HAPPY HOGUES
The game was just one minute old when Ballyhogue midfielder Liam Doyle broke clear inside the defence to find the net from 14 metres, while centre-forward Tommy Kennedy almost immediately tagged on two pointed frees.
Then on four minutes Evan Murphy, who was to pose problems all through, right-footed a shot high into the top right-hand corner of the net, making it 2-2 to nil.
Bannow-Ballymitty began to come more into the game with Cathal Cummins pointing a free after six minutes. After Lee Whelan had restored his side’s eightpoint advantage, Josh Devlin had what appeared a goalbound shot cleared off the line, when a green flag would really have helped the Bannow-Ballymitty cause.
After a Tommy Kennedy free had extended his side’s lead, Bannow-Ballymitty struck back for a goal right on the break through substitute Evan Sinnott-Colfer, leaving the interval scoreline at 2-4 to 1-1.
While Bannow-Ballymitty did all the pressing on the resumption, they were unable to translate their chances into scores, so much so that one had to wait until the twelfth minute for the opening score of the half, a Tommy Kennedy pointed free.
Once Ballyhogue lifted the early second-half siege, they responded with a flourish of late goals from a Lee Whelan penalty, Tommy Kennedy with two and Jason Roche, while limiting their opponents to just one second-half point, a Cathal Cummins 41st-minute free, as they ran out comfortable winners. HALF WAY House-Bunclody withstood a ferocious Blackwater comeback to claim a memorable victory in the New Ross Standard Under-14 hurling Division 2 championship final in St. Patrick’s Park on Sunday.
The Enniscorthy District side looked to be cantering to a really impressive victory, leading by 2-8 to 2-0 at the interval. However, Blackwater were absolutely magnificent in the second period, fighting all the way back to within a point before succumbing.
The battling qualities on display were second to none, from both sides. As impressive as Bunclody were, maybe the most important weapon in their armoury was their resilience.
With seven minutes remaining Blackwater’s Ollie Murphy scored a super point from fully 55 metres out to close the gap to one. At that stage the Over The Water boys had been bossing the game for almost 20 minutes.
Yet, just when it seemed like Blackwater would take control, out of somewhere Half Way House responded, digging deep within reserves they probably didn’t even know they had to keep their opponents at bay.
The drama that was to follow wasn’t evident as Bunclody bossed the early exchanges. The supreme Ciarán Regan had two points on the board inside four minutes and Oisín Ó Ceallaigh soon joined him on the scoresheet with a classy point from just inside the ‘45.
Regan made it 0-4 to nil, only for Blackwater to respond. The dangerous Johnny O’Toole claimed possession on the left wing, danced past two tackles and rattled an unstoppable shot into the roof of Derry Mahon’s net in the 13th minute.
Less than a minute later the Blackwater talisman dumped a free, from long range, into the goalmouth. Brian Óg Curran claimed possession and fired across goal to the net to, almost out of nowhere, give his side a 2-0 to 0-4 lead.
Unperturbed, Bunclody quickly hit back with a major double. James Black’s long ball found Regan in the 15th minute, and the almost unstoppable attacker raced 20 metres in possession and shot low past Adam Curran.
Two minutes later he was at it again. Mylie Connors was involved this time, sending the ball across goal from the left wing. Regan picked it up, worked a yard of space on the ’20 and smashed it to the net.
Four more points in a row, with Black, Darragh Farrell and Regan (two) on target, increased the lead to eight at the break (2-8 to 2-0). Bunclody didn’t score again until four minutes from time.
In the meantime Adam Murphy really came into the game for Blackwater and was outstanding, leading a superb set of defenders. Two Ross Berry points cut the deficit initially, and an Og Curran free helped too, but it was Murphy’s long range major that really made Blackwater believe.
Ollie Murphy narrowed the gap to one with seven minutes to go (2-8 to 3-4), only for Regan to win a free that Black converted. Again Blackwater responded to pull within one with a Berry dead-ball after a foul on O’Toole.
For five minutes straddling the end of the 60 the game swung back and forth. Eventually, in the 62nd minute Ciarán Regan topped a magnificent performance with the clinching score from Oisín Ó Ceallaigh’s pass to win the cup for Bunclody.