2021 Underage Finals
October 9, U15 Div. 4 Football Final: St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) 5-7, Sliabh Bhuí Gaels 4-5
Long-time leaders St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) endured some anxious moments near the end of Saturday’s Gorey Guardian Under-15 football Division 4 championship final at the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence, but there was no denying their overall superiority over a strong-finishing Slíabh Bhuí Gaels combination.
The town team stormed to the forefront after an even enough opening quarter, and their three goals between the 22nd and 26th minutes powered them into a commanding 3-4 to 0-2 interval lead.
That advantage was even more impressive by the last water break (5-6 to 0-4), but the Ferns St. Aidan’s and Clonee side deserve credit for their utter refusal to give in.
Indeed, they reeled off four goals in eight minutes to reduce the margin to four points before Darragh Nolan kicked an insurance point for St. Mary’s deep into additional time.
The sides were level twice in the early exchanges, with Christian Lane and Rory Gilbert giving the town team the lead, only to be reeled in on both occasions by Bill Moulds and Stephen O’Toole respectively.
Cormac O’Leary made it 0-3 to 0-2 in favour of St. Mary’s, and that’s how it remained until the water break.
Christian Lane secured a solo point on the restart before the eventual winners really prospered in the lead-up to half-time, with their next three scores all coming in the shape of precious goals.
Cian Redmond got the first in the 22nd minute from a Rory Gilbert handpass, while the latter added another two as a big gap was opened in a short space of time.
William Gaul created one goal with a strong run from midfield, while the second arrived from a first-time drive by Gilbert after a long Darragh Shannon free posed problems for the Slíabh Bhuí defence.
However, they did come close to pulling a goal back just before the break when a free by Lucas Kinsella bounced off the crossbar before a defender knocked the ball over the endline.
St. Mary’s wasting little time in building on their 3-4 to 0-2 interval lead, with substitute Kyle Connolly marking his arrival at corner-forward with a goal from his first touch after a mere 17 seconds.
And when Andrew Kelly quickly added their fifth from a crossfield Christian Lane pass, there appeared to be no way back for Slíabh Bhuí Gaels.
That still seemed to be the case when the scoreline read 5-6 to 0-4 at the final water break, after points from Lucas Kinsella and Danny Dreelan drew two responses from Darragh Shannon and Darragh Nolan respectively.
The first sign of a Slíabh Bhuí revival came in the form of a Stephen O’Toole goal from a pass by midfield partner Jack Brennan in the 55th minute (5-6 to 1-4).
Davy Redmond forced home the second after a scramble around the square, and the pressure continued as Bobby Murray netted on their next attack.
O’Toole pointed a free and then goaled again at the second attempt after his first shot was saved, meaning that the gap had been narrowed to 5-6 to 4-5 by a Slíabh Bhuí Gaels side whose full-back, Charlie Roark, was very impressive throughout.
St. Mary’s must have felt a little nervous at that stage, but they didn’t need to worry as Darragh Nolan settled them with a late point before the finish.
Slíabh Bhuí Gaels: Kenny Murphy; Ryan Rossiter, Charlie Roark, Daniel Nolan; Jack Young, Danny Dreelan (capt., 0-1), Gerry Sheridan; Stephen O’Toole (2-2, 0-1 free), Jack Brennan; Lucas Kinsella (0-1), Seán Gahan, Davy Redmond (1-0); Bobby Murray (1-0), Oisín Cronin, Bill Moulds (0-1). Subs. – Darragh Gahan for Nolan (HT), Cormac Kinsella for Moulds (41), Liam Redmond for Rossiter.
St. Mary’s (Maudlintown): Aaron Bergin; Jack Browne, Cormac Redmond, Cian Lehane; Daniel Norval, Darragh Shannon (0-1), Jack Creane; Rory Gilbert (2-1), William Gaul; Darragh Nolan (0-2), Robert Casey (capt.), Christian Lane (0-2); Andrew Kelly (1-0), Cian Redmond (1-0), Cormac O’Leary (0-1). Subs. – Kyle Connolly (1-0) for O’Leary (HT), Luke Sweeney for Lehane (48), Scott Foley for Kelly (48), Daniel Lawlor for Browne (48), Conor Doocey for Cian Redmond (60+2), Cian Redmond for Sweeney (60+3), Griff Jones for Nolan (60+4), also C.J. Shortall, Fiach O’Byrne, Kyle Cooney, Diarmuid Byrne.
Referee: Ian Dwyer (Shamrocks).
