Clinical Cash steers Kilcoole to success
U-15 ‘B’ HURLING AND U-13 HURLING SHIELD
KILCOOLE 8-08 AVONDALE PARNELLS 2-02
ONE of the great individual displays by Willie Cash saw Kilcoole triumph in their county shield final against Avondale Parnells.
Although judging by the scoreline this was a hiding if Cash hurled with the opposition its quite conceivable that Parnells would have been the team celebrating.
He dominated proceedings to such a degree the Parnells management tried in vain to double mark him at one stage without success.
The soft ground and miserable weather was not going to help a good standard of hurling and as the game got going the amount of rucks and frees for handling on the ground owed more to the conditions than any of the players fault.
It was Parnells who started strongly with half back Joseph Kelly clearing everything one of his long ball into impressive corner forward Casey Doyle saw the marksman find space and clip a beautiful point.
It took 15 minutes for Kilcoole to score but when they did it was a major.
Charlie Frawley hurling his heart out in midfield delivered long, Dale Van Dalen beat the onrushing keeper to the loose ball before striking home.
At this stage Cash took over. Showing skill and speed he took off on a jinky run and just as the Avondale defence closed in struck a rocket on the run to the net.
He added a point moments later from play with a similar motion.
Joseph Kelly struck back for Parnells with a thunderbolt of a strike that somehow alluded a mass of Kilcoole bodies.
Further points from Cash and a Frawley effort from distance stretched the Kilcoole lead out to six at the interval.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were decisive. Frawley, who seemed to have a telepathic understanding with Cash, throughout found the dangerman. When Cash got possesion he showed a clean pair of heels to the defence before stabbing to the net.
A minute later Parnells finally seemed to have Cash bottled up but then he showed his repertoire of skills expanded beyond hurling as he booted a point with the class and elegence of a Gooch Cooper.
Michael Shannon, the powerful Kilcoole full forward, then buried a stake through Parnells heart with a low driven effort to the corner of the net. The lead was out to 13.
Parnells with many easy frees chose to go for goals without much joy. Cash pointed from an impossible angle before completing his hat-trick. He was well hooked before retrieving the ball and arrowing an effort into the top left corner.
Parnells battled till the end and Kelly struck a rasper late on to give them a score they deserved.
However, Kilcoole drove on and Cash added his fourth goal before Shannon added two goals and a point to close out the scoring.
A game that was much closer than the scoreline suggests but saw Kilcoole run out deserving victors.
For Parnells the stand-out player was Joseph Kelly, he struck 2-1 and was involved in all their good play.
For Kilcoole Charlie Frawley was impressive, Senan Rogan cleared a mountain of ball, Michael Shannon with three great goals would have been man of the match any other day but Willie Cash with a personal haul of four goals and six points, dominated this final.
Scorers - Kilcoole: Willie Cash 4-6, Michael Shannon 3-1, Dale VanDalen 1-0, Charlie Frawley 0-1.
Avondale Parnells: Joseph Kelly 2-1, Casey Doyle 0-1