The East see off South
EAST WICKLOW SOUTH WICKLOW 7-16 1-12
THIS U-17 Hurling competition is being organised by Jonathan Tallon on a regional basis to help with the development of Wicklow U-17 hurlers for 2018.
The competition also includes teams from West Wicklow, a combination from Ballon in Carlow and a team from Tara Rocks in North Wexford.
On Friday night last the South and East played in Ballinakill on a freshly mown sod which provided good conditions for hurling. A heavy drizzle in the second half did not really have any bearing on the outcome of the game.
The East side seemed to be better prepared on the night and got off to a flying start.
Their half back line of Mikey Griffin, Patrick Murphy and Liam Dickenson got a grip on proceedings straight away.
Midfielders Joe McDonald and Eamon Keogh were on top in the early stages, sending in a good supply to their dangerous full forwards, where Paddy Moorehouse and Tom O’Brien were difficult to keep in check.
By the quarter hour mark the East had established a 3-3 to 0-3 lead.
The South side took a little while to find their feet but gradually they began to come into the game.
Eoghan Byrne, Mark Clancy, Adam Hughes, Tim Byrne, Dan Owens and Shane Mellon were coming to terms with the early onslaught from the East side and the flow of play was more evenly balanced for the remainder of the half.
Eoghan Byrne and Paudie McGing were particularly prominent during this period. P
oints from Niall Mellon, Adam Hughes, Eoghan Byrne and Paudie McGing helped to bring their points tally to 0-7 by half time. With Paddy Moorehouse adding points from frees and play the East side had 4-8 on the board at the break.
The second half continued in much the same vein with East Wicklow in comfortable control. Paudie McGing, Eoghan Byrne and Oisin Dunne knocked over some fine points for the South but they were short the firepower of the likes of Paddy Moorehouse, Sam O’Dowd, Joe McDonald and Tom O’Brien for the East.
However the South side showed enough to suggest that when they have all their forces together, they will provide a match for any opponents. The final score was 7-16 to 1-12 in favour of East Wicklow.
Scorers - East: Paddy Moorehouse 4-6,Tom O’Brien 1-2, Cian O’Neill 1-0, Jack Veale, Joe McDonald 0-4,Sam O’Dowd 0-2.
South: Paudie McGing 1-5, Eoghan Byrne 0-4,Oisin Dunne 0-1, Adam Hughes 0-1, Shane Mellon 0-1.