Craanford cruise past St. Anne’s in semi-final
CRAANFORD ST. ANNE’S
CRAANOFRD cruised through to the county final with a comfortable twenty-three point victory over a disappointing St. Anne’s side in this Greenstar Roinn 1 County Under-21 hurling championship semi-final at St. Patrick’s Park on Tuesday evening.
Playing with greater purpose and showing superior strength and skill throughout the pitch it was Craanford who dominated this game right through the 60 minutes with the result a foregone conclusion even before the interval by which stage the eventual winners had built up a 13-point lead.
While St. Anne’s played with great heart and passion they were unable to match an opposing side that included many of their intermediate side, with players like Ollie Doran and Kevin Poole dictating the game, as both players figured prominently in every move while also being particularly prominent on the score sheet.
St. Anne’s took the lead with an Andrew Kenny point inside thirty seconds of the start but this was the only time they led in the game, for by the end of the opening quarter the winners had moved into a 2-5 to 0-2 lead, with goals through Ollie Doran after three minutes, while Cian O’Toole finished splendidly from an acute angle for the second goal six minutes later.
While St. Anne’s could only muster a further two points through the remainder of the opening half through Roy Nunne and a Dylan O’Brien free, it was to continue as the Poole/Doran show as they picked off a succession of point to help their side to a 2-11 to 0-4 interval lead.
Ultimately the Craanford performance was to be reflected on the second 30 minutes as they totally controlled proceedings, turning the game into a virtual oneway contest, so it was no surprise that they began to utilise their bench after adding a further goal through Kevin Poole (39 mins), for they went on to totally overpower their opponents who by thise stage were only able to offer token resistance.
Craanford moved the ball around with great purpose leading to some excellent points over the course of the hour.
Such was their display they will now look forward to their final meeting with the men of Cloughbawn with a real degree of confidence.
Craanford: Andrew Tighe; Padraig Redmond, Pat Kenny, Jack Kehoe; Jim Redmond, William Conroy, Jim Kenny (0-1); Ollie Doran (1-4), Eoin Doyle; Tony Kavanagh (0-1), Martin Doyle, James Smyth; Cian O’Toole (1-3), Kevin Poole (1-8. 0-2 frees), Thomas Furlong (0-1). Subs: Paddy Doyle for Smyth; Martin Kenny (0-2) for Doran; Sean Byrne for Conroy; Jack Chroback for Pat Kenny; Stephen Greene for Kavanagh.
St. Anne’s: Dylan Kavanagh; Vincent Carroll, Andrew Walsh, Barry Roche; Finn O’Driscoll, Brian Kavanagh, Billy Ryan; Ben Moore, Philip Rawson; Roy Nunne (0-2), Andrew Kenny (0-1), Gavin Howlett; Conor Ryan, Dylan O’Brien (0-2, 0-1 free), Adam Moore (0-1). Subs: Karine Byrne for O’Driscoll; Sean Redmond for Ben Moore; Paddy White for Conor Ryan; Michael Carroll for Billy Ryan; Kevin Redmond for Howlett.
Referee: David O’Leary (Rathnure).