Two early goals help Fethard to commanding win

A TWO-GOAL burst inside the opening seven minutes propelled Fethard to a well-deserved eightpoint victory over Carlow Intermediate champions, Naomh Bríd, in this AIB Leinster Club Junior hurling championship quarter-final at the Netwatch Carlow Training Centre in Fenagh on Saturday.

While Naomh Bríd were a strong, physical team, they were unable to match the more skilful Fethard outfit, who held a decided advantage for most of the 60 minutes.

This is an achievement in itself, given that their opponents were relegated from Senior last year, and gained an immediate return to the top flight.

However, on this occasion, they were always fighting to stay in the game as that opening burst proved decisive for Fethard.

The strong crossfield wind made it difficult for hurling, but it was the superior skill set of Fethard which helped them overcome the elements.

Rock solid in defence where Rúairí Tubrid, Kevin Rowe and Richard Waters were outstanding, they were helped by a dominant midfield pairing in Garrett Foley and John Tubritt.

But it was in attack where they caused most problems, with Mark Wallace showing delightful accuracy despite the strong crossfield wind, while Daire Barden and Ciarán Dwyer were also hugely impressive.

Naomh Bríd pointed themselves in front through a third-minute Alan Brennan effort, but this was the only time they led in the game.

Fethard served evidence of what was to follow when, in their first real attack after four minutes, Eddie Power got on the end of a Graham O’Grady low ball across the goal to finish to the net.

Three minutes later midfielder John Tubritt soloed through the defence before sending an unstoppable shot to the net, giving his side a 2-0 to 0-1 lead.

The whirlwind opening helped Fethard to settle, with Mark Wallace sending over a 70-metre poined free, and while Aaron Amond pointed frees kept the opposition in contention, fine points from Wallace, Daire Barden and Garrett Foley helped the Wexford Intermediate ‘A’ champions into a 2-7 to 0-4 interval lead.

Inside six minutes of the restart, Naomh Bríd responded with points from Mark Brennan and Aaron Amond (free) to reduce the deficit.

After Mark Wallace from a ‘65 and Mark Brennan went on to exchange points, Fethard responded to any challenge that Naomh Bríd laid down with points of their own, and it was game over long before the finish as they marched on into the semi-final to face Erin’s Isle (Dublin) or Trumera (Laois).

However, the game ended on a sour note when wing-back Richard Waters was straight red carded for what appeared an innocuous foul, as he appeared to push his opponent away with his hurley.

The referee thought otherwise and brandished a straight red card despite there being little or no contact.

Five minutes earlier Naomh Bríd had been reduced to 14 players when Páuric Coughlan was sent-off on a second yellow.

The straight red will rule Waters out of the semi-final unless a successful appeal process is followed.

Fethard: Seán Foley; Martin Power, Rúairí Tubrid, Daniel Mullan; Richard Waters, Kevin Rowe, Brian O’Donoghue; Garrett Foley (0-1), John Tubritt (1-0); Eddie Power (10), Mark Wallace (0-9, 8 frees, 1 ‘65), Daire Barden (0-1); Mikie Dwyer, Graham O’Grady, Ciarán Dwyer. Subs. - Joe Sutton for M. Dwyer, Jimmy Sutton for O’Donoghue, Darren Foley for Tubritt, John Rice for O’Grady.

Naomh Bríd: Darren Kavanagh; Colin Byrne, Edward Kane, Colin Brennan; Páuric Coughlan, John Murphy, Adam Dunne; Gary Dunne (0-1 free), Jimmy Cahill; Alan Brennan (0-1), Mark Brennan (0-3), Ayrton Gleeson; Aaron Amond (0-3 frees), Aaron McKenzie, Mikey Bambrick. Subs. - Graham Amond for McKenzie, Eanna Holland (0-1 free) for A. Amond, Aidan Nolan for Murphy.

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Dublin).