October 23, U17 Hurling Div. 1 Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-6, Naomh Éanna 2-7
Ferns St. Aidans came roaring back from nine points down against Naomh Eanna to emerge victorious in the Wexford People Under-17 hurling Roinn 1 championship final in the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
While the eventual winners were playing against a diagonal breeze for the first-half, they never let their opponents get a consistent run of scores. It was always a point here or there, and they were able to take great belief from their first-half efforts.
That’s a remarkable thing, considering they didn’t score until injury-time, but their calmness when slipping behind in the first period was critical to what later transpired. They have some lovely hurlers on this team but maybe unmatched by any other under-age final this season, this felt like the quintessential team victory.
Every single lad on the field for Ferns put in a shift, and they all needed to play their part, right from the calm Max Meegan in goal, all the way through the line-up.
The conditions dictated the type of game that would transpire, as the wind made it difficult for either side to play their prettiest hurling but the champions played the most effective ball.
Good work by Dylan Cooke-Leonard resulted in Tiernan Black firing home a third-minute goal to get Gorey on the scoreboard. He pointed four minutes later before Cian Levingston made it 1-2 to nil with a tidy point.
Jamie Kinch scored twice before the water break and Rúairí Martin was also on target as Naomh Eanna moved into a 1-5 to nil lead. Yet they would manage just a Black free in the second quarter as their territorial advantage disappeared.
Charlie Roark and Lukas Kinsella had missed half-chances to get Ferns a major fillip before the break, but they were given a foothold in the game when James Murray’s ‘65 deflected off a defensive hurl on the edge of the square and bounced into the net.
Down by six at the interval, Ferns halved the deficit within 60 seconds of the restart when Craig Dreelan pulled home from close range. Tails up, Niall Logan and Danny Dreelan pointed in quick succession to make it 1-6 to 2-2.
Kinch raised the only Naomh Eanna white flag after the 24th minute to double that advantage, but it didn’t slow Ferns’ progress.
Craig Dreelan and James Murray brought them level before Logan fired to the net to give them a 3-4 to 1-7 lead.
Murray added a free before the water break and saw another ‘65 skip off the slick turf and finish in the net before Roark made it 4-6 to 1-7.
Gorey were camped in the Ferns goalmouth for the final minutes and did get a goal back through Ryan Callaghan, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Ferns St. Aidans: Max Meegan; Darragh Breen, Conor O’Toole, Jack Curran; Jack Brennan, James Murray (2-2, 2-0 ’65s, 0-2 frees), Danny Dreelan (0-1); Liam Byrne (capt.), Stephen O’Toole; Charlie Murphy, James Kinsella, Seán Gahan; Craig Dreelan (1-1), Charlie Roark (0-1 free), William Kavanagh. Subs. - Niall Logan (1-1) for Kavanagh (28), Lukas Kinsella for Murphy (40), Jerry Sheridan for Brennan (59), also Jack Byrne, Matthew Hanley, Oisín Cronin, Cormac Kinsella, James Doyle.
Naomh Eanna: Ciarán O’Brien; Rúairí Sheil, Conor Kelly, Ross Kavanagh; James Kenny, Rúadhan Comerford, Robert Wall; Cian O Tuama (capt.), Dylan Cooke-Leonard; James McGraynor, Rúairí Martin (0-1), Cian Levingston (0-1); Tiernan Black (1-2, 0-1 free), Jamie Kinch (0-3), Harry McGuckin. Subs. - Reece Price for McGuckin (44), Ryan Callaghan (1-0) for McGraynor (54), Mylie Connors for Kinch (60+4), also Cillian Byrne, John Connors, Tiernan Myler, George Kavanagh, Luke Christie, Conor Flynn, Stephen Dixon, Matthew Ryan, Callum O’Brien-Ryan.
Referee: David O’Leary (Rathnure).
October 30, U17 Football Div. 1 Shield Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-6, Starlights 0-6
Goals win games, as the old adage goes, and it certainly rang true for Ferns St. Aidans as they fired home four to capture the Wexford People Under-17 football Roinn 1 shield, overcoming Starlights in impressive style in Boolabawn.
The eventual winners always looked the more competent side and once James Murphy struck the net for their opening score after nine minutes, they never allowed their opponents to gain much of a foothold.
While conditions were good on the day itself, the soft and greasy surface made it difficult for both sides to find their feet and create scoring chances let alone find the posts, but Riley Doran did well to open the scoring for Starlights.
