Jody saves the day
Liam Mellows and Oylegate end level
LIAM MELLOWS OYLEGATE-G’BRIEN
LIAM MELLOWS and Oylegate-Glenbrien must re-group and dust themselves down for a replay as neither side could quite seize the initiative in a 1-12 to 0-15 draw in the Permanent TSB Junior ‘B’ hurling championship semi-final at an unseasonably warm Monamolin on Saturday.
The Mellows had battled back from a 0-7 to 0-4 deficit at the interval to storm back into contention, and while a late free in front of the posts from Barry Dunne looked to have booked Oylegate-Glenbrien’s ticket to the final against Rathgarogue-Cushinstown, there was still enough time for the energetic Jody O’Shaughnessy to salvage a dramatic draw.
In truth, it was the fairest result, with the Liam Mellows defence making up for a lack of pace with a serious amount of heart, and youngster Chris Callanan on form up front, although he was crying out for a bit of support in the scoring stakes.
For Oylegate-Glenbrien, Marty Kelly pulled the strings wonderfully in midfield, and Joe Dunne was a constant threat in the left corner, picking off two points in the firsthalf to help his side into that relative safety by the change of ends.
Before that, the game took the form of a free-taking contest between the respective number twelves, with Barry Dunne flighting over four such scores, and Callanan registering three for Mellows.
The big talking point of the half arrived two minutes into injury time when a wild pull from Aidan Murphy was going to yield a red card anyway, but when Stephen Gardiner entered the scene to stand up for his stricken team-mate, he too was shown a red card.
That dismissal seemed to galvanise the Coolgreany men though, as two Callanan points (one free) sandwiched a point apiece from Colm Morris and O’Shaughnessy as they edged 0-8 to 0-7 in front.
Dunne (’65) and Eoin O’Mahoney restored Oylegate-Glenbrien’s lead, but subsititutes Donie Kavanagh and Robbie Brooks combined for the latter to rifle in a brilliant goal on 44 minutes.
And Mellows held onto that lead deep into the fourth quarter until points from O’Mahoney again and Dunne from a free hugging the sideline restored balance for the penultimate time.
Dunne’s late free nudged Oylegate-Glenbrien in front once more, only for O’Shaughnessy to pop up unmarked to save Liam Mellows’ bacon after some unselfish buildup play from Brooks.
Liam Mellows: Mark Kennedy; Dessie Doyle, Barry McGlynn, Frankie Kavanagh; Peter Fogarty (capt.), Noel Morris, Patsy McGlynn; Colm Morris (0-1), Jody O’Shaughnessy (0-3); Anthony Masterson, Stephen Gardiner, Chris Callanan (0-8, 7 frees); Shane Halpin, Eoin Cullen, Seán Roche. Subs. - Donie Kavanagh for Roche (HT), Alan Halvey for Halpin (HT), Robbie Brooks (1-0) for Cullen (37), Tommy Dixon for P. McGlynn (55).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Kevin Cosgrave; Aidan Murphy, Pádraic O’Connor, Evan Kelly; Peter Rowley, Niall Parker, Gary Conroy; Marty Kelly (joint capt., 0-1), Anthony Doyle; Conor Nolan, Patrick Cullen, Barry Dunne (joint capt., 0-10, 7 frees, 2 ‘ 65s); Barry Doyle, Eoin O’Mahoney (0-2), Joe Dunne (0-2). Sub. - Peter Nolan for B. Doyle (47).
Referee: Brian O’Leary (Crossabeg Ballymurn).