Junior Hurling Championship Round 1 Replay

On a lovely evening in Tom Ryall Park, spectators were treated to a cracker of a game.  Nothing separated St. Martin’s and Ballyhale Shamrocks when these sides met last weekend so they had to square up again.  Ballyhale were first off the mark with a point from Brian Cody which was quickly cancelled out by Donal Shore with a point for Martin’s.  The Shamrocks side had established a four point lead by the 20th minute.  With Shane Kinsella and Jason Shore converting free’s and Donal Shore been unlucky to have his shot at goal deflected out for a 65, Martin’s trailed at half time by 6 points.  (Ballyhale Shamrocks 0-12, St. Martin’s 0-6).  The second half saw the momentum swing in St. Martin’s favour as they came out determined to gain the lead.  As their opponents added another two points to their tally, the Martin’s men chipped away to reduce the deficit with points from Shane Kinsella, Paul Maher, Thomas Walsh and goalie Jason Shore converting a long range free.  The equaliser came in the 19th minute when Shane Kinsella landed the ball in around the goal mouth.  As a scramble ensued, Paul Maher finished the ball to the back of the net.  Both sides rushed to gain the upper hand as Shane Kinsella, Noel D’arcy and Adrian Farrell traded points with their counterparts.  Just before the full time whistle, Ballyhale had a chance to take the game when the Martin’s goal was left undefended but was blasted wide.  Que extra time.  With a great comeback already under their belts, Martin’s had to dig a little deeper in extra time.  They scrapped,  fought hard and showed great team spirit to go two points up at half time of extra time.  Shamrock’s came back at Martin’s as they scored two points to level the game again.  Once again, the sides traded points before Tommy Quirke pointed for Martin’s, certain it was the winner.  However, Ballyhale Shamrock’s shot over another point to send the game to a second replay.  Final score: St. Martin’s 1-18 Ballyhale Shamrocks 0-21

Team: Jason Shore (0-2), Brian Cadigan, Aidan Murphy, Paddy Dowling, Kieran Kelly, Mick Morrissey, Jack Dowling, Thomas Walsh (0-1), Noel D’arcy (0-1), Shane Kinsella (0-9), Paul Maher (1-1), Luke Maher, Eugene Maher, Shane Coonan, Donal Shore (0-2).

Subs: Adrian Farrell (used)(0-1), Shane Egan (used) Conor Kinsella (used), Tommy Quirke (used)(0-1), David Walsh, James Callinan.

Team Management: Anthony Maher, John Buggy, Eoin Maher.

Referee: Conor Everard.

20th September 2014