Brody shows class
Murphy inspires team with five goals
A BRODY Murphy-inspired Crossabeg-Ballymurn were far too good for Kilross Gaels in the Greenstar Under-20 football Wexford Roinn 1 championship final in Tagoat on Saturday.
The Wexford F.C. under-age attacker rattled in five of his side’s six goals and was generally the focal point of the attractive brand of attacking football played by the visiting champions.
At this time of year these games generally take on a scrappy appearance, with very little evidence of previous extensive training sessions to hone skills and gameplans. Maybe the greatest compliment one could pay Crossabeg-Ballymurn is that their play didn’t fit the perceived norm.
Instead they were fantastic. Murphy did the damage but the running off the shoulder, the overlapping, the teamwork, all told the story of a well-prepared side. On top of that, they lacked nothing in the effort and endeavour department either.
They looked a bit disappointed to lose the toss and play against the breeze, and that seemed justified as Cian Byrne and Charlie Heffernan put the Kilmore and St. Mary’s (Rosslare) duo 0-2 to nil up after just three minutes.
However, mentally Crossabeg-Ballymurn were primed for the fight. When the impressive Mark Byrne was fouled, he stepped up and converted the penalty.
Two minutes later Murphy gave an example of what followed several times as he dummied a pass and smashed past Michael Harvey.
A twelfth-minute Cian Byrne free was his side’s only score in a 25-minute spell. Despite struggling a little from their own kick-outs into the breeze, Crossabeg-Ballymurn kept the momentum going, with Murphy blocking down Harvey before firing in a second major.
Second quarter points from Byrne (two) and midfielders James Dixon and Jack Fortune ensured the visiting side went in a the break with most of the hard work done, leading Kilross Gaels by 3-4 to 0-4.
Mark Byrne and Páraic Reville exchanged points, but Crossabeg-Ballymurn soon put the contest to bed. Aaron Cummins’ kick-pass picked out Murphy, and the attacker ran 40 metres untouched before flashing home his hat-trick goal.
There seemed to be very little answer to Murphy’s magic and, after Cian Kinlough pointed, he added one himself.
The fourth goal came on the 40-minute mark from Dixon’s assist, and a fifth followed when Murphy was picked out by a handpass from his captain, Robbie Murphy.
The final ten minutes turned into a bit of a farce, with Kilross playing with 16 players for most of it.
Regardless, having won all the five previous ten-minute spells in the game, Crossabeg-Ballymurn did the same in the last ten, with four Byrne points and a brace from Dixon betteting a Kevin Power goal to wrap up a well-deserved title.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Cathal Devereux; Aaron Cummins, Josh Waldron, Kaelim Kinsella; Joe Kelly, Robbie Murphy (capt.), Michael Cullen; James Dixon (0-3), Jack Fortune (0-1); Brody Murphy (5-1), Oran Maddock, Cian Kinlough (0-1); Mark Byrne (1-7, 0-4 frees, 1-0 pen.), Cathal Byrne, Geoff Maher. Sub. - Niall Barlow for Maher (52).
Kilross Gaels: Michael Harvey; Brad Koolhoff, Seán Carley, Luke Hunt; Reece de la Cour, Liam O’Connor (capt.), Kevin Power (1-0); Rees Broaders, Páraic Reville (0-1); Chris O’Connor, Jack Doyle, Rían Stafford; Cian Byrne (0-4 frees), Charlie Heffernan (0-1), Jack Meyler. Subs. - Aaron Whitehead for Meyler (47), Andrew O’Connor for Hunt (47), Eoghan Barry for Koolhoff (47), Riorgan Laumans for Stafford (48), Danny Holden for Broaders (50), Rían Doyle for de la Cour (50), also Conor Barry, Milan Kovac.
Referee: Mick Lanigan (Shelmaliers).