Eire Óg 2-08 Sixmilebridge 2-06

The U14A Championship moved into its knockout stages on Friday evening with Sixmilebridge hosting Eire Óg in a quarter final. The two sides had played out an entertaining draw in Ennis earlier on in the season, and this matchup promised the same. The Townies shot out to a 1-5 to 0-1 after only 15 minutes, with the ‘Bridge reply coming from midfielder Matthew O’Halloran. The Eire og scores were largely as a result of good movement up front and well-timed support play with Luca Cleary and Jack Kavanagh to the fore in their scoring.

The ‘Bridge then started to gain a foothold in the contest, and they raised three white flags to Eire Óg’s one, courtesy of Fionn Hayes and Eamonn Breen leaving the score at 1-6 to 0-4. In the closing few minutes of the half, the hosts hit the back of the net twice, 1 from the stick of Eamonn Breen and 1 from the right boot of Eamonn Breen. The two teams entered the interval with the scoreboard reading; Sixmilebridge 2-4 Eire Óg 1-7.

The 2nd half did not pick up where the 1st left off, with neither side troubling the scorekeeper. The Bridge knocked over the first score of the half through Fionn Hayes free, before Eire Óg responded in kind seconds after. Hayes sent over another free before the Townies dealt a hammer blow to the ‘Bridge’s hopes. In the 42nd minute, a long ball wasn’t dealt with well by the Bridge, and after spurning numerous opportunities for a clearance, Eire Óg eventually pounced and rattled the net.

This left the ‘Bridge down by 2 points, a deficit they would never overturn. This wasn’t due to a lack of chances however, with the ‘Bridge having countless gilt-edged opportunities to trim the gap with points, but too often a lack of composure or poor passing and control, led to wides or Eire og intervening and clearing. The closest they got to the elusive goal was with the last play of the game, when the Eire og keeper Cian Howard pulled off a tremendous triple save from ‘Bridge shots and follow-up at close range.

Andy McMahon blew the final whistle, and much like the Feile semi-final from earlier in the season, the ‘Bridge lads were left scratching their heads as to how so much attacking possession in the opponent’s half, did not yield a higher score and a subsequent win with that. Eire Óg will now move on to the semi-final after their 2-8 to 2-6 victory over Sixmilebridge, and we wish them well as both of our games this season have been played in an excellent sporting manner on and off the pitch.

Heretofore the U14s have been strong in this championship and would have been seen as contenders based on their performances. However, this match and last week’s defeat to Clooney Quin, will have illustrated to the players how crucial it is to have speedy and secure control of the ball, along with an ability to use a variety of shots(Left and Right side) that go a decent distance under strong opponent pressure, when playing at A level.

Thanks to Bord na nÓg Iomaint an Chláir, these players do not see their U14 Hurling finish for the season. The 4 beaten Quarter finalists from Friday night now enter into a Plate semi-final and the opportunity to progress to a final and look to finish off the campaign on a higher note than Friday’s performance.

Sixmilebridge: Mark Sheedy, Harry Chaplin, Fiachra Ó’Braoin, Jack Lee, Paddy O’Reilly, Dara Fitzgerald, Jack Phelan, Joshua Dillon, Matthew O’Halloran, Daniel Chaplin, Fionn Hayes, Jack Holloway, Finn Murphy, Eamonn Breen, Evan Neenan

Sub Introduced: Jack O’Halloran

Players Unavailable due to Injury, Holiday etc: Brendan Carey, Jayden Scullion, Lee Mulready, Darren Hurley, Michael Morey