Ardtaispeántas ag an bhFoireann Idirmeheánach AHL Roinn a 4 i gcoinne CLG Naomh Uinsíonn
Baile Buadáin 3-20 Naomh Uinsionn 3-17
Bunaíodh CLG Naomh Uinsionn sa bhliain 1931 agus le nócha bliain anuas, tá sé ana dheacair ag club ar bith eile cluiche a bhuachaint agus Vincents ag imirt sa bhaile. Ach sin díreach a rinne an fhoireann idirmhéanach Dé Céadaoin seo caite in a free-flowing highly entertaining game of hurling which produced 43 scores. Mar a dúirt an t-imreoir bainisteoir Des O’Sullivan i ndiaidh an chluiche, ‘That game had a real championship feel about it.’
Agus trí fhoireann iománaíochta ag imirt ag an am céanna, bhí an huimhreacha gann, agus ní raibh ach 16 imreoir againn ag tús an chluiche. But as Keith O’ Donnell said ‘Who needs numbers when you get a performance out of all 16’. Agus sin díreach cad a tharla. The hardest job at the end of this game was to select Laoch na hImeartha. With their backs to the wall, each and every one of the 16 did their part to carve out a significant win against Vincent’s second team who had many accomplished players in their ranks, including goalie Daire de Poire who played in the All-Ireland minor semi-final in 2016 and who has represented Vincents in many a Senior A championship clash.
Agus obair pháirce ar siúl i bPáirc Naomh Uinsionn, athraíodh an cluiche go dtí páirc TCD i Seantrabh, páirc álainn atá chomh mór le Páirc an Chrócaigh. The improving fitness levels of the Inters would be tested.
Tar éis bheith gortaithe le fada an lá , Ronan Cleary made his first start since 2015, and quickly made his mark with two fine points off his left within three minutes. Although the better team in the first half, Boden were a bit open at the back allowing Vincents to rack up three goals with some ease. Despite a fine goal from Owen Wigglesworth, following a good assist from Conall McGlynn, Boden went in at the break 6 points down 3-9 to 1-9.
Tháinig Cian Durkin isteach ag leathama. His monster point 15 minutes in was the signal for a ferocious final quarter from his teammates. On the advice of Keith O’Donnell, Chris Lambert was sent to the corner of the square for a rest and duly delivered with a trademark goal. As Vincents tired, Oisín Byrne put the afterburners on and produced a rasper to leave Boden 4 up with a couple of minutes to play. Vincents replied with a long-range point only for Ronan Cleary to seal the deal with a final point and a personal tally of 0-3 from play. Fáilte ar ais Ronan.
Bhí Ronan Sharkey ar fheabhas sa chúl. Matthew ‘Mo’ Ormbsy slotted in next to Des and Andy Hand and produced a wonderful hour of intelligent defensive hurling. Under 19 David Gannon shipped a heavy shoulder early on but stood tall to be in contention for Laoch na hImeartha. Josh Corcoran at 6 had a very strong second half and knocked over a couple of long range frees. Tá Ruairi Hestor ag feabhsú le gach cluiche. I lár na páirce, Eoin McKenna was a model of consistency, ably assisted by under 19 Jim Kennedy. The half forward line of Conall McGlynn, Ronan Cleary and Chris Lambert covered a lot of ground. In the full line Oisín Byrne was a constant threat while Wiggie at full was ‘superglue’ personified as every ball that came in stuck. In the corner Eamon O’Gorman played a roving role and if he had the GPS tracker on him would prove my contention that he covered the most ground of all.
Agus a mháthair ó Chiarraí agus a athair, Martin, ó Mhuigh Eo, two counties not noted for their hurling tradition, super and only sub, Cian Durkin proved that tradition counts for little when you have the heart for the battle. A welcome feature for management is that all front 8 players scored, with Chris Lambert leading the pack with 1-3 from play. Not bad for a lad coming straight from a 12 hour shift.
Rinne an réiteoir Eoin Crossan ó CLG Caisleán Chnuca an-jab ar fad. Scaoil sé leis an imirt i gcluiche breá spórtúil. Ní raibh aon mhaor chúil againn, mar tá Dan Nugent fós i dTeampall Mór ag traenáil do na Gardai.
Susan Creed put on a powerful spread tar éis an chluiche, with a choice of different coffees, agus réimse bia a chuir áthas ar gach éinne. Someone had the cheek to ask for a flat white, which shows that fellows get used to luxury very quickly.
Laoch na hImeartha: Eamon O’Gorman
Painéal
Ronan Sharkey; Andy Hand; Des O Sullivan; Matthew Ormsby; David Gannon; Josh Corcoran (0-3, 0-2 F,0-1 65); Ruairi Hestor; Jim Kennedy (0-1); Eoin McKenna (0-4, 0-4F); Connell McGlynn (0-1); Ronan Cleary (0-3); Chris Lambert (1-3); Oisín Byrne (1-1); Owen Wigglesworth (1-1); Eamon O Gorman (0-2); Cian Durkin (0-1)