Magic point saves
Late drama in Aughrim as Hyland fires over a beauty
A quarter of a century after he had starred from midfield to help Carnew Emmets to a Senior hurling crown, the unstoppable Don Hyland fired over an absolute screamer from the sideline in Aughrim last Sunday to earn his side another shot at the three-in-arow chasing Bray Emmets.
The tremendously talented Hyland had been sprung from the bench by Casey O’Brien as he looked to gain an advantage on John Henderson’s men but up until the 33rd minute of action with the final whistle about to sound at any second the 43-year-old had yet to really impose himself on the game.
And then Liam Kennedy was fouled on the Carnew 45. The beefy defender belted the ball long down on top of Wayne Kinsella and Peter Kiely. The ball broke out to the sideline. And there’s Hyland in heavy traffic down on the stand side. The need for nifty wrists and a swift arc of a swing was vital. Hyland popped the ball in front of him with him facing the stand. He didn’t even look at the posts. I repeat: He didn’t even look at the posts. He swung that familiar arc, the poetic movement of the hurler, the sublime slicing of the autumnal air. Whack. Off she went, high into the darkening sky above Aughrim and on she sailed, straight between the uprights, levelling the match at 0-12 to 1-09. Seconds later the final whistle sounded.
Carnew were jubilant. The Bray management were infuriated. The decent crowd were to be treated to another meeting of these two sides, another hour of cat and mouse hurling, another final where defences would be key, where the men of Carnew will need their older players to help them hang on despite al the talk of the youth finally stepping up to the mark and where Bray will look again to their dynamic duo of Moorehouse and Lee to carve open their enemies and secure their place in hurling history.
This was an amazing game of hurling to watch. Not for the abundance of wonderful skill of breath-taking hurling, but more for the war like strategy, the tactics, the ploys, the match ups, the sheer luck at times, the fierce competition, the hard hits and the edge that still remained even as the players and officials departed the field.
To keep Bray Emmets to 1-09 was a noteworthy achievement by the Carnew men but the threat was always there and will be there again come Sunday at 2pm.
The performances of Martin O’Brien and first Oisin Furlong and then Andrew Hughes on keeping the lethal Bray pair subdued cannot go without a mention but when Lee and Moorehouse slipped the shackles they were gone like ghosts on the breeze and they are wonderful to watch.
The scant return from the Carnew full-forward line where, despite working hard and throwing himself about, Wayne Kinsella didn’t enjoy an overly productive afternoon, also needs mentioning. The performances of Daire Lohan, Peter Kiely and Luke Maloney were a major factor in the absence of any real inside threat from the challengers with Maloney really catching the eye.
Worryingly from a Bray Emmets point of view was the freetaking, which was not of a high standard on the day and contributed heavily to the nine Bray wides overall. A vast improvement from the hurl of Diarmuid Masterson and Christy Moorehouse is to be expected.
The conditions didn’t help, or perhaps they did help in some respects, but what the heavy ground did was slow the game down and the amount of time the ball became caught in rucks and was kicked clear was incredible.
The question has to be asked at this juncture as to how much each side can improve for the next day.
Clearly, the return of 1-09 is nowhere near what Bray Emmets are capable of. They bagged 2-20 in the semi-final. They barely broke even at midfield you might say and the half-back line didn’t dominate as they might albeit they still had a decent day at the office.
It’s likely that Bray have huge room for improvement with the game benefiting the hard-working Paul Cunningham and the introduced Eoin McCormanck.
For Carnew they will need much improved performances from the likes of Pádraig Doran and Enda Donohue, even though the latter was very competent on frees.
The manner of the draw will give the more mature Carnew warriors a belief that they can hold this talented Bray outfit but they will need another massive day and they will need fortune to shine on them again for them to secure what would be a hugely important championship win.
Enda Donohue fired Carnew to an early lead in this game with Mikey Lee answering back swiftly with a wicked point from play.
Late addition to the starting 15 Cian O’Byrne gave Bray the lead after 60 seconds thanks to a ball from Bray captain Christy Moorehouse.
An early yellow card was flashed by referee Ciaran Manley to Mikey Lee for a foul on Oisin Furlong. Donohue went wayward with the resulting free.
Bray were starting to take control of matters at this early stage and points from Paul Cunningham, thanks to a pass from Padraig Doyle, and Diarmuid Masterson from a free inside his own 65 after Jack Doyle had overcarried left the reigning champions leading by 0-04 to 0-01.
But Carnew fought back. Wayne Kinsella collected a long Oisin Furlong ball and walloped over. Cian O’Byrne collected a yellow card for his troubles.
Good work from Robert Lambert allowed Conal McCrea the chance to fire over Peter O’Reilly’s crossbar and the Carnew midfielder seized the opportunity with both hands and then a foul on Jack doyle prompted Enda Donohue to step up to the plate and all of a sudden we were at 0-04 apiece after 20 minutes.
A poor Carnew clearance coughed up possession to Mikey Lee and a hurler of that man’s calibre doesn’t need to be asked twice and he helped Bray back in front.
But Donohue was on form with the frees and he drew the sides level while Bray were very much not on form from placed balls and Masterson clocked up Bray’s fifth wide with 27 minutes on the clock and the score reading 0-05 to 0-05.
Back came Bray. Their party piece over the last two years has been strong finishes, strong finishes to first halves and to games overall and here they came again. Moorehouse with a beautiful turn and score and here they come for a goal with Marc Lennon but there’s Graham Keogh blocking it out for a 65 which was dragged wide by Moorehouse and we’re off to the dressing rooms with Bray up by a point.
Enda Donohue goes wide with a goal chance in the early stages of the second half but Jack Doyle levelled matters a moment later at 0-06 each. Keep and eye out for that name for the remainder of the game. The Carnew youngster had a great second half.
Casey O’Brien’s men take the lead through a Donohue free after the mightily impressive Andrew Hughes was fouled.
Bray strike back from the hurl of Moorehouse. He’s amazing to watch.
Wayne Kinsella wins a free and Donohue fires over and then Kinsella is almost in for a goal but fires wide.
Back come Bray. Always dangerous, always willing, always able. Tremendous play from Eoin McCormack and the ball is in over the top for Mikey Lee and he pulls and she’s in the back of Bob Fitzgerald’s net. Will the floodgates open? Will this be the spur that Bray need to kick on?
The tenacious Timmy Collins wins a free. Was there a blade of grass that man didn’t cover on Sunday afternoon? Donohue points. The recovery is underway.
The majestic Mikey Lee from play and Don Hyland is on and he fires wide./ Hyland was introduced for Robert Lambert and there may be an argument to suggest that Lambert’s removal allowed John Henderson more time and space to impose his silky skills on this game.
And then we saw Christy Moorehouse in all his glory. Ball in and he’s being jostled by Martin O’Brien and the pair are stuck together. Suddenly a slip and Moorehouse is away like a comet. He’s gone and the ball is over the bar. He’s that fast. 1-09 to 0-09 with 10 to go.
Carnew have a free close in. Donohue pulls into the ground and it’s saved and comes to Timmy Collins and he splits the posts.
A foul on Jack Doyle allows Donohue to bring it back to a onepoint game with 61 played, two minutes of injury time announced. With 32 minutes and 20 seconds elapsed Liam Kennedy sends the free down to the Bray heartland and out breaks the ball to the paw of Don Hyland. The rest is a thing of real hurling beauty and there are