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Goal-poacher Firman also stars as Martin’s surge clear
ST. MARTIN’S OULART-THE BALLAGH 5-19 3-16
A POWERHOUSE display from Jack O’Connor, ably assisted by ace goal-poacher Jake Firman, saw champions St. Martin’s get off to a winning start against a spirited Oulart-The Ballagh outfit in Group A of the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Friday evening.
The pair accounted for an impressive 5-11 between them, although it must be said the hard work and intelligence of those around them paved the way for the deadly duo to shine.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the favourites, however, and they will look back on the strong finish to the first-half as being pivotal to their ultimately comfortable victory.
When the accurate Billy Dunne arrowed over a long-range free with the wind at his back in the 20th minute to put Oulart-The Ballagh five points ahead, it seemed the men in maroon and white could have a real fight on their hands, but they scrambled back to parity by the break, with the help of a Firman goal, and the writing was really on the wall after that.
John Meyler’s men then put on the after-burners in the third quarter, building up a head of steam to take a handsome 5-12 to 2-14 advantage, and when Shaun Murphy, who had done a decent job of keeping tabs on Rory O’Connor in the opening period, was dismissed midway through the half, there was no way back for the underdogs.
It had all started so well for Liam Dunne’s side, who looked like they had put the script through a shredder as they raced out of the blocks, registering the first four points of the game through Billy Dunne (free) and two Peter Sutton points, either side of a fine effort from Eoin Moore.
Jack O’Connor finally got St. Martin’s off the mark with an eighth-minute free, but they were rocked back on their heels immediately when Martin Og Storey pilfered possession and his cousin Tommy
Storey buried a blistering shot to the net to give Oulart-The Ballagh an early sixpoint buffer (1-4 to 0-1).
The O’Connor brothers, Jack and Rory, steadied the maroon ship with a point apiece from play, and then the two combined to earn a penalty, which the former buried to the right-hand corner of the net in the twelfth minute.
However, with experienced campaigners like Shaun Murphy and Eoin Moore in the Oulart-The Ballagh ranks leading the way, heads didn’t drop and they had a five-point advantage with 20 minutes on the clock, with Darryl Gray helping himself to a nice score and Billy Dunne continuing to punish any indiscretions.
As good teams often do, St. Martin’s sprang to life in the blink of an eye, scoring 1-4 without reply to hold a two-point lead two minutes before the break.
Jake Firman got the goal in the 28th minute, expertly hitting the net after the hard-working Mikey Coleman had scrambled the ball into his path from a ruck of players.
Oulart-The Ballagh did manage to get their noses back in front through a Tommy Storey point and a brace of Dunne frees, but a placed ball from Jack O’Connor ensured the sides were level at the interval (2-8 to 1-11).
Billy Dunne (free) grabbed the opening score of the second-half to give Oulart-The Ballagh the lead for the final time, as St. Martin’s put the game to bed by the 37th minute by adding two more majors to their tally.
First Jake Firman was taken down by goalkeeper Darragh Hayes for a penalty and Jack O’Connor again did the needful, and, after O’Connor picked off a fine point on the run, Firman gobbled up another goal chance.
Aaron Maddock played a beautifully-flighted pass into Mikey Coleman and he picked out Firman with a handpass, with the attacker’s clever, first-time pull leaving the goalkeeper with no chance, giving his side a 4-9 to 1-12 advantage.
Oulart-The Ballagh did give themselves a glimmer of hope in the 40th minute when Martin Og Storey plucked a Billy Dunne line ball from the air and finished to the net from close range, but two minutes later it was cancelled by a third goal from the on-song Firman.
Ciarán Lyng cleverly side-stepped his man on the left before handpassing to Mikey Coleman, who unselfishly fed Firman in space, and he was never likely to miss, confidently sweeping the ball to the net.
After Shaun Murphy received his marching orders in the 46th minute, Oulart-The Ballagh kept plugging away, but it was always going to be too much of a mountain to climb against the now swashbuckling champions.
Young David Codd illustrated his talent with two points on his Senior debut, the first a particularly eye-catching effort from the left sideline.
Meanwhile, Rory O’Connor, Ciarán Lyng, Paddy O’Connor, Jake Firman and Jack O’Connor all kept the scoreboard ticking over in a strong all-round second-half performance.
Oulart-The Ballagh managed to garner a small crumb of comfort when Billy Dunne’s 56th-minute free ricocheted to the net off a defender, but their eyes will now be firmly focused on a must-win tie against Cloughbawn on Friday week.
St. Martin’s: Luke White; Sam Audsley, Joe O’Connor, Conor Firman; Daithí Waters, Paudie Kelly, Ben Maddock; Aaron Maddock, Luke Kavanagh; Jack O’Connor (capt., 2-9, 2-0 pens., 0-4 frees), Rory O’Connor (0-3), David Codd (0-2); Jake Firman (3-2), Ciarán Lyng (0-2), Mikey Coleman. Sub. - Paddy O’Connor (0-1) for Waters, inj. (2).
Oulart-The Ballagh: Darragh Hayes; Anthony Roche, Nicholas Cullen, Kevin Nimmo; Shaun Murphy, Conor Goff, Kevin Sheridan (capt.); Billy Dunne (1-9, 1-8 frees), Conor O’Leary; Darryl Gray (0-1), Tommy Storey (11), Eoin Moore (0-1); Murtha Doyle, Martin Og Storey (1-0), Peter Sutton (0-4). Subs. - Garrett Sinnott for Doyle (42), Ian Storey for Roche (42), Cormac Finn for Gray (50), Nicky Kirwan for Cullen (51), Billy Dunne (The Ballagh) for T. Storey (57).
Referee: Justin Heffernan (Blackwater).