Strong opening 20 minutes made all the difference for Glynn-Barntown

GLYNN-BARNTOWN came out on top of an entertaining quarter-final encounter against Naomh Eanna in the Permanent TSB Junior ‘A’ hurling championship in Oylegate on Sunday.

The Wexford District side will be particularly thankful for a strong opening 20 minutes which set them on their way to an eventual three-point victory.

The impressive tally of 1-9 inside the first third can largely be attributed to J.J. Doyle and Jack Brazzill who scored seven points between them, while Nigel Usher claimed Glynn-Barntown’s first goal when he finished low after his first attempt rebounded back off the upright.

While Naomh Eanna’s overall scoring began much slower, they had in fact raised the green flag themselves much earlier than their opponents, in the sixth minute through Jack Cushe. Despite this, Glynn-Barntown led by 1-9 to 1-1 at the 20-minute mark.

Gorey staged a mini-revival then before the break, as John O’Brien added a major to Ben Egan and Cushe points, leaving just a goal between the sides at the interval.

Glynn-Barntown’s only score of the third quarter was a well-taken goal by Brazzill but by then they had been dragged back to level-pegging.

John Doyle drilled high after Egan’s pass and further Joe O’Connor and Ken Byrne points made it 3-6 to 2-9.

With the game hanging in the balance, a sixth goal appeared as if it would be the vital one. This proved to be the case as Doyle pulled into the net in the 54th minute and Gorey couldn’t recover.

Three late O’Connor points did little to turn the score around as Glynn-Barntown held on for a hard-fought victory and a place in the semi-final along with Kilmore, Ballyhogue and St. Martin’s.

Glynn-Barntown: Tommy Kehoe; P.J. Carley, David Roche, Paschal Carley; Pierce Donoghue, Cormac Rowe, Gavin Walsh; Mark Flood, Cian Neville; J.J. Doyle (capt., 1-8, 0-6 frees), Kevin Mahoney, Aaron Kehoe; Jack Brazzill (1-4), Ben O’Shea (0-1), Nigel Usher (1-0). Subs. - Ian Moran for Usher (37), Shane Doyle for Donoghue (44), Bill Joyce for Flood (55), Shane Carley for A. Kehoe (56).

Naomh Eanna: Darren Kelly; Pat Cullen, Simon Doran, Ross Murphy; Ken Byrne (0-1), Daniel Sunderland, Michael Berney; Seamus O’Donnell, Joe O’Connor (capt., 0-5, 2 ‘65s, 1 free); Jack Cushe (1-3, 0-1 free), John O’Brien (1-0), John Doyle (1-0); Eoin McGuckin, Niall Kirwan, Ben Egan (0-1). Sub. - Shane Stokes for McGuckin (47).

Referee: Stephen Burke (Volunteers).