After Max Meegan traded scores with Jack Whitely, Ferns regained their three-point advantage through a fine effort from Murphy.
And the same player caused problems moments later when he was awarded a penalty after his initial effort on goal was kept out.
Meegan made no mistake to convert, giving Ferns a great advantage as half-time approached, and that was added to when Charlie Roark rose highest to fist a long delivery to the net and give his side a nine-point lead at the break.
Starlights were going to need something huge in the second-half to have any chance of a comeback, but unfortunately for them, it was Ferns that continued to pull out the stops as play resumed.
Firstly, Murphy added another point and when Max Meegan found himself in possession after a defensive error, he sent a crashing shot to the net to completely finish the game as a contest.
Starlights continued to fight however and had a fine spell that saw points from Billy Redmond, Cian Murphy and Brian Cronin. But they were never going to trouble their opponents who added scores through Meegan, Lukas Kinsella and Stephen O’Toole for a resounding and well-deserved win.
Ferns St. Aidans: William Kavanagh; Darragh Breen, Charlie Murphy, Jack Curran; Craig Dreelan, Conor O’Toole, Danny Dreelan; Liam Byrne, James Murphy (1-2); James Kinsella, Stephen O’Toole (0-1 free), Seán Gahan; Niall Logan, Charlie Roark (1-0), Max Meegan (2-2, 1-0 pen., 0-1 free, 0-1 ’45). Subs. - Lucas Kinsella (0-1) for Logan (41), Jerry Sheridan for Gahan (52), Oisín Cróinín for Meegan (54), Matthew Hanley for S. O’Toole (54), also Cormac Kinsella, James Doyle, Jack Kinsella.
Starlights: Conor Redmond; Kian Dwyer, Jack Byrne, Cian O’Connor; Seán Hyland, Brian Cronin (0-1), Billy Redmond (0-1); Cian Murphy (0-1 ’45), Liam Kenny; Jack Whitely (0-1), Jordan Murphy, Jamie Pepper; Callum McVeigh, Charlie Fortune, Riley Doran (0-2 frees). Subs. - Kevin Barron (0-1) for Whitely (HT), Zac Creane for Pepper (46), Darren Murphy for Doran (54), James Lane for Kenny (54), also Fionn O’Reilly, Jack Leacy, Ryan Donohoe.
Referee: Gearóid McGrath (St. James’).
Long-time leaders St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) endured some anxious moments near the end of Saturday’s Gorey Guardian Under-15 football Division 4 championship final at the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence, but there was no denying their overall superiority over a strong-finishing Slíabh Bhuí Gaels combination.
The town team stormed to the forefront after an even enough opening quarter, and their three goals between the 22nd and 26th minutes powered them into a commanding 3-4 to 0-2 interval lead.
That advantage was even more impressive by the last water break (5-6 to 0-4), but the Ferns St. Aidan’s and Clonee side deserve credit for their utter refusal to give in.
Indeed, they reeled off four goals in eight minutes to reduce the margin to four points before Darragh Nolan kicked an insurance point for St. Mary’s deep into additional time.
The sides were level twice in the early exchanges, with Christian Lane and Rory Gilbert giving the town team the lead, only to be reeled in on both occasions by Bill Moulds and Stephen O’Toole respectively.
Cormac O’Leary made it 0-3 to 0-2 in favour of St. Mary’s, and that’s how it remained until the water break.
Christian Lane secured a solo point on the restart before the eventual winners really prospered in the lead-up to half-time, with their next three scores all coming in the shape of precious goals.
Cian Redmond got the first in the 22nd minute from a Rory Gilbert handpass, while the latter added another two as a big gap was opened in a short space of time.
William Gaul created one goal with a strong run from midfield, while the second arrived from a first-time drive by Gilbert after a long Darragh Shannon free posed problems for the Slíabh Bhuí defence.
However, they did come close to pulling a goal back just before the break when a free by Lucas Kinsella bounced off the crossbar before a defender knocked the ball over the endline.
St. Mary’s wasting little time in building on their 3-4 to 0-2 interval lead, with substitute Kyle Connolly marking his arrival at corner-forward with a goal from his first touch after a mere 17 seconds.
And when Andrew Kelly quickly added their fifth from a crossfield Christian Lane pass, there appeared to be no way back for Slíabh Bhuí Gaels.
That still seemed to be the case when the scoreline read 5-6 to 0-4 at the final water break, after points from Lucas Kinsella and Danny Dreelan drew two responses from Darragh Shannon and Darragh Nolan respectively.
