Gorey best in a gruelling tie
Cloughbawn seconds lose
JUNIOR ‘A’ hurling does not sell itself as pretty and there was certainly nothing sophisticated or slick about the entertainment served up by Naomh Eanna and Cloughbawn in St. Patrick’s Park at high noon on Sunday.
This was a dogfight, with Gorey emerging as top dogs with a couple of points to spare only after being given a severe grueller by their Enniscorthy District opponents in this Permanent TSB championship quarter-final.
Naomh Eanna arrived at the Enniscorthy venue full of confidence and ready to set the pace, with Gearóid Cullen’s free-taking the most productive weapon in their armoury.
However, they suffered a self-inflicted setback when a calamitous back pass led to the close-range free from which Martin Kehoe battered in a goal to haul Cloughbawn-level.
A battling point from the hurl of Kyle Murphy had the men from Clonroche briefly ahead for the only time in the match.
Then a splendidly slick move led to a goal finished by John Doyle at the other end on 15 minutes to give Naomh Eanna the edge again.
The loss of midfielder Joseph O’Connor with a head wound, the result of a complete accident, was a setback for the townies.
They conceded a second goal before the break, this time from play after Martin Kehoe collected a high ball into the danger area from Corey Bolger to bundle it home.
Once more, Gorey replied in kind as Kehoe’s opposite number at centre-forward, Michael Murphy, soloed through to give goalie Seán Keating no chance.
Big-hitting Keating served notice of his long-range accuracy by landing a point from his own half before the interval, when the score read 2-7 to 2-6 in favour of Naomh Eanna.
A half hour which produced four goals and 13 points was followed by 30 minutes of guerrilla warfare which yielded a mere nine points.
It was dour and it was occasionally niggly fare, though always compelling as the scores remained stubbornly close.
Michael ‘Bubbles’ Redmond moved from centre-back to midfield to call the shots for Cloughbawn, a pocket Napoleon for whom this proved to be a Waterloo. Though Martin Kehoe collected a point off breaking ball, the losing side otherwise failed to find the target in open play after the changeover.
They were restricted to efforts from Redmond, Keating and Bolger who landed a free apiece.
They never really looked like grabbing the goal which would have transformed the contest as Gorey centre-back Kenneth Byrne gave a defensive master class.
His colleagues further up the pitch found the going tricky but the hard-working Seán Delaney, on the field as replacement for the unfortunate O’Connor, picked off an invaluable hat-trick.
And the winners were also assisted over the line by a second-half brace from Conor Hughes, one a free and the other from open play curled deliciously over on the breeze.
Naomh Eanna: Darren Kelly; Seamus O’Donnell, Simon Doran, Tom Stafford; Evan O’Dwyer, Kenneth Byrne, Nathan Byrne; Joseph O’Connor (0-1 free), John O’Brien; Conor Hughes (0-3, 1 free), Michael Murphy (1-1), John Doyle (1-0); Michael Bernie, Niall Kirwan, Gearóid Cullen (0-4, all frees). Subs. - Seán Delaney (0-3) for O’Connor (27), Darren Cullen for O’Dwyer (35), Larry Cullen for Doyle (45), Dara McDonald for Cullen (51), Daniel Sunderland for Byrne (53), Cillian Donohoe for Kirwan (57).
Cloughbawn: Seán Keating (0-2 frees); Jimmy O’Neill, Eamonn Buckley, Liam Kehoe; Jimmy Lennon, Michael Redmond (0-4 frees), Shane Cassidy; Davin Murphy, Corey Bolger (0-1 free); Callen Morrissey, Martin Kehoe (2-2, 1-0 pen.), Jack Fleming; Mick Kavanagh, Colin Murphy, Kyle Murphy (0-1). Subs. - Cathal Spratt for Kavanagh (34), James Flood for Morrissey (57).
Referee: Ian Plunkett (Marshalstown-Castledockrell).