Minor C Championship Final

Baile Buadáin Naomh Éanna 2 14  Erins Isle 2 18

The Minor C hurling Championship final was held in Páirc Uí Mhurchú on a beautiful Sunday morning. A large crowd gathered in anticipation of a high quality game and they certainly were not disappointed. Ballyboden St Enda’s Minor B team took on Erin’s Isle in a repeat of the final round robin game which led to a heavy defeat for Ballyboden on the north side several weeks ago. However this minor B team had learned a few good lessons along the way and after a really solid performance against Olaf’s in the semi final, the Boden lads were up for the challenge. Boden went ahead with an early free as Keelin Smith found his range inside the sixty five. Erin’s Isle tagged on a few points of their own and threatened to run away again when they found the back of the net early on. Darragh Brooks, however, is a goal specialist and when he scored his trade mark goal the belief flowed through this team once again. Boden trailed 1-6 to 2-6 at the first water break but notched up a few scores before half time with Robbie O’Reilly and Daniel Daly proving hard to handle up front.

As the wind picked up at the start of the second half it was clear that these teams were well matched. There would be no landslide victory today and when man of the match, Cian Durkin, hit the back of the net the northsiders were well and truly rattled. Isle’s were struggling to stem the relentless blue tide flowing down the Firhouse Road. Boden managed to pull two points ahead in the third quarter but as the legs tired the quality of Isle’s first team came to the fore. A few classy points from Erin’s Isle saw them over the line by four. One that got away perhaps but all the talk, as the crowd dispersed, was of the fantastic display of minor hurling and how these young men represented their club, Ballyboden St Enda’s. The senior hurlers slept only fitfully on Sunday night. They now know what’s coming!

Match day squad: Conor Barnes, Jack O’Connor, Seán Wall, Michael Hanrahan, Fionn Keating Mac Dermott, Seán O’Shea, Reed Barry, Aodhán  O’Reilly, Ollie Brophy, Scott O’Sullivan – Magne (0-2), Daniel Daly (0-2), Cian Durkin (1-2), Robbie O’Reilly (0-1), Darragh Brooks (1-0), Keelin Smith (0-7, 5f), Sam Doyle, Stephen Pullan, Jack  Hutchinson, Leon Murphy, Lee McConnell, Andrew McGough, Scott Mc Donald, Conor Murphy, Kevin O’Donoghue, Sam Byrne, Thomas White.

Laoch na hImeartha: Cian Durkin

Report: Daire Mac Phaidín

Photographs: Buíochas le Miriam Doyle

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