U21 Hurling Championship 2011
August 2: Oulart/The Ballagh 1-17, Ferns St. Aidans 1-8
Oulart/The Ballagh advanced to the semi-finals of the Under-21 Hurling Premier Championship with a nine-point victory over a spirited Ferns St. Aidans.
However, the winners did not have it all their own way and only led by two points at the break after a hard-fought first half in which Ferns tore into the home side from the start.
Two pointed frees from Ian Byrne gave Ferns an 0-2 to nil lead early on before an Eoin Moore free for Oulart/The Ballagh got his team on the scoreboard. Indeed, county under-21 colleagues Moore and Paul Morris matched up against one another but in unfamiliar positions, with Moore at centre-forward and Morris at centre-back.
However, it was Morris who was winning the battle early on before Moore switched to the wing, where he shot three fine points on the trot to give his side an 0-5 to 0-3 lead at the break. Ian Byrne from a free and Mick O'Dowd had traded points before Moore's intervention.
The second half was an entirely different game, as the home side, with the aid of the hill, pushing on early in the half. They fired 1-4 to 0-1 in the opening ten minutes to put daylight between the sides, with the goal coming from the stick of Nicholas Cullen (1-9 to 0-4).
Ian Byrne continued to respond for the visitors from placed balls but this was of little consequence as Oulart/The Ballagh continued their dominance.
Ferns St. Aidans: Ciaran Roberts; Darren Dwyer, Padraig Bolger, Robert Murphy; Patrick Breen, Paul Morris, Brian O'Neill; Declan Byrne, Paddy O'Leary; Blake Carr, Ian Byrne (1-7 frees), Gavin Collier; David Murphy, Gearoid Bennett, Barry Breen. Sub: Paddy Davitt (0-1) for D. Byrne, inj.
Referee: Joe Kelly (Naomh Eanna)
Oulart/The Ballagh advanced to the semi-finals of the Under-21 Hurling Premier Championship with a nine-point victory over a spirited Ferns St. Aidans.
However, the winners did not have it all their own way and only led by two points at the break after a hard-fought first half in which Ferns tore into the home side from the start.
Two pointed frees from Ian Byrne gave Ferns an 0-2 to nil lead early on before an Eoin Moore free for Oulart/The Ballagh got his team on the scoreboard. Indeed, county under-21 colleagues Moore and Paul Morris matched up against one another but in unfamiliar positions, with Moore at centre-forward and Morris at centre-back.
However, it was Morris who was winning the battle early on before Moore switched to the wing, where he shot three fine points on the trot to give his side an 0-5 to 0-3 lead at the break. Ian Byrne from a free and Mick O'Dowd had traded points before Moore's intervention.
The second half was an entirely different game, as the home side, with the aid of the hill, pushing on early in the half. They fired 1-4 to 0-1 in the opening ten minutes to put daylight between the sides, with the goal coming from the stick of Nicholas Cullen (1-9 to 0-4).
Ian Byrne continued to respond for the visitors from placed balls but this was of little consequence as Oulart/The Ballagh continued their dominance.
Ferns St. Aidans: Ciaran Roberts; Darren Dwyer, Padraig Bolger, Robert Murphy; Patrick Breen, Paul Morris, Brian O'Neill; Declan Byrne, Paddy O'Leary; Blake Carr, Ian Byrne (1-7 frees), Gavin Collier; David Murphy, Gearoid Bennett, Barry Breen. Sub: Paddy Davitt (0-1) for D. Byrne, inj.
Referee: Joe Kelly (Naomh Eanna)
