GLENEALY MARCH ON TO THE FINAL
GLENEALY ST ANNE’S (WX) 1-14 2-08
TAKE a bow, Glenealy and enter the history books as, for the first time ever, a Wicklow hurling club has reached a Leinster club final.
They did so by beating Wexford Intermediate champions St Anne’s who won the county title the previous week.
Colossal performances from the likes of Jonathan ‘Bosco’ O’Neill with a 100 per cent success rate from placed balls, his son Jonathan who won a few of those frees and chipped in with 1-01, Danny Staunton who dominated from centre back and many more Glenealy players led them to victory.
Warren Kavanagh was given a poisoned chalice with the job of marking Diarmuid O’Keeffe, the All Star nominated Wexford wing-back who was positioned at full-forward for the afternoon.
Kavanagh has been in exceptional form all year though and emerged with credit, winning his fair share of battles, including a late one when he conspired with his brother Lee to snuff out any danger.
If ever there was a match of the balance of play swaying from one team to another and purple patches, this was it. St Anne’s went ahead, Glenealy came back. Glenealy went ahead, St Anne’s came back.
Both sides missed easy chances as the poor weather conditions played havoc with their shooting, St Anne’s hitting twelve wides to Glenealy’s eight.
It was a ten minute period either side of half time that put Glenealy on the front foot when they scored nine points without reply, Bosco Snr with seven of them.
That turned a four-point deficit into a five-point lead and it gave them some breathing space when St Anne’s hit four points in a row to get within a point in the 56th minute.
Two late Glenealy frees however and that was it, Glenealy made history.
Jonathan Snr opened the scoring with a free within seconds of the start when he was fouled. Moments later his son doubled the lead, making the most of a poor Paraic O’Keeffe clearance.
By the eighth minute St Anne’s were level and should have been ahead. Mark Furlong converted a free and then went for goal from 21 metres which was easily blocked. Diarmuid O’Keeffe added the equaliser.
They went one point ahead four minutes later, a Furlong free, but Glenealy hit back straight away with 1-01.
O’Neill Jnr raced onto a loose ball and nearly burst the net before Leighton Glynn slotted over a beauty. Before Glynn’s point Danny Staunton pick pocketed the sliotar from a St Anne’s player with panache.
Both teams had goal chances in the next few minutes, at one end O’Neill Jnr had his shot saved while at the other Keith Snell was alive to a possible Jonathan Fogarty chance and out like a shot to dispossess him.
Snell made a terrible mistake however in the next play when he failed to deal with a long ball and Liam Rochford stole in to bundle the ball into the net.
A minute later Diarmuid O’Keeffe rifled a shot into the top corner that gave Snell no chance. Rochford added a point and St Anne’s led by 2-04 to 1-03 after 21 minutes.
They didn’t score for another 25 minutes.
The sides went in level at halftime, O’Neill Snr with all four points.
First his son was fouled for a free, then he split the posts from 55 metres when Jamie Byrne forced a St Anne’s defender to touch the ball on the ground with ferocious tackling.
He made the most of a poor clearance before O’Neill Jnr plucked a ball from the heavens and was fouled in front of goal. It was 1-07 to 2-04 at half-time.
St Anne’s started the second half the better team without making it count on the score board, hitting three wides and dropping one short.
Glynn dropped a couple of his own shots short also but O’Neill didn’t have such problems, con- verting two frees to put Glenealy into a lead they would never relinquish.
Jamie Byrne, Glynn and O’Neill, with a free from an almost impossible angle, added a point each and Glenealy led by five in the 43rd minute.
Glenealy were dominating the game at this stage, their midfield and half back line winning everything and starving Diarmuid O’Keeffe of possession.
O’Keeffe moved out to centre forward with a quarter of an hour to go and the game swung back into their favour.
He hit four points in a row to leave a point between the teams with four minutes left. That was as close as they would get.
O’Neill Jnr won a free for his father to convert near the side line before Kevin White hauled down Enan Glynn who was bearing down on goal. Bosco duly did the honours.
Glenealy survived a late goal chance that went harmlessly wide and their loyal band of supporters huddled under the stand nearly broke the sound barrier at the final whistle.
They go into the Leinster final against Kilkenny Intermediate champions St Patrick’s, Ballyragget as raging underdogs but that won’t stop them from giving it a shot.
Scorers – Glenealy: Jonathan O’Neill Snr (9f) 0-10; Jonathan O’Neill Jnr 1-01; Leighton Glynn 0-02; Jamie Byrne 0-01.
St Anne’s: Diarmuid O’Keeffe (2f) 1-05; Liam Rochford 1-01; Mark Furlong (2f) 0-02.