Casey and Reck secure goals to wrap up victory
OYLEGATE-G’BRIEN FERNS ST. AIDAN’S
THE GAME might have been the least attractive of the six Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship ties in the opening round, but Oylegate-Glenbrien couldn’t care less after taking a Group B victory in Hollymount on Saturday.
The first-half in particular was turgid fare, with the eventual victors eventually holding a 0-7 to 0-6 lead at the interval. Things improved somewhat in the second-half as goals from both inside forwards won the day for Oylegate-Glenbrien.
Part of the reason for the firsthalf stalemate was the fact that both sides looked to play a similar sort of game. It made for an extremely congested middle third, with the quality needed to utilise the available space inside rarely seen.
If the first-half held any secret, it was that the side to make the best use of their full-forward line would likely end up victorious. It was no surprise that both Oylegate-Glenbrien goals came from deep balls that took advantage of their weapons while stretching their opponents’ resources.
The first-half wouldn’t have lacked the general excitement some might have expected had it not been for the sheer guts and determination shown in the middle third of the park to close down every avenue of attack.
Both sides have been gearing towards this and they expended huge amounts of energy in the first-half fighting for every ball. Indeed, off all six Senior games, this was probably the one where the intensity levels of both sides matched up closest to produce the stalemate.
Ferns opened the scoring with a Gavin Bailey point but that was quickly cancelled out by Podge Doran’s first in the fifth minute.
Benny Jordan defied the tight angle on the left to make it 0-2 to 0-1 before Paul Morris picked off another for his side from the opposite side of the field.
As runs go, Oylegate-Glenbrien’s was a bit of a slow-burner but they did score the next four points in a row, it just happened to take them 16 minutes. Seamus Casey pointed a free before his dipping shot squirted out of Michael Walsh’s hand and over the crossbar to tie the scores.
The next two points also belonged to hot-shot Casey to see Oylegate-Glenbrien into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead. In the last few minutes of the half a game threatened to break out.
Three times Christopher O’Connor closed the gap to one, and eventually it left his side 7-6 behind at the interval.
If the contest was indeed starting to open up, the break nipped that in the bud.
The first five minutes of the second-half went by without a realistic scoring opportunity, but when one did arrive it was of the utmost importance.
Oylegate-Glenbrien were begging for a decent diagonal ball into their inside forwards and it came from the stick of Jamie Reck. Seamus Casey beat his man but it looked like the chance was in danger of petering out when the jersey was being yanked off his back.
However, Casey wriggled free and was suddenly in goalscoring position. He didn’t give it another thought, lining up his shot and pummelling the sliothar past Walsh to put the boys in blue and white 1-7 to 0-6 in front.
Points from Damien Reck and Fergal Doran sandwiched a Jordan free as the lead grew slowly to five at the end of the third quarter. Then, almost from nothing, Ferns replied when Eoin Murphy and Patrick Breen combined to find Morris and he whipped his shot to John Foley’s goal.
Maybe the tough tempo was catching up with Ferns, as they just couldn’t build on the momentum of the major. Casey’s seventh point was quickly followed by Podge Doran’s second as the lead grew to 1-11 to 1-7.
Chris Turner pulled one back but the game was over as a contest when Damien Reck’s ball into the edge of the square was broken down by Doran, into path of Jack Reck, and he tapped home from a couple of feet out.
Benny Jordan drilled a low 20-metre free that Foley was able to save over the crossbar in the 59th minute, but that was as much as Ferns did to make any inroads in a game-high six-point deficit as Oylegate-Glenbrien took a morale-boosting opening victory.
Oylegate-Glenbrien: John Foley; Robbie O’Connor, Fergal Heffernan, Mike Kelly; Ciarán Hourihane, Michael Heffernan (capt.), Mark Kavanagh; Fergal Doran (0-1), Conor Heffernan; Conor Nolan, Damien Reck (0-1), Podge Doran (0-2); Seamus Casey (1-7, 0-4 frees), Jamie Reck, Jack Reck (1-0). Subs. - Tom White for Nolan (49), Conor Doyle for Jack Reck (60).
Ferns St. Aidan’s: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, John Breen, Declan Byrne; Ciarán Roberts, Gavin Bailey (01), James Tonks; Benny Jordan (0-3, 2 frees), Tommy Dwyer; Eoin Murphy, Paul Morris (capt., 1-1), Niall Murphy; Chris Turner (0-1), Patrick Breen, Christopher O’Connor (0-3 frees). Subs. - James Lawlor for N. Murphy (40), Edward Walsh for Turner (51).
Referee: Gearóid McGrath (St. James’).