County Hurling and Football Leagues Review

By Liam Hogan

HURLING LEAGUE

Division 1

Kiladangan 0-12 Drom & Inch 1-15

Drom & Inch scored 1-4 without reply in the last eight minutes to claim the two points when defeating holders Kiladangan in the first round of the County Hurling League at a floodlit Puckane on Friday night.

The lead changed hands in the first half with Drom turning a two point deficit into a three point advantage at half time 0-8 to 0-5. Kiladangan upped the gears in the opening minutes of the second half and went two in front after Tadgh Gallagher 0-6 (4 frees) made it 0-12 to 0-11 after 48 minutes. Johnny Ryan (0-4) brought parity four minutes later and when Cathal Cahill worked himself past the Kiladangan cover to score the game’s only goal, there was only one outcome.

Moycarkey/Borris ............................1-13

Borris-Ileigh ........................................1-8

Moycarkey/Borris got over a slow start before claiming their first league points when they defeated Borris-Ileigh at a floodlit Littleton on Friday evening.

The home-side were dealt a blow in the opening minutes when Conor Kenny scored a goal for the visitors, but Moycarkey recovered and Tom Hayes (1-3) goal in the 27th minute helped them to a 1-8 to 1-4 half time lead.

Moycarkey maintained their four point advantage for the third quarter. A brief Borris-Ileigh resurgence helped cut the deficit to three but with Kyle Shelly’s accuracy (0-8, 6f) Moycarkey sealed the win with a five point winning margin. Eddie Ryan was Borris-Ileigh’s top scorer with six points.

Holycross/Ballycahill 0-12 Mullinahone 0-13

Michael Dunne’s close-range free was the match-winner as Mullinahone scored three unanswered points to secure the win over Holycross-Ballycahill in Holycross on Sunday.

Conditions were far from ideal as Holycross played with the breeze in the first half and led 0-8 to 0-5 at half time. That three-point advantage could have been greater had Darragh Woods penalty hit the back of the net instead of flying inches over the bar while Eoin Kelly denied the home-side with a great save in the Mullinahone goal.

Holycross had a slight edge in the second half but missed too many opportunities which allowed Mullinahone stay close and pull of the win with those vital scores. Neither side scored in the last six minutes.

Loughmore/Castleiney 0-10 Upperchurch/Drombane 0-13

Upperchurch/Drombane scored a three-point win over Loughmore/Castleiney at Castleiney last Sunday.

The winners led from start to finish and were quickly out of the blocks when scoring the opening six points before the home-side registered their first score. Paul Ryan was scorer-in-chief while Loughmore had replies from Ciaran McCormack (3), Ed Connolly and Noel McGrath as Upperchurch led 0-9 to 0-5 at half time.

Upperchurch maintained their grip, but wayward shooting was the pattern in the main which allowed Loughmore to stay close as with Liam McGrath scoring three from frees as his side cut the deficit to two. However, Upperchurch prevailed thanks to Paul Ryan (frees) and Aaron Ryan from play.

Division 2

Newport 1-11 Clonakenny 2-23

Clonakenny had a rather easy win over a poor Newport outfit at Lacken Park last Saturday.

The winners dominated from the first whistle to last, and led 1-11 to 1-7 at half time with Cian O’Dwyer scoring the visitors three-pointer with Lee Ryan the goal-scorer for Newport.

The second half saw Clonakenny stretch their lead helped by a second goal from Jonathon Cody which saw the Mid Tipp side collect two valuable league points.

Silvermines 0-12 Carrick Swan 2-10

Carrick Swan travelled to Dolla to face Silvermines on what was a damp, drizzly Sunday morning, and following a tough battle, came away with a deserved opening round victory.

In a game where the free-takers had mixed fortunes, the opening quarter proved a nip-and-tuck affair with little between the sides before a 22nd minute Swan goal by Aaron Dunne propelled the visitors into a 1-5 to 0-3 lead. They maintained their advantage to lead by 1-6 to 0-3 at the interval but the ‘Mines battled back into contention early in the second half thanks to points from Conor McKelvey.

However, the home side was dealt a sucker punch on 42 minutes when Aaron Dunne scored the Swans second goal. Silvermines came under more pressure, but Davy Shanahan was called into action to expertly save a Swans penalty. Silvermines mounted a late surge in the closing stages with points from Conor McKelvey and Sean Nolan, but Swans held out to record a hard-earned four-point victory.

FOOTBALL LEAGUE

DIVISION 1

JK Brackens 2-8 Ballina 2-10

Ballina went to Templemore and claimed two league points at the expense of home-side JK Brackens in the opening round of the County Football League on Saturday.

It was a game of two halves with Ballina taking up the baton in the first half to lead 2-8 to 0-1 at the break with Tom Lee scoring both goals.

Bracken’s revival took earnest in the second half by way of a penalty in the 41st minute from Cormac Foy. Four minutes later, Shane Scully had a second successful penalty for the home-side. The revival continued and points by Eanna McBride, Cathal Scully and Ned Delaney helped close the gap, but Ballina held on to win by two.

Moyle Rovers 1-6 Clonmel Commercials 0-8

Cathal McKeown’s first half goal was key as Moyle Rovers defeated rivals Clonmel Commercials at Munroe on Sunday. Moyle Rovers led 1-2 to 0-4 lead at half time, but Commercials regained lost ground in the third quarter and went three clear before Rovers finished the better side and claimed victory thanks to four unanswered points with Dean English securing the winning score.