The first sign of a Slíabh Bhuí revival came in the form of a Stephen O’Toole goal from a pass by midfield partner Jack Brennan in the 55th minute (5-6 to 1-4).
Davy Redmond forced home the second after a scramble around the square, and the pressure continued as Bobby Murray netted on their next attack.
O’Toole pointed a free and then goaled again at the second attempt after his first shot was saved, meaning that the gap had been narrowed to 5-6 to 4-5 by a Slíabh Bhuí Gaels side whose full-back, Charlie Roark, was very impressive throughout.
St. Mary’s must have felt a little nervous at that stage, but they didn’t need to worry as Darragh Nolan settled them with a late point before the finish.
Slíabh Bhuí Gaels: Kenny Murphy; Ryan Rossiter, Charlie Roark, Daniel Nolan; Jack Young, Danny Dreelan (capt., 0-1), Gerry Sheridan; Stephen O’Toole (2-2, 0-1 free), Jack Brennan; Lucas Kinsella (0-1), Seán Gahan, Davy Redmond (1-0); Bobby Murray (1-0), Oisín Cronin, Bill Moulds (0-1). Subs. – Darragh Gahan for Nolan (HT), Cormac Kinsella for Moulds (41), Liam Redmond for Rossiter.
St. Mary’s (Maudlintown): Aaron Bergin; Jack Browne, Cormac Redmond, Cian Lehane; Daniel Norval, Darragh Shannon (0-1), Jack Creane; Rory Gilbert (2-1), William Gaul; Darragh Nolan (0-2), Robert Casey (capt.), Christian Lane (0-2); Andrew Kelly (1-0), Cian Redmond (1-0), Cormac O’Leary (0-1). Subs. – Kyle Connolly (1-0) for O’Leary (HT), Luke Sweeney for Lehane (48), Scott Foley for Kelly (48), Daniel Lawlor for Browne (48), Conor Doocey for Cian Redmond (60+2), Cian Redmond for Sweeney (60+3), Griff Jones for Nolan (60+4), also C.J. Shortall, Fiach O’Byrne, Kyle Cooney, Diarmuid Byrne.
Referee: Ian Dwyer (Shamrocks).
October 23, U17 Hurling Div. 1 Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-6, Naomh Éanna 2-7
Ferns St. Aidans came roaring back from nine points down against Naomh Eanna to emerge victorious in the Wexford People Under-17 hurling Roinn 1 championship final in the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
While the eventual winners were playing against a diagonal breeze for the first-half, they never let their opponents get a consistent run of scores. It was always a point here or there, and they were able to take great belief from their first-half efforts.
That’s a remarkable thing, considering they didn’t score until injury-time, but their calmness when slipping behind in the first period was critical to what later transpired. They have some lovely hurlers on this team but maybe unmatched by any other under-age final this season, this felt like the quintessential team victory.
Every single lad on the field for Ferns put in a shift, and they all needed to play their part, right from the calm Max Meegan in goal, all the way through the line-up.
The conditions dictated the type of game that would transpire, as the wind made it difficult for either side to play their prettiest hurling but the champions played the most effective ball.
Good work by Dylan Cooke-Leonard resulted in Tiernan Black firing home a third-minute goal to get Gorey on the scoreboard. He pointed four minutes later before Cian Levingston made it 1-2 to nil with a tidy point.
Jamie Kinch scored twice before the water break and Rúairí Martin was also on target as Naomh Eanna moved into a 1-5 to nil lead. Yet they would manage just a Black free in the second quarter as their territorial advantage disappeared.
Charlie Roark and Lukas Kinsella had missed half-chances to get Ferns a major fillip before the break, but they were given a foothold in the game when James Murray’s ‘65 deflected off a defensive hurl on the edge of the square and bounced into the net.
Down by six at the interval, Ferns halved the deficit within 60 seconds of the restart when Craig Dreelan pulled home from close range. Tails up, Niall Logan and Danny Dreelan pointed in quick succession to make it 1-6 to 2-2.
Kinch raised the only Naomh Eanna white flag after the 24th minute to double that advantage, but it didn’t slow Ferns’ progress.
Craig Dreelan and James Murray brought them level before Logan fired to the net to give them a 3-4 to 1-7 lead.
Murray added a free before the water break and saw another ‘65 skip off the slick turf and finish in the net before Roark made it 4-6 to 1-7.
