Once more unto the breach
Bray Emmets must battle with Carnew again
THE Bray Emmets Senior hurling team and their supporters must make the journey to Aughrim again this weekend for the replay of the Dacia Cars Senior Hurling Championship final against Carnew on Sunday at 2pm.
After a tense and hard-hitting affair last Sunday it was Carnew’s long-serving soldier Don Hyland who put the cap on the Bray celebrations with a stunning point over the shoulder from the sideline on the stand side to level the game at 1-09 to 0-12.
It was something of a difficult day for the young Bray side who were held to an unusually low tally by a dogged and determined Carnew defence but there were signs that the Bray attack can cause considerable damage if they break free of the shackles of the likes of Martin O’Brien and Andrew Hughes.
At the other end of the field the Bray defence performed reasonably well with the Carnew inside line offering little threat overall and it all serves to spice up the replay which should see a decent crowd return to the county grounds to find out who will be the champions of 2016.
The reigning champions and three-in-a-row chasing Bray side were looking to be in a very healthy place when Mikey Lee fired home to the back of the Carnew net in the second half but Carnew clawed their way back into the game to the point where a long free down to the Bray defence broke to Don Hyland on the sideline and he performed a little bit of magic to tie up the game with referee Ciaran Manley blowing the full-time whistle shortly afterwards.
This weekend sees Aughrim’s John Keenan taking charge of the replay which promises to be something special as John Henderson’s young Bray side go up against Casey O’Brien’s Carnew once again0. Don’t miss it. THE Wicklow County Board are set to seek the ratification of former Glenealy boss Seamus Murphy as the new Wicklow Senior hurling manager at next Monday night’s County Board meeting in Ballinakill.
Following the interview process that attracted five candidates, it is reported that the Rathnure native has been successful in his application for the top hurling job in the county and his name will be put forward to club delegates at Monday night’s meeting.
Sources within Wicklow GAA have also revealed that Murphy is expected to bring in current St Pat’s boss Michael Neary as trainer.
The search is currently underway for selectors for 2017 and it is hoped that selectors will be found from the strong hurling clubs in the county.
The club delegates will also be asked to ratifify the new Wicklow Minor football boss who is widely believed to be Martin Ging.