Centenary Agri Mid U13A Hurling Final 19/09/21
Durlas Óg 4-17
Holycross Ballycahill 1-07
By Mark Dunne PRO
The Autumn sun glistened on the Littleton grass to provide the perfect backdrop to this Centenary Agri U13A Hurling Final which saw Durlas Óg run out comfortable winners in a game they dominated from the off.
Playing with the aid of considerable breeze in the opening half, Holycross Ballycahill needed to make it count. It would be the opposition that kicked into gear first and the Cross can have their goalie Harry Bourke to thank in the opening minutes as Man of the Match Kieran Rossiter looked for his opening goal but Bourke denied him with a fine save. Darragh Cornally got the first score of the encounter with Eoin Webb adding a second shortly afterwards. Bourke again stood strong in the Holycross goal to deny Rossiter but moments later Kieran made no mistake. A long high ball in from Murray was beautifully caught by Rossiter who turned and fired home. Rossiter added another point to his name before Holycross raised their first white flag. Eoghan Hickey got his free taking off to a great start with a long range point with Paul Ryan adding another shortly afterwards. The Holycross defence had their work cut out with Rossiter, Webb and Cornally causing problems but credit goes Alex Maher, Jack O’Gara and Captain Cathal Ryan who gave them plenty to think about. Durlas Óg added the next few scores before the half with the pick of them again from Rossiter who climbed highest to score. Euan Murray, Darragh O’Dwyer, Eoin Webb and the aforementioned Kieran Rossiter all pointing to send their team 1-09 to 0-02 up at the break.
With Durlas Óg now with the aid of a stiff breeze, Holycross Ballycahill had their work cut out. Huge credit to the Holycross goalie who pulled off two super saves early in the second half to keep his side battling. However, all the pressing eventually resulted in a goal and if one Rossiter can do it so can the other. This time Andy Rossiter stepping up and rattling the back of the Holycross net. Durlas Óg continued to control the game with Webb and Andy Rossiter adding three scores between them. This reporter has already mentioned the Holycross net minder but he pulled off a save that one would not see in the Stadium. A rocket of a strike from Cornally saw Bourke needed to turn his hurley around his body and save! Holycross though had chances to score with Paul Ryan, Liam Costello, Zack O’Keeffe all coming close to raise a flag but it wasn’t to be. Durlas Óg continued to add the scores and Rossiter added his team’s third goal just before the water break. An outstanding flick from Murray saw the ball quickly worked to Rossiter who made no mistake. Aaron Darmody got his team’s final goal with good play between him and his counterpart Eoin Webb. The final quarter of the game was probably the best of the contest with Holycross Ballycahill not giving up and huge credit must go to them and they were finally rewarded with a stunning goal of their own. Eoghan Hickey caught a superb ball, turned and buried it past Donnagh Hickey to leave the score line at the end Durlas Óg 4-17 Holycross Ballycahill 1-02
This was a polished Durlas Óg performance with both Rossiter’s, Euan Murray, Eoin Webb, Oran Fogarty all driving on their teammates to mention but a few. In what was a difficult day at the office for this Holycross Ballycahill team, they can be extraordinarily proud of their performance. This team did not throw in the towel and battled for every ball with Paul Ryan, Alex Maher, Eoghan Hickey, Cathal Ryan and Seamie Dwan all putting in a great performance to again name but a few.
Durlas Óg captain Kieran Rossiter collected the trophy from Mid Board Chairman PJ Bowden and Kieran was also presented with the Man of the Match award, a new award for hurling finals this year.
Panel and scorers:
Durlas Óg: Donnagh Hickey, Ciaran O’Mahony, Oran Fogarty, Brody Donoghue, Andy Rossiter (1-01), James Mockler, Euan Murray (0-03), Darragh O’Dwyer (0-01), Eoin Webb (0-05), Aaron Darmody (1-00), Kieran Rossiter (2-05), Niall Gleeson, Darragh Cornally (0-02), Bobby O’Dowd, George Barry.
Holycross Ballycahill: Harry Bourke, Seamie Dwan, Alex Maher, Jack O’Gara, Cathal Ryan, Liam O’Sullivan, Davis Oja, Eoghan Hickey (1-01), James Hennessy, Zach O’Keeffe, Liam Costello, Paul Ryan (0-01), Cathal Kehoe, Padraig O’Halloran, Sean Butler, Cian Campion.
Referee: PJ Nolan (Killea)
Photos with thanks to John O Loughlin
Dúrlas Óg GAA Club Holycross Ballycahill GAA Mid Tipperary Gaa
