) 0-1, Eoghan Tracey; James Bergin (Vice-Captain) 0-1 f, Tiernan Whelan, Edward O’Byrne; Freddie Gibson, Patrick O’Toole 0-1, Cathal Treacy 1-1. Subs: Joe Keating for M O’Brien (10), Colm Donald 1-0 for F Gibson (23), Evan Hennessy for C Richards (52), Sean Og Dempsey for P O’Toole (54), Aidan O’Brien for E O’Byrne (59)
Referee: Brian Deering
