Classy Connors leads charge
Super Under-13 double completed in space of four days
HWH-BUNCLODY OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN 6-8 4-4
HWH-BUNCLODY completed a double in the space of just four days as they claimed the New Ross Standard Under-13 hurling Division 1 shield in Killurin recently.
The champs took care of business in football first, beating Gusserane to snag the Division 2 shield, and they were back on the winning trail with much the same group of talented players.
This proved to be an interesting contest, one of two quite different periods.
HWH-Bunclody took the early advantage with the breeze but were made to fight extremely hard after the interval against a determined Oylegate-Glenbrien outfit.
While HWH-Bunclody were on top for much of the first-half, it was Owen Redmond who whipped home the game’s first goal in the eighth minute for Oylegate-Glenbrien to give his team a twopoint lead.
Despite struggling to find their flow, the classy hurling of Jimmy Connors kept HWH-Bunclody in touch.
After he levelled it up with three points in a row, Connors latched onto a long ball in the 13th minute and flashed home to make it 1-3 to 0-3.
Another trio from Connors made it 1-6 to 1-0, but Jack Nolan did respond with a dead-ball point.
Yet HWH-Bunclody did a lot of damage in the last three minutes before the break, and Jack Reck made a great catch and ran away to start it with a major.
Then, Mylie Moorehouse hit the net twice in quick succession as the lead swelled to 4-6 to 1-1 at the change of ends.
Oylegate-Glenbrien got a quick start to the second-half with a Darragh Harris point, only for Reck to net again for HWH-Bunclody.
After Desmond O’Connor’s successful dead-ball, Oylegate-Glenbrien did started to press, closing the gap to seven with a string of scores (5-8 to 4-4).
Harris and Nicholas Kinsella got two of those goals, and when the former netted for a second time his side still had real belief with three minutes left.
It was fitting that Connors rounded off the victory with a cracking shot across goal to the bottom corner in the 49th minute, wrapping up a memorable double for the HWH-Bunclody boys.
HWH-Bunclody: Oisín Regan; Seán Dunbar, Aaron Whiting, Cian Raleigh; Ryan Kavanagh, Desmond O’Connor (0-1 free), Luke Regan; Rian O’Leary, Paddy Scott (capt.); Jimmy Connors (2-7, 0-3 frees), Jack Reck (2-0), Mylie Moorehouse (2-0); Adam Dunne, Oisín O’Leary, Oscar Cowman. Subs. (rolling) - James Rothwell, Conal Smith, Noah Hughes, Adam Tully, Conor Kehoe, Josh Kearns.
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Daniel Cosgrave, Niall Byrne, Conor Somers, Tomás Foran; Philip Cullen, Kyle Curran, Seán Downes; Jack Nolan (0-2 frees), Danny Fortune; Darragh Harris (2-2, 1-1 frees), Mikey Reck, Andy Byrne; Owen Redmond (1-0), Seán Doyle, Mikey Fortune. Subs. (rolling) - Nicholas Kinsella (1-0), Darragh Battle, Lorcan Kinsella, Tadhg Brophy, James Hicock, Craig Byrne, Cian Cosgrave, Oisín Reck.
Referee: Brian O’Leary (Crossabeg-Ballymurn).