Sixmilebridge

Founded 1904

Co. Clare

Sweet 16th U14A title for the 'Bridge

Download our mobile app to hear more about Sixmilebridge.

See More

Sixmilebridge 4-10 Inagh/Kilnamona 2-14 (AET)

As expected, the U14 A Hurlers of Sixmilebridge and Inagh/Kilnamona played out a superbly contested and skilful game of Hurling at a sun-drenched Clarecastle where the pitch was in tip-top condition and in its best shape in a long time. At the same time there was a strong breeze blowing from the dressingroom end straight down the pitch. IK won the toss and elected to play against the wind which showed the confidence they had in their side.

The ‘Bridge made a positive start and created a goal chance inside the 1st min when a Ben O’Connell shot was saved, but Mike Morey seized on the scrambled clearance in his corner, turned and snapped over a point off his right. In the 3rd min Jack O’Halloran stayed disciplined to track a 40 yd James Hegarty run, got a vital flick in, Matthew O’Halloran was in to complete the turnover and hit to centre forward Niall Liddane. As he has done throughout the c’ship, Niall held off the centre back, drove directly at the heart of the IK defence and timed his offload to Finn Murphy who made the first of his many big plays by hitting the roof of the net.

However a worrying trend was started in the 4th minute as IK pointed a free after a sloppy foul and added 2 more pointed frees in the 9th & 13th mins and in between missed 2 other scoreable frees as the Bridge’s discipline and technique in the tackle/ruck was poor and giving IK a strong foothold against the breeze. A highlight in this period however was a superb clean catch off a Mark Sheedy-puckout by wing forward Calum Phelan, who took on his man and hit a lovely point on the run. Score at 1st water break SMB 1-2 IK 0-3.

The rest of the 1st half was a tight affair with a 23rd min Cillian Murphy free for the ’Bridge being cancelled out with another IK free. The direct running Liddane created a goal chance for himself but Frankie Roughan in the IK goal made a superb save. During this time and even with the breeze the ‘Bridge struggled with the strong play of James Hegarty at midfield for IK. The ‘Bridge half forward line were making headway though and Finn Murphy’s influence was growing as a target man for the ‘Bridge and was unlucky after making 2 catches on IK’s puckout to shoot just wide. But just before halftime IK got a real tonic when good interplay between Jack Mescall and James Hegarty ended with Fred Hegarty being put through on goal and he looped the ball over the advancing Sheedy to leave Half time score SMB 1-3 IK 1-4.

The 3rd Qtr was all IK as they used the breeze to full advantage and opened in the 2nd min with a point from Full Forward Gearoid Barry. The ‘Bridge were reliant on Finn Murphy as a target for puckouts in this time and within a minute he broke through strongly but just around 20m got caught in 2 minds to keep going or pass inside to Eamonn Breen, and when he did choose the latter the pass wasn’t clean enough and the alert IK defenders scrambled to clear. Cillian Murphy scored a free in the 6th min but from here to the water break it was all IK as they added points from play G Barry x 2, Fred Hegarty x1 and 2 more pointed frees. Indeed they had plenty of other chances as it became one-way traffic but they hit the cross bar with one shot and also missed other chances to add to the 6 point lead they had at 2nd water break. SMB 1-4 IK 1-10

The ’Bridge now used the break to refocus and summon some renewed energy. Matthew O’Halloran went to midfield to curb James Hegarty and Eamonn Breen came out to centre forward to add more strength and aggression to the middle third. Dylan Keogh had also come on in the 2nd half for Ben O’Connell at corner forward. So, 6 points down and facing into a stiff breeze, what happened for the rest of the game will live long in the memory of these boys as a great lesson in what can be achieved in Hurling when a team knuckles down together.

The tide of play started to change virtually from the restart as the ‘Bridge gained control in middle third with F Murphy getting support from the 2 players coming into that area and Niall Liddane now at Full was a willing recipient for more ball being directed towards the IK goal. He won a free in the 16th min that Cillian pointed. Then 3 mins later good play from Harry Chaplin at wing back who was growing into the game, found Calum Phelan and he slipped a ball behind IK defenders to Eamonn Breen. He took it facing goal 25 yds out, and Bridge supporters knew there was a chance, cos in that situation…..Breener loves a greener!! And he didn’t disappoint as 1 or 2 tackles were shrugged off and he hit an unstoppable off his left over Roughan’s head.

Now it was game on, in the 21st min Niall Liddane was fouled again to give Cillian a straightforward tap-over. The play was brilliant, helter-skelter, underage hurling at its best as a quality match went up another notch. The ‘Bridge had their tails up even against the breeze and were enjoying these “championship minutes” as they took control of the game. Matthew O’H drove forward with a ball and hit a superb 40 yarder into the breeze on the run to level it in the 24th minute. 2 minutes later Eamonn Breen followed up his goal with another strong play and hit a sweet point off his left into the breeze to put us 1 up. IK were shellshocked and were relieved to be awarded a free in the 29th min to draw it. Full Time SMB 2-8 IK 1-11.

Extra time of 10mins per half started and there was no drop in the pace or intensity of the exchanges. After 3 mins the ‘bridge got a great fillip when Finn Murphy capped off good attacking play with a shot that was bravely saved by IK goalie Roughan, but Murphy was quickest to react, gather the ball and coolly hit home a bouncer off his right to raise another green flag. Yet again IK were awarded a free and pointed. But the ‘Bridge went back up the field and the O’Halloran - Breen combination saw the latter hit over another point. Then another free to IK and it’s worth pointing out that the free count at this stage of the match was 25-10 in IK’s favour. A lot of the frees were frustratingly justified, but ‘Bridge supporters were genuinely scratching their heads, that in a fair, sporting, 50/50 U14 game, similar technical fouls were not being given against the IK players, as the huge discrepancy in the numbers showed up.

The half-time of Extra time gave a chance to draw breath and the ‘Bridge led 3-9 to 1-13. On the resumption the ‘Bridge again took the initiative and built a number of attacks. Eventually the pressure told and once again Niall Liddane was pulled down and Cillian pointed the free to restore the 3 point advantage. This report probably doesn’t do justice to the phenomenal to-and-fro that went on between the teams as attackers were chased down, hooks & blocks, there were goalmouth scrambles at both ends as players pushed tired bodies and limbs to the limits as proud supporters were entertained mightily.

IK popped over a point to leave two between the sides. A wide from a free for the ‘Bridge saw referee Barry Keating signal 