Dunbrody out of depth as Martin’s ease home
ST. MARTIN’S DUNBRODY GAELS 5-23 0-6 MAYBE THEY were right after all. The chasm between the two teams in Piercestown on Tuesday was so wide that the showboating started from the hosts in the first-half and continued relentlessly for the 60 minutes of this Greenstar Under-21 hurling Premier championship preliminary round mis-match.
Flick passes, dinks and double-flips over defenders, hitting sprinting team-mates in stride with 40 metres strikes from line balls - it was clear that the St. Martin’s lads thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Only time will tell if Dunbrody Gaels came up against the eventual winners, a side which has exceptional talent, not just throughout their starting 15, but also on the bench. The hunch is that, regardless of what St. Martin’s achieve in the coming weeks, the New Ross District side were dealt a raw hand by being graded in the top tier.
They gave it their all, there’s no question about that, but it was never going to be good enough. St. Martin’s flashed 19 wides with their 28 scores. Luke Murphy had 47 puck-outs in the 60 minutes, and probably sore shoulders and biceps Wednesday morning.
Playing with the breeze, the hosts blitzed their way from 0-1 each after six minutes to a 4-8 to 0-2 advantage after 20. An over-the-head handpass by Rory O’Connor was key in his side’s first goal, scored by Barry O’Connor.
Seán Stafford drilled home a pair of majors either side of the midpoint in the half. Kyle Firman proved difficult for Dunbrody to handle and he netted following another flowing move started with Adrian Ryan in the half-back line.
Darren Codd’s frozen-rope line ball was caught in stride by Joe O’Connor but, after a dash, his shot, that deserved a goal, was tipped over by Tommy Walsh. It helped St. Martin’s into a 4-13 to 0-3 interval lead.
The hosts used their bench early and often after the break. Harry O’Connor netted his club’s fifth goal, Joe Coleman brought his total to nine and Conor Coleman registered three superb points after coming on.
Jamie Myler was amongst the scorers as Dunbrody brought their tally to six with three points in four minutes in the middle of the half. But it wasn’t enough to scupper St. Martin’s visit to Oylegate-Glenbrien for a quarter-final clash this evening (Tuesday).
St. Martin’s: Dylan Byrne; Conor Firman, Donal Kelly, Johnny Hamilton; Adrian Ryan, Aaron Maddock, Mikey Coleman; Jake Firman (1-2), Joe O’Connor (0-1); Darren Codd (0-1), Joe Coleman (capt., 0-9, 4 frees), Barry O’Connor (1-0); Rory O’Connor (0-2), Seán Stafford (2-1), Harry O’Connor (1-3). Subs. - Conor Coleman (0-3) for R. O’Connor, inj. (27), Tony Kelly for C. Firman (31), Nicky Greene (0-1) for B. O’Connor (34), Martin Whelan for J. O’Connor (38), Michael Codd for J. Firman (47).
Dunbrody Gaels: Luke Murphy; Damien Hearn, Tommy Walsh, Cian Gleeson; Brian Kehoe, John Power, Jamie Doran; Dale Flynn, Robert Murphy; Michael O’Grady (0-3 frees), Seán Stafford, Craig Murphy; Seán Nolan (0-1), Kevin Rowe, Jamie Myler (0-2). Subs. - David Murphy for Walsh, inj. (32), James Fitzgerald for Myler (57), Conor Dalton for Nolan (57), Dylan Whitty for Flynn (57), Ryan Harris for C. Murphy (57).
Referee: James Flood (St. Mary’s, Maudlintown).