|
|
An Clarach Cumann Luthchleas Gael
|
|
||||
|
Annual Primary Schools Indoor Hurling ROUND 1 The annual Primary Schools indoor hurling tournament commenced last Tuesday in Tullamore youth centre, where the local regional qualifying round took place. The finals are fixed for Tuesday 10th February in Shinrone. This winters tournament has been excellently organized by John Leahy & Carina Haverty, specifically for Primary Schools & been running for about six years now. Clara Boys have qualified for Shinrone on four occasions and were crowned B Champions twice. We fielded two teams again this year. The B section took place in the afternoon, with Rahan and Kileigh failing to show up. It left just Clara B vs. Durrow in a winner takes all extended game. It turned out to be a very sporting and enjoyable encounter with Durrow eventual winners, 21 17. Clara were well served in goal by Ryan Kelly who made some great saves. He was well supported in defence by Jonathan Hanamy and Kyle Stewart, who also scored two goals. In midfield Josh Fleming and Dermot Doolan worked tirelessly and shared five goals between them. Up front Dylan O Keeffe and Ciaran Doyle complimented each other by scoring five goals each. In the end, the honours went to a sporting Durrow team. To qualify for Shinrone, the lads would have to prevail from a strong group which included Ballinamere and two Tullamore schools, Scoil Brid and Scoil Eoin Pol. We were out first against a very strong physical Scoil Brid. Our boys got off to a flyer with a hat trick from Luke Dignam, and goals from Colm Doyle (Captain) and Adam Dolan, to lead 5 0 at half time. The 2nd half was a much closer affair and was shared 3 3. The three goals from Luke, Colm and Stephen Buckley gave us a flattering 8 3 victory. |
In game two Ballinamere pipped Eoin Pol by two goals in a close encounter. Match three pitted us against Ballinamere and after a tense struggle Ballinamere hit a late equalizer 6 6. The Clara scorers were Luke, Adam and Stephen with two goals each. In match four Scoil Brid kept themselves in the mix with a hard earned victory over Eoin Pol in the Blues Derby 5 4. Match five, our final game was next vs. Eoin Pol and we needed a win to stay top. The first half was a tight affair and we just got our noses in front 5 3. the lads warmed well to their task in the 2nd half and cracked in seven goals to run out eventual winners 11 5. In the final game in the group the pressure was on Ballinamere. They needed to beat Scoil Brid to force a play off with our boys. They reckoned without a resurgent Scoil Brid, who played out of their skins to win 12 5. The final group standings were as follows: Clara 5 Points Scoil Brid 4 Points Ballinamere 3 Points Eoin Pol 0 Points We had qualified once more for the finals. In hindsight, we were probably lucky we played Scoil Brid first, as we seemed to catch them cold. A big improvement will be required for next week when we will face South Offaly schools, but well done all round, and thanks to Mr. Fitzgerald for his great efforts. |
Team: Seamus O Brien, Martin Fleming, Denis Hackett, Colm Doyle (Capt), Adam Dolan, Stephen Buckley, Luke Dignam, Kevin O Meara and Rory Cushen. Young Shay O Brien was safe as a house throughout in goals, while the defence of Martin Fleming, Denis Hackett and Kevin O Meara were dependable in all their games. Colm Doyle played a captains part and was ably assisted by the hard working Adam Dolan in mid field. Up front, Stephen Buckley scored a fistful of goals and, when he was called on young Rory Cushen also scored. Pride of place must however go to top scorer Luke Dignam who scored a phenomenal 12 goals in three games. Overall a very competent team performance. For the first time this year our boys will be playing in Division A and our opponents next year are: St. Ryanaghs, Shinrone, Clonlisk and Kilcormac. This is a huge step up in class and it will test our mettle!. I have no doubt that our boys will give a good account of themselves. Best of luck lads.
|
||||
