Gorey C.S. crown bright year with Barrett Cup victory
GOREY COMMUNITY School brought the curtain down on a progressive year on the playing fields when defeating St. Peter’s College by 4-11 to 2-14 in a high-tempo Under-14 hurling Marty Barrett Cup final played at a wonderfully sunny Páirc Uí Shíocháin, Gorey.
Backboned by Naomh Eanna players already used to winning in their fleeting careers, and supplemented by a number of talented players from neighbouring clubs, Gorey certainly looked the real package in the first-half when playing towards the dressing-room end with the wind on their backs.
In fact, they had 1-4 on the scoreboard before St. Peter’s opened their account by the ninth minute, with Gorey’s goal on seven minutes coming from a Seamie O’Hagan shot that diverted wildly to the net off an opponent’s outstretched hurl.
J.J. Twamley was the star of the show for the north county men, with his probing runs and eye for goal yielding a personal tally of 2-2 before half-time, by which stage Gorey were in control by 3-8 to 0-5.
Twamley’s first goal arrived at the end of the first quarter when a sidestep from James McGraynor made the room and he bounced the sliothar home neatly.
Centre-back Jack Twomey twice found the range from out the field, including an outstanding effort from play, before an improvised pick-up from Twamley allowed him to sear through unopposed and ruthlessly find the net to open up that twelve-point interval gap.
St. Peter’s must be questioning their decision not to select Mick Butler from the first whistle, as he ended up the game’s joint-top scorer when accounting for precisely half of the Summerhill lads’ total when introduced with a third of the game gone.
Indeed, he was central to St. Peter’s revival, firing over two points after the break before his free from a relatively difficult angle fizzed all the way to the net as the deficit was shortened to 3-8 to 1-7.
And when Rory Devereux ghosted in to convert Bertie Finn’s hanging delivery one minute later, it was just a two-score game.
Gorey were really sweating too when the next three points all came from St. Peter’s, including one from the rampant Butler, but they breathed a sigh of relief when Thomas Wheatley knocked home from close range ten minutes from time as they hung on to claim the silverware.
Gorey Community School: Michael Bolger; Conor Kelly, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Gavin McNulty; Farrell Doyle (capt.), Jack Twomey (0-2, 1 free), Rúairí Martin; Rian Fitzpatrick (0-1), Jack Higgins; Shane Flood (0-1), J.J. Twamley (2-4, 0-2 frees), Tom Wheatley (1-1); Cian Hughes, Seamie O’Hagan (1-2, 0-1 free), James McGraynor. Sub. - Luke Darley for McGraynor.
St. Peter’s College: Tiernan Doyle; Seamus Walsh, Jack Redmond (capt.), Conor Murphy; Aaron Kinsella (0-1), Ollie Murphy (0-1), Shane Walker; Alan Malanowski (01), Brian Og Curran (0-2, 1 free); Eoin Staples, Bertie Finn, Rory Devereux (1-1); Cathal Harding (0-1), Conan Phillips, Emmet Gahan. Subs. - Brian Codd for C. Murphy (temp.), Mick Butler (1-7, 1-2 frees) for Malanowski, Eoin O’Meara for Staples.
Referee: Dickie Murphy (Rapparees).