Ballymurn hit back
Askamore squander big interval lead
C’BEG-B’MURN 0-21 ASKAMORE 0-19
CROSSABEG-BALLYMURN haven’t made it to the summit in The Courtyard Ferns Intermediate hurling championship yet, but their courage and commitment can never be questioned.
And there was another prime example of the fighting spirit that makes them contenders every year in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Sunday when they recovered from an eight-point interval deficit to beat Askamore by two in an entertaining Group B opener.
The Over The Water side had it all to do at the break when they trailed by 0-16 to 0-8, but eight points without reply between the 35th and 51st minutes brought them level before an insurance score in added time from substitute Eoghan ‘Snowy’ Kehoe wrapped up a hard-earned win.
Askamore captain Conor Levingstone won the toss and opted to utilise the wind blowing towards the dressing-room end first.
And it looked like a wise move as the Gorey District side - with Keith Rossiter among their mentors - picked off some very impressive points to surge into that commanding interval lead.
Two over the shoulder efforts from Podge Byrne in the twelfth and 19th minutes caught the eye, along with a brilliant catch from a puck-out and classy finish by Shane Tomkins in added time.
Askamore had set out their stall with the first five points from young free-taker James Byrne, Tomkins, Byrne from play, Edmond Kenny and P.J. Nolan whose teaching post in Coolafancy has resulted in him declaring for Wicklow for their forthcoming Christy Ring Cup campaign.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn settled somewhat when Declan Byrne opened their account in the eighth minute before Niall Murphy and Pádraig Foley (free) followed suit with points, but Askamore picked off eight of the next ten scores to lead 13-5 by the 22nd minute.
All of their attackers plus midfielder Nolan had registered points from play by the interval, while defender Martin Hayden did well to deflect a goalbound David Jackman shot over the bar as Crossabeg-Ballymurn tried hard to stay in touch.
The first four points were shared on the re-start, with a super solo effort from Shane Tomkins the pick of the bunch.
However, the early pace-setters only mustered a solitary score from the 34th minute onwards as Crossabeg-Ballymurn dug deep to repeat last year’s quarter-final win over the same opponents at the same venue, albeit by a significantly smaller margin this time.
The advantage of the elements was utilised to the full as they went from 18-10 down to 18-18 in the 51st minute, with the leveller arriving from a Pádraig Foley ’65 after Martin Hayden had kept a Niall Murphy piledriver out of the net.
There was a brief respite for Askamore when a foul on Podge Byrne saw James Byrne strike over what proved to be their last point in the 54th minute to briefly restore their lead.
It only lasted three minutes though, with Barry Murphy levelling from a free before an individual effort from Oisín Foley put his side ahead for the very first time in the 58th minute.
Both teams squandered chances before Eoghan Kehoe’s late point, with Crossabeg-Ballymurn hitting three late wides to Askamore’s one.
And it took an important block by Pádraig Foley on Edmond Kenny to prevent a possible goal chance for the unlucky losers after James Byrne fired a handpass in the full-forward’s direction in the 59th minute.
Incidentally, only two of the 17 outfield players used by the winners - Paddy and Conor Devereux - wore the jersey numbers as per the official programme.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Mark Dempsey (capt.); Seamus Carroll, Bill Eviston, Paul Larrissy; Alan Byrne, Pádraig Foley (0-5, 4 frees, 1 ’65), Paddy Devereux; Declan Byrne (0-1), Conor Devereux (0-1); Oisín Foley (03), Barry Murphy (0-1 free), Sam Kelly (0-1); Niall Murphy (0-6, 4 frees, 1 line ball), Tony Murphy (0-1), David Jackman (0-1). Subs. - Ronan Devereux for Larrissy (21), Eoghan Kehoe (0-1) for T. Murphy (42), Shane O’Rourke for Jackman (57).
Askamore: Brian Hayden; Martin Hayden, Frank Lancaster, Tom Byrne; James Lancaster, Tommy Devereux, Colm Buttle; P.J. Nolan (0-1), Conor Levingstone (capt.); Shane Tomkins (0-3), Podge Byrne (0-2), Ted Kinsella (0-2); James Byrne (0-8, 6 frees), Edmond Kenny (0-2), Seán Kirwan (0-1). Sub. - Garrett O’Connor for Buttle (57).
Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).