Serious statement of intent
Fired-up Crossabeg-Ballymurn dump the neighbours
C’BEG-B’MURN O’GATE-G’BRIEN 2-16 0-14
A FIRED-UP Crossabeg-Ballymurn delivered a powerful declaration of intent in Bellefield on Saturday when their sheer force of will pressured neighbours Oylegate-Glenbrien into a tame submission in The Courtyard Ferns Intermediate hurling championship quarter-final.
It was a mightily impressive show of strength from the victors, who seemed to be bristling at any suggestion that their chance to win this grade outright has already come and gone.
They were by far the more vocal and aggressive of these two arch-rivals from the start, both on and off the field, and two goals in 50 seconds near the end of the first quarter gave them a lead they never looked like relinquishing.
Of course, the bragging rights earned from this win that many didn’t expect won’t be worth a curse in the long run unless Crossabeg-Ballymurn go on to finally finish off the difficult job of returning to the top flight of club hurling.
Nonetheless, on the basis of this passionate performance, it will take a damn good team to stop them.
It’s amazing how so much can change in just one hour of hurling, because nobody could dispute the fact that the winners hadn’t been overly impressive in the group stages.
The mere fact of being underdogs against the ‘old enemy’ appeared to drive them on to new heights, but the quality of their hurling was the principal factor in this commanding eight-point success.
As for Oylegate-Glenbrien, they were a massive disappointment, with the notable exception of the inter-county Reck brothers who couldn’t have done any more in trying to stem the tide.
Take a look at Podge Doran’s name on the teamlist opposite, and you will find no scores after it, which is a rarity. Given that he had registered 3-5 from play last time out versus Adamstown, his complete obliteration was a huge factor in Crossabeg-Ballymurn’s victory.
And if the losers had a Plan B beforehand in the event of their dangerous full-forward being curbed, it certainly wasn’t evident to me from the sideline as they could only muster a measly seven points from play throughout and looked a mere shadow of the team that contested a Senior semi-final just two years ago.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn had the two best attackers on view in Oisín Foley and Shane O’Rourke who contributed 1-6 between them, with the former on the left wing this time rather than at centre-forward, a position occupied by the latter who usually starts on the right flank.
And while Damien Reck hit an immense amount of ball in that general area of the field as he had a free role, the opposition were on top in the man-to-man battles.
O’Rourke is normally more noted for his non-stop graft, unselfishness and clever passing, but this time around he married that with a keen eye for the posts as he rifled over three points.
As for Foley, he always carries a huge threat, and his brilliantly-taken individual goal in the 13th minute brought Crossabeg-Ballymurn on a road towards victory that they never looked like leaving.
The winners laid down the law from the off, with Niall Murphy willing to take a yellow card for a heavy challenge on Damien Reck before the very impressive Ronan Devereux was only denied an early goal by Eddie Mernagh’s quick dart off the line, saving with his legs.
County rivals Reck and Pádraig Foley swapped points from distance before Seamus Casey’s first converted free was cancelled by Devereux after a powerful run down the middle.
O’Rourke and Oisín Foley then made the scoresheet, and a pointed Casey ’65 was followed by that clinical two-goal burst.
Noel Scallan’s puck-out down the left was controlled in the air by Foley, who turned in an instant and soloed through before applying a stunning finish.
And Oylegate-Glenbrien’s woes were compounded when Eddie Mernagh was blocked as he tried to make a clearance, less than a minute later. While he managed to divert Tony Murphy’s first pull onto a post, the full-forward followed up to scramble the rebound to the net and leave Crossabeg-Ballymurn clear by 2-4 to 0-3.
Niall Murphy added a pointed free, and Oylegate-Glenbrien were already in serious trouble at the water break.
The service into Podge Doran was practically non-existent, and when the ball did occasionally go into his general vicinity, he had the dogged David Kehoe by his side and Pádraig Foley dropping deep to provide extra cover.
The blues might have been hopeful of a recovery when Barry Dunne, Jim White and Seamus Casey landed the first three points after play resumed, but they then lost netminder Eddie Mernagh to injury, although Kevin Cosgrave proved a sound replacement.
It was 2-8 to 0-8 at half-time, with Oisín Foley catching a Noel Scallan puck-out and feeding Ronan Devereux for a fine late point before adding another one himself for good measure from a Niall Murphy handpass.
All Crossabeg-Ballymurn had todoatthatstagewaskeeptheir own side of the scoreboard ticking over, while denying the opposition the goals they required to make it interesting for the neutral.
And they succeeded admirably on both fronts, ‘winning’ the second period by 0-8 to 0-6, while a pull to the left and wide by Jamie Reck, and a Podge Doran free that wassavedandclearedinthe54th minute, represented the only real chances Oylegate-Glenbrien had for raising a green flag.
Shortly before that score, Damien Reck had lofted a testing long ball in around the Bellefield Road end square, and it was caught in style and driven back down the length of the field by Pádraig Foley, who had sustained a first-half hand injury after a collision with the wall under the pavilion.
If ever one moment captured the sheer will-to-win of Crossabeg-Ballymurn, then that was it.
Foley had landed a superb long-range free from the left over the black spot earlier in the half, and Oylegate-Glenbrien were unable to get the deficit below five points at any stage.
The opening score after the second-half water break summed up this game in a nutshell. A Noel Scallan puck-out broke on the left wing, and the only reason Oisín Foley got to the ball first and fired it over the bar was that he appeared to want it more than a better-positioned opponent whose approach was half-hearted.
Whatever else happens before this campaign concludes, Crossabeg-Ballymurn will never be underestimated or written off again.
Their semi-final against
HWH-Bunclody on Saturday will be watched with keen interest.
In an interesting aside, there was a strong Oulart-The Ballagh presence on the sideline, with trainer Kevin Kennedy guiding the Over The Water men to victory over the team jointly managed by Colin Sunderland and Stephen Doyle.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Noel Scallan; Declan Byrne, David Kehoe, Martin Redmond; Conor Devereux, Pádraig Foley (capt., 0-2, 1 free), Paddy Devereux (0-1); Seamus Carroll, Ronan Devereux (0-2); Bill Eviston, Shane O’Rourke (0-3), Oisín Foley (1-3); Mark Byrne, Tony Murphy (1-0), Niall Murphy (0-4, 3 frees). Subs. - Jack Fortune (0-1) for Eviston, inj. (HT), David Murphy for T. Murphy (56), Matt Sludds for O’Rourke (60+3).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Eddie Mernagh; Ciarán Hourihane, Shane Reck, Tomás Cosgrave; Peter Rowley, Damien Reck (0-1), Mike Kelly (capt.); Jack Reck, Paudie Casey; Jim White (0-2), Seamus Casey (0-8, 6 frees, 1 ’65), Conor Doyle (0-1); Barry Dunne (0-1), Podge Doran, Jamie Reck. Subs. - Kevin Cosgrave for Mernagh, inj. (28), Bryan McCormack for Rowley (36), Fergus Heffernan (0-1) for Jack Reck (47), Fiachra Hourihane for Jamie Reck (51).
Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).