French’s accuracy key for Adamstown
ADAMSTOWN 1-19
CRAANFORD 1-15
TONY FRENCH’S excellence guided Adamstown to a second win from three outings in Group B of The Courtyard Ferns Intermediate hurling championship, as the New Ross District side piled more misery on Craanford with a 1-19 to 1-15 third round victory at St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Wednesday.
With hurling legend John Mullane cajoling them on from the sideline, Adamstown enjoyed a ferocious start to the second-half, as a quickfire 1-2 helped turn a narrow 0-9 to 0-8 interval lead into a more manageable 1-11 to 0-9 advantage less than two minutes after the resumption.
French had found the range with a point just twelve seconds into the new half, and soon hared away from any would-be challengers before rifling a bullet to the roof of the dressing-room end net.
And he saved his best until last when he arrowed a perfectly-judged sideline cut from the stand side over the bar five minutes from time to put paid to an improved Craanford display.
A change in management has seen hunger re-emerge among the north county men, and their constant harrying and hooking was a notable feature of a competitive first-half.
So too was the assured free-taking of Ollie Doran, who converted four such scores during that spell, while Patrick Murray (twice), Eoin Doyle and Matthew Nolan all contributed from play as they reached the half-time juncture relatively content with their lot.
But they had a mountain to climb after that explosive Adamstown flurry, and although they continued to work tirelessly, they simply had too much ground to make up thereafter.
If anything, the victors found it that bit easier to find the range, as Liam Stafford and Michael Furlong, the latter after absorbing two tackles, kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Craanford did spark hope into their followers when captain Nolan drove low to the net just as the hour mark elapsed to bring them to within 1-18 to 1-15, but Lorcan French had the final say with a brilliant point from distance to condemn his opponents to a third consecutive defeat.
Adamstown: Paul Cooper; Michael Curtis, P.J. Carroll, Johnny Connors; Lorcan French (0-1), Shane O’Gorman, Brendan Furlong (capt.); Michael Furlong (0-1), Seán Barden (0-2); John French, Liam Stafford (0-3), Colum Feeney (0-1); Harry Cosgrave, Tony French (1-10, 0-6 frees, 0-1 ‘65), James Delaney. Subs. - Tomás Harrington (0-1) for J. French (40), Seánie O’Neill for Feeney (55).
Craanford: Andrew Tighe; Joe Berney, Pat Kenny, Michael O’Loughlin; Eoin Doyle (0-1), Michael Lyons, Niall Berney; Jim Kenny, Patrick Murray (0-2); Ollie Doran (0-8 frees), James Smyth (0-1), Matthew Nolan (capt., 1-2, 0-1 free); John Fleming (0-1), Martin Doyle, Ger Lyons. Subs. - Michael Sinnott for Smyth (49), John Lancaster for G. Lyons (57).
Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).