Alley drop down
Glynn-Barntown repeat 2012 win
GLYNN-BARNTOWN 2-12 BUFFERS ALLEY 0-8
THERE WAS no disputing the outcome in Bellefield on Saturday when Glynn-Barntown repeated their feat from 2012 by inflicting defeat on a very disappointing Buffers Alley side in the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship relegation final.
Just the minimum separated the sides at the same stage six years ago, but it was considerably more clearcut this time around as the Michael Laffan-managed winners ended with ten to spare on an overcast evening when the losers could only muster a paltry two points from play.
Having said that, it was only in the closing stages that Glynn-Barntown followers could afford to relax, because there was too much at stake to take anything for granted beforehand.
They were ahead by 1-9 to 0-7 when the only Alley man to register more than once, Paul O’Leary, missed a scoreable free.
Centre-back Ross Donohoe opted to go low from their next placed ball but his shot was blocked, and Glynn-Barntown powered on as a Gary Moore delivery set up Michael Doyle for a point before the provider added one himself for good measure.
The icing on the cake for the victors came in the form of a pulled goal just over 70 seconds into added time from substitute Ger Dempsey, a young man whose late grandfather of the same name, and his father Tom, were both, of course, outstanding servants of the Buffers Alley club.
When the men from Monamolin and Kilmuckridge last made the drop to Intermediate, they bounced back at the first attempt with a championship title in 2013.
However, on the evidence of this poor performance, it might not be as straightforward this time around. Indeed, with six straight losses this year, and a forward line that failed miserably to deliver on Saturday, the harsh reality is that their demotion was somewhat inevitable.
There was too much tension in the air to make this an exciting contest, and the incessant fouling certainly didn’t help as the game featured 34 frees, 21 for the losers.
Glynn-Barntown sought to improve the balance in their team by making a straight positional swap that saw Michael O’Regan start at centre-back, with John Leacy at full-forward.
And although Leacy whipped a goal attempt left and wide in the sixth minute, it wasn’t long before the Wexford District side had the green flag raised at the scoreboard end.
Netminder Mark Fanning got them off the mark from a ’65 before he provided the assist for their opening goal in the ninth minute.
After Andrew Kenny shot the second of ten Alley wides, the county number one’s booming puck-out reached the 20-metre line and broke invitingly for Rowan White who raced through to fire past Darren O’Brien.
It was the start of a much better day at the office for the scorer who received a straight red card in the dying minutes of Glynn-Barntown’s last game at the same venue against Ferns St. Aidan’s.
His suspension will be served in the first round of the 2019 championship, since relegation is regarded as a different competition for disciplinary purposes, and this proved a godsend for the victors.
Although Ross Donohoe eventually got the Alley off the mark in the tenth minute from a long-distance free that Fanning touched over, they only added two more points before the break.
Gary Moore and Paul O’Leary (free) swapped scores before Moore (free) and Cormac Foley did likewise, with the latter striking in the 22nd minute for his side’s sole first-half point from play.
And Glynn-Barntown managed to create some daylight at the end of the opening period as points from Rowan White, Brendan Doyle and a Mark Fanning free left them ahead by 1-6 to 0-3 at the break.
Buffers Alley had won the toss and opted to face the breeze first, and they needed a big third quarter to work their way back into the game.
It didn’t arrive though, with the teams sharing six points in a stop-start opening 17 minutes as Paul O’Leary (two frees) and Pat Kenny saw their scoring efforts matched by the impressive Rowan White, Gary Moore (free) and Mark Fanning (free).
Moore missed another placed ball from a decent position before O’Leary narrowed the gap to five with seven minutes to go, but the Alley never looked like breaking down a very solid winners’ defence for the goal they needed.
That late flurry of scores may have given the final outcome a slightly flattering complexion, especially as the Gorey District contenders gave up point chances late on in their fruitless quest for goals.
Having said that, Glynn-Barntown were fully-deserving winners, and they can now look towards 2019 safe in the knowledge that it will be their 32nd successive year as a Senior hurling club.
Glynn-Barntown: Mark Fanning (0-3, 2 frees, 1 ’65); David Clarke, Pádraig Donnelly, Frankie Hynes; Jack Fenlon, Michael O’Regan, Alan Cowman; Craig Doyle, Gary Moore (capt., 0-4, 2 frees); Daire Barron, Rowan White (1-2), Michael Doyle (02); Ian Moran, John Leacy, Brendan Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Matt Doyle for Moran (26), Ger Dempsey (1-0) for B. Doyle, inj. (37), Barry Doyle for Hynes (59), Fionn Cooney for Barron (60).
Buffers Alley: Darren O’Brien; Barry Kenny, Ciarán Kenny (capt.), Paudie Reidy; Bobby Kenny, Ross Donohoe (0-1 free), Kevin Roche; Ciarán Murphy, John Farrell; Andrew Kenny, Willie Doran, Shane Grannell; Pat Kenny (0-1), Cormac Foley (0-1), Paul O’Leary (0-5, 4 frees, 1 ’65). Subs. - Robert O’Leary for Roche (48), Páraic Roche for Grannell (51).
Referee: Barry Redmond
(Clonard).