Baile Buadáin Naomh Éanna 2-14;  CLG Cuala 3-11

Bhí gach éinne ag súil leis an gcéad chluiche sa tsraith i mbliana tar éis árdú céime a bhaint amach ó AHL4 go AHL3. D’éirigh go maith leis an traenáil le cúpla seachtain anuas agus ba léir ón tús go raibh na fitness levels níos fearr i mbliana.

Garrett Crowley opened our account with a free in the first minute followed by a fine point by razorsharp Owen Wigglesworth. Crowley added another three points from placed balls prior to the interval. Fuair James Enright, Chris Lambert and Jason Devery cúilin an duine. Ba léir go raibh Baile Buadáin i bhfad níos fearr ná Cuala sa chéad leath, but the concession of three goals negated all the good work. An scór ag leathama BBNÉ 0-8; Cuala 3-4.

Sa dara leath ní raibh mórán idir na foirne. D’éirigh le Sharks smacht a chur ar na cúlaithe and kept a clean sheet sa dara leath. Meanwhile a cracking goal from Connell McGlynn at the halfway point to add to his two points raised the temperature of the contest and the last 15 minutes were as good a game of hurling as you would wish to see. Others to get on the score sheet were Jason Devery with a second point and Garret Crowley who kept the scoreboard ticking over with 3 points from placed balls. Le dhá nóiméad fágtha, bhí Cuala dhá phointe chun tosaaigh. Up stepped McGlynn to a 20 m free and his rasper proved unstoppable to leave Boden a point up and victory in sight. However, the referee, who had a fine game overall, found five extra minutes and Cuala’s experience allowed them to engineer the equaliser before the final whistle.

De bharr gortú, Player Manager Des O’ Sullivan ended up as a non-playing manager, but he was happy with this excellent team performance. D’éirigh go hana mhaith leis an líne lánchúil nua, Ruairí Mac Mathúna, Karl Weldon agus Mo Ormsby. Bhí an-chluiche ag Ruairí Hestor, ag tosnú an bhliain seo mar a chríochnaigh sé anuraidh. Josh Corcoran got on a lot of ball, ably assisted by Joe Maguire. Thaispeáin Crowley a chuid aclaíochta agus chlúdaigh sé an pháirc ó thús go deireadh. It was great to see one of the younger lads Cian Kelly looking very comfortable in this company.

An chéad chluiche eile i gcoinne na Tráchtálaithe i Rath Chúil i gceann coicíse.

Laoch na hImeartha: A tough one to call, but a toss up between Ruairí Hestor and Connell McGlynn

Ár mbuíochas le Cillian Byrne an maor cúil, agus le David Gilheaney an maor líne.

Painéal: Ronan Sharkey; Ruairí Mac Mathúna; Karl Weldon; Matthew Ormsby; Josh Corcoran; Joe Maguire; Ruairi Hestor; Garret Crowley (0-7, 2 65 5 F); Andy Hand; Chris Lambert (0-1); James Enright (0-1); Jason Devery (0-2); Connell McGlynn (2-2) ; Owen Wigglesworth (0-1); Cian Kelly; Ciaran Cashman;  Alan McGrath; Cian Corcoran; Ben Kelly; Eamon Gorman; Seán Bury

Thanks to Seán Gilheaney for the photos. Click here for more