Gorey were camped in the Ferns goalmouth for the final minutes and did get a goal back through Ryan Callaghan, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Ferns St. Aidans: Max Meegan; Darragh Breen, Conor O’Toole, Jack Curran; Jack Brennan, James Murray (2-2, 2-0 ’65s, 0-2 frees), Danny Dreelan (0-1); Liam Byrne (capt.), Stephen O’Toole; Charlie Murphy, James Kinsella, Seán Gahan; Craig Dreelan (1-1), Charlie Roark (0-1 free), William Kavanagh. Subs. - Niall Logan (1-1) for Kavanagh (28), Lukas Kinsella for Murphy (40), Jerry Sheridan for Brennan (59), also Jack Byrne, Matthew Hanley, Oisín Cronin, Cormac Kinsella, James Doyle.
Naomh Eanna: Ciarán O’Brien; Rúairí Sheil, Conor Kelly, Ross Kavanagh; James Kenny, Rúadhan Comerford, Robert Wall; Cian O Tuama (capt.), Dylan Cooke-Leonard; James McGraynor, Rúairí Martin (0-1), Cian Levingston (0-1); Tiernan Black (1-2, 0-1 free), Jamie Kinch (0-3), Harry McGuckin. Subs. - Reece Price for McGuckin (44), Ryan Callaghan (1-0) for McGraynor (54), Mylie Connors for Kinch (60+4), also Cillian Byrne, John Connors, Tiernan Myler, George Kavanagh, Luke Christie, Conor Flynn, Stephen Dixon, Matthew Ryan, Callum O’Brien-Ryan.
Referee: David O’Leary (Rathnure).
October 30, U17 Football Div. 1 Shield Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-6, Starlights 0-6
Goals win games, as the old adage goes, and it certainly rang true for Ferns St. Aidans as they fired home four to capture the Wexford People Under-17 football Roinn 1 shield, overcoming Starlights in impressive style in Boolabawn.
The eventual winners always looked the more competent side and once James Murphy struck the net for their opening score after nine minutes, they never allowed their opponents to gain much of a foothold.
While conditions were good on the day itself, the soft and greasy surface made it difficult for both sides to find their feet and create scoring chances let alone find the posts, but Riley Doran did well to open the scoring for Starlights.
After Max Meegan traded scores with Jack Whitely, Ferns regained their three-point advantage through a fine effort from Murphy.
And the same player caused problems moments later when he was awarded a penalty after his initial effort on goal was kept out.
Meegan made no mistake to convert, giving Ferns a great advantage as half-time approached, and that was added to when Charlie Roark rose highest to fist a long delivery to the net and give his side a nine-point lead at the break.
Starlights were going to need something huge in the second-half to have any chance of a comeback, but unfortunately for them, it was Ferns that continued to pull out the stops as play resumed.
Firstly, Murphy added another point and when Max Meegan found himself in possession after a defensive error, he sent a crashing shot to the net to completely finish the game as a contest.
Starlights continued to fight however and had a fine spell that saw points from Billy Redmond, Cian Murphy and Brian Cronin. But they were never going to trouble their opponents who added scores through Meegan, Lukas Kinsella and Stephen O’Toole for a resounding and well-deserved win.
Ferns St. Aidans: William Kavanagh; Darragh Breen, Charlie Murphy, Jack Curran; Craig Dreelan, Conor O’Toole, Danny Dreelan; Liam Byrne, James Murphy (1-2); James Kinsella, Stephen O’Toole (0-1 free), Seán Gahan; Niall Logan, Charlie Roark (1-0), Max Meegan (2-2, 1-0 pen., 0-1 free, 0-1 ’45). Subs. - Lucas Kinsella (0-1) for Logan (41), Jerry Sheridan for Gahan (52), Oisín Cróinín for Meegan (54), Matthew Hanley for S. O’Toole (54), also Cormac Kinsella, James Doyle, Jack Kinsella.
Starlights: Conor Redmond; Kian Dwyer, Jack Byrne, Cian O’Connor; Seán Hyland, Brian Cronin (0-1), Billy Redmond (0-1); Cian Murphy (0-1 ’45), Liam Kenny; Jack Whitely (0-1), Jordan Murphy, Jamie Pepper; Callum McVeigh, Charlie Fortune, Riley Doran (0-2 frees). Subs. - Kevin Barron (0-1) for Whitely (HT), Zac Creane for Pepper (46), Darren Murphy for Doran (54), James Lane for Kenny (54), also Fionn O’Reilly, Jack Leacy, Ryan Donohoe.
Referee: Gearóid McGrath (St. James’).
