Novel pairing for County Under-21 hurling final

COUNTY UNDER-21 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP Lixnaw v Kilgarvan/Kenmare/ Dr Crokes Monday, October 28 Austin Stack Park, Tralee at 2pm Referee: Michael Hennessy

THIS year’s County Under-21 Hurling Championship decider is one that throws up many intriguing possibilities and is a final that might not have been generally predicted at the start of the campaign.

Both Lixnaw and Kilgarvan / Kenmare / Dr Crokes had to negotiate a pretty difficult path to this stage, in particular the combination of Kilgarvan / Kenmare / Dr Crokes, which fashioned two superb results on route, beating Crotta O’Neills, the defending champions at this level, following on from their two wins at the minor grade.

Five points behind with six minutes remaining, they produced a goal scoring flourish, with Donal O’Sullivan, off the bench, netting the decisive and match winning third goal. It was a famous 3-13 to 0-19 victory, indeed, inspired by Gearoid Fennessy in defence, Jack Foley in midfield and Daniel Casey up front.

Causeway, with players who were instrumental in their senior championship title success earlier in the summer, also provided stiff opposition in the semi-final, but again even without the influential Michael Lenihan, the South Kerry combination battled their way back from a seven-point deficit in the second half and goals from James McCarthy and top scorer Donal O’Sullivan ensured their participation in this year’s championship decider after a 2-15 to 1-15.

Lixnaw for their part were comprehensive 5-21 to 2-7 winners over Kilmoyley with eight different scorers contributing, including Mikey Kelliher, who scored two of their goals, and Jack Brosnan, who converted four superb efforts from play from long range.

St Brendans, with a pretty impressive line up, were fancied by some to go all the way, and they were within a point, 0-7 to 0-6, of Lixnaw in that semi-final. However, a strong second half showing qualified Lixnaw for the final with a bit to spare in the end, 1-16 to 1-8, with Shane Conway top scoring with 1-6 (2f) for them.

Lixnaw manager Tommy Molyneaux is certainly aware of the challenge which awaits them, but equally of the importance that a championship title would provide for the club.

“We are up against it, they are very strong defensively, very athletic. They have finished very strong in their games, and have desperate pace,” he said.

“They have some very good players, Donal O’Sullivan, the McCarthys [James and Dan], Liam Twomey. [Gearoid] Fennessy is a very strong player. Shane [Conway] has been double marked at senior level, that’s the way it is, we will have to come up with a plan to cope with that, and try to capitalise. We will have to see how we do, but a win would be very important for this group, and for the club.”

Kilgarvan manager Mick Foley pointed specifically to the impact that Shane Conway can make on proceedings, but stresses that his side has the capability of capturing the championship crown.

“If we can hold Shane Conway... if you give him space he is going to make hay. Gearoid Fennessy has been outstanding at centre half-back, he is fit and fast, has good hands and is capable in the air. He is going to have to play to the same standard as the last day. Our midfielders, maybe, might have to drop back. But certainly we have scoring potential in our attack,” Foley told The Kerryman.

“Seemingly, Lixnaw have most of last year’s team, but we are strong, confident, and we will be very close. If we could pull this off it would be a great boost for us.”

In terms of assessing the outcome, Lixnaw would seem to be the better equipped in terms of their level of experience and overall quality, with six of their players, which included four starters, featuring in this year’s senior championship final.

They’ve won five titles at this level, the last in 2016 and were narrowly defeated in last year’s final by Crotta (0-13 to 0-11). They have also won ten minor titles, which includes four in the Noughties, so at underage they have a proven championship pedigree, and continue to be very strong contenders. And, of course they have Shane Conway, whose ability to influence games has been key to their success at all levels in recent seasons, but Lixnaw will face formidable opposition in this decider.

The performances of the three-club combination in their two games to date has been pretty impressive in terms of their individual quality and the character which the collective combination possesses, and they lost out narrowly by 3-16 to 2-18 to eventual winners, Crotta, in last year’s semi-final.

Leadership is being provided by Gearoid Fennessy in defence, and in attack by Donal O’Sullivan. A lot will depend obviously on the match-up between Fennessy and Shane Conway, that is of course if Lixnaw’s talisman operates on the ‘forty’, which isn’t a foregone conclusion, given that he tends to alternate his role and position in games.

The likelihood is that Conway will make a significant impact and in this regard the odds will favour Lixnaw in terms of adding further to their impressive haul of underage titles. However, the indications are that they will be pushed all the way, and a win for the South Kerry side is very much on the cards, if Conway’s impact can be significantly curtailed by them.