Oylegate-Glenbrien rewarded on long Limerick trip

OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN march on to the semi-finals of the Leinster Junior ‘B’ hurling championship, promoted by the Killeedy club in Limerick as part of an unofficial All-Ireland series, after seeing off a hearty challenge from Cuala of Dublin in an exciting quarter-final in Raheenagh on Sunday.

While the eventual winners started well and led throughout, they were made work every bit for their win by a Cuala side that just never gave in, making for an entertaining affair despite the wet and slippery conditions.

The Wexford champions put in a commending performance, with man of the match Barry Dunne continuously finding the posts at crucial periods, and with the whole side pulling together to keep a late Cuala rally at bay.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested, with opposing free-takers, Barry Dunne and Shaun McMahon, proving accurate to see the sides level after ten minutes.

Oylegate-Glenbrien looked dangerous with every attack and they eventually pierced the Cuala defence with goals from Marty Kelly and Barry Dunne and, with another point from Dunne, they were suddenly seven points up.

This didn’t seem to faze Cuala too much however, and they hit the next three points before Dunne answered to leave his side ahead by five at the break (2-6 to 0-7).

Cuala seemed to carry the momentum they had built into the second-half and had a goal almost immediately thanks to Karl Wolohan.

And after two huge frees from goalkeeper Fintan O’Brien, the boys in blue were suddenly on the back foot.

But they showed great resilience to swing the game back in their favour in probably the most crucial period of the game.

Their inside forward line battled for everything and were rewarded with a goal from Tomás Cosgrave, and with points from Eoin O’Mahoney, Conor Nolan and Barry Dunne, they rebuilt a handsome seven-point lead

Cuala weren’t done yet however and threw everything they had at their opponents for the remainder of the game, hitting three points without reply, and there were anxious moments when Wolohan added his second goal near the end.

But Oylegate-Glenbrien’s steely determination saw them hold on for a deserved win, setting up a semi-final meeting with Graigue-Ballycallan from Kilkenny on December 2 when they will make the long journey to Shannonside again.

Oylegate-Glenbrien: Kevin Cosgrave; Evan Kelly, Pádraig O’Connor, Aidan Murphy; Conor Nolan (0-1), Peter Rowley, Garry Conroy; Marty Kelly (1-0), Anthony Doyle; Barry Dunne (1-8, 0-5 frees), Patrick Cullen, Pierce Murphy; Joe Dunne (0-1), Eoin O’Mahoney (0-1), Tomás Cosgrave (1-0).

Cuala: Fintan O’Brien (0-3 frees); Cathal Scanlon, Conor Hayes, Patrick Byrne; Aidan Lonergan, Colm Murphy, Fionn O Tiarnaigh; Cian Byrne (0-1), Fionn O Drisceóil; Dan Johnston, Shaun McMahon (0-5 frees), Mark Treacy; Conor O’Sullivan (0-1), Karl Wolohan (2-2), Eoin Cronin. Subs. - Craig Finn for Lonergan, Colman O Drisceóil for O’Sullivan.

Referee: Jason O’Mahony (Limerick).