Minor Hurling Round 3 – Kilruane V Burgess

Wednesday July 21st in Kilcolman

Kilruane MacDonaghs 4-9 Burgess 3-12

MacDonaghs and Burgess shared the spoils in this encounter on a damp evening in Kilcolman. Heading to the match Kilruane would have taken a draw but will rue letting a seven point lead slip in the final quarter. However, if lessons are learned this match could prove invaluable to the team in the long run. Burgess had been the form side to date and included four of their senior team Eoin Hogan, Peter Gill, Mike Flaherty and Damien Maher. They were without the towering presence of Kevin Seymour who is on the injured list. Kilruane had shown gradual improvement in the campaign and knew this match would give them an accurate benchmark of their progress. Manager Brian Gaynor went with the same setup which finished strongly in the last game to overcome Borris-Ileigh. He resisted the temptation to move Eoin Williams to corner forward, a switch most feel would benefit the team enormously.

The home side had the advantage of the breeze in the opening half and hit the ground running but struck two early wides. The Kilruane defence resisted stoutly in repelling the opening onslaught .Burgess were on top in the middle of the park and the first four balls to reach the MacDonaghs forwards were won by defenders in green and gold. In the sixth minute Niall O Meara opened the scoring when he evaded Damien Maher and tucked the ball into the corner of the net. Two minutes later Eoin Williams slotted over a point. Burgess got off the mark with a point from play and Eoin Hogan added a brace, one from play and one from a free. The home side soon drew level before MacDonaghs nosed ahead with a point from a 65 by David Reddan after a shot from Aidan Boyle had been deflected wide. A point from play by Eoin Hogan brought the sides level and another white flag in the eighteenth minute saw Burgess ahead for the first time. A minute later they got a great boost when corner forward JP Grace took a pass inside the Kilruane defence to crash home a goal from close range. Thomas Cleary responded with a point to reduce the deficit to three. A pointed free by Eoin Hogan restored the four point gap. In the twenty fifth minute David Reddan was on target from a free but there was an immediate reply from Burgess to leave four between the sides. MacDonaghs registered two wides and at the other end keeper Robert Ward had to be alert to prevent a second Burgess goal. The visitors finished the half on a high when one minute into stoppage time Niall O Meara poked home a goal from close range to leave the score 1-8 to 2-4 in favour of Burgess at the break.

Kilruane got a dream start to the second half when Niall O Meara goaled inside the first minute. Both sides swapped wides before Andrew Brennan whipped a ground ball to the corner of the net. Two minutes later Burgess cancelled out that score when indecision in the MacDonaghs onside backline saw the home side raise their second green flag. The boys in black and white then struck a purple patch hitting four unanswered points. David Reddan slotted over two from frees and one from play with Aidan Boyle and Andrew Brennan also chipping in with a point each. The visitors were now in the ascendancy but failed to drive on for victory. Their last score was in the forty eight minute and they hit three costly wides in the final ten minutes. With ten minutes to go Eoin Hogan reduced the gap to six points with a point from a free. In the fifty sixth minute a Burgess point left five between the sides. With three minutes left a needless pull by a Kilruane forward resulted in a Burgess free which landed inside the 20m line. When the ball broke Burgess were first to react and the sliotar was lashed to the net. Burgess now had the bit between their teeth and an Eoin Hogan free left the minimum between the sides. Kilruane were now on the defensive and lost their shape. Damien Maher won the puckout and lofted over the equalizer from the middle of the field to earn a draw.

The draw keeps both sides well in the hunt a semi-final spot. MacDonaghs will regret letting control of the game slip. They hit thirteen wides and a little more composure in front of goal would have yielded more scores. They kept their shape well until the final ten minutes when midfielders and forwards began to retreat. Manager Brian Gaynor will be pleased with the overall performance as they prepare for a big home game against Nenagh Eire Og on Wednesday August 11th.
Team: Robert Ward, Jack Peters, Eanna Hogan, Robert Austin, Stephen Cleary, Justin Cahill, David Williams, David Reddan, Alan Darcy, Eoin Williams, Thomas Cleary (Capt), Aidan Boyle, Kieran Cahill, Niall O Meara and Andrew Brennan.
Sub: Eoin Burns for Kieran Cahill

Scorers: Niall O Meara 3-0. Andrew Brennan, 1-1, David Reddan 0-5 (3 frees), Thomas Cleary 0-1, Eoin Williams 0-1 and Aidan Boyle 0-1.

Referee: Anthony Sherlock Kildangan