Oylegate outpoint the Harriers
OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN FAYTHE HARRIERS
OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN wrapped up their second win of the Greenstar Under-20 hurling championship Division 1A campaign with eight points to spare on home soil against understrength Faythe Harriers on Wednesday.
With qualification for the knockout stages guaranteed to all sides who complete their group programme without conceding more than one walkover, a phoney war feeling hung over the fixture played on a rock-hard pitch.
The boys in blue dominated for long periods but failed - thanks in large measure to Harriers ‘keeper James Henebery – to find the back of the net throughout the hour.
The townies, with just the bare 15 at their disposal, were clearly second best but still managed to put in a couple of bright spells, usually involving Conall Clancy whose four points made him the game’s leading scorer from play (plus one from a free).
Oylegate-Glenbrien lorded it in the opening stages, knocking over eight scores without reply, with Damien Reck zipping passes out of defence with laser-like precision and Jack Reck buzzing in midfield, while Joe Dunne served as an excellent targetman.
The visitors appeared disjointed and hesitant but, just as spectators were about to write them off, Conall Clancy fired them into a revival, knocking over a score from the right, a score from a free, and then a score from the left, with Conor Kehoe also on target.
A magnificent long-range point from deep in his own half from Damien Reck helped Oylegate-Glenbrien to an 0-11 to 0-4 advantage at the break, leading the home supporters in the neat stand to expect that their lads would push on to a big score.
Instead, Conall Clancy showed that Damien Reck was human after all, nicking the sliothar off the centre-back to register his fourth point, with David Gouldson and Conor Kehoe tacking on further scores to reduce the gap to four five minutes into the second-half.
That was as close as it got, however, though Oylegate-Glenbrien never recovered the fluency exhibited in the first-half.
Full-forward Barry Doyle was upended in a cloud of dust to earn a penalty on 37 minutes, but James Henebery made the save from Damien Reck at the set-piece.
The crowd was treated to just six points in the closing 25 minutes but, with most of these sailing over Henebery’s bar, the result was never in any real doubt.
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Kevin Cosgrave; Joe Foley, Mike Kelly, Aidan Shanahan; Peter Rowley, Damien Reck (0-2), Garry Conroy; Jack Reck (0-6, 5 frees), Conor Nolan; Ryan Hill, Pierce Murphy, Eoghan Herlihy; Joe Dunne (0-3), Barry Doyle, Fiachra Hourihane. Subs. - Tom White (0-2) for Hill (30), Richard Murphy for Conroy (30), Hill for Shanahan (45), Adam Gethings for Doyle (45), Lee Kehoe for Nolan (56).
Faythe Harriers: James Henebery; Jake Clancy, Cathal Kirwan, Danny Walsh; Shane Hall, Seán Banville, Dáire Reville; Daniel Lynch, David Gouldson (0-1); Emmett Nolan, Conall Clancy (05, 1 free), Chris Glover; Conor Kehoe (0-2) Jack O’Leary, Paddy Glover.
Referee: Justin Heffernan (Blackwater).
WEXFORD YOUTHS striker Rianna Jarrett has won the Continental Tyres Women’s National League player of the month award for June. The 23-year old striker has enjoyed a fantastic campaign so far for the champions and scored five goals in two games during the month.
Jarrett grabbed a match-winning brace against title rivals Peamount United and a hat-trick against Limerick W.F.C. to claim the accolade.
Jarrett received international recognition for her form this season after she was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the two World Cup qualifiers against Norway, coming on for her second cap in the 1-0 defeat in Stavanger.
‘I’m delighted to get the award and I’d like to thank my team-mates and coaching staff for their help in getting this award,’ she said.
‘We’ve had a fantastic season so far and I think everyone in the squad is trying to find a new level to their game. We’re working hard each week and it really paid off in June.
‘I’m happy with the goals I’m scoring at the moment. The time I spent with the international squad really helped and I felt much fitter and sharper after it, and I think that showed in the games after that.
‘I really want to continue to improve though and I’m still working hard to get fitter and stronger. I want to help Wexford win the league and there is still a lot of work to be done so we need to keep this form up for the rest of the season.’
THE UNDER-20 farce continued on Wednesday, with eight walkovers given and a mere eight games played from a possible 16. In at least one case, a club was initially resigned to giving a walkover but then managed to scrape 15 players together when they realised that they would be removed from the championship if they didn’t field for a second time.
The hurling groups are now completed, and the following won’t be active in the quarter-finals as they’ve been removed for conceding two walkovers: Moguegeen Gaels, Monageer-Boolavogue, Forth and Bargy Gaels, Davidstown-Courtnacuddy.
Cloughbawn are out of the football for a similar reason, but four back fixtures remain, one apiece in Divisions 1A, 2A, 2B and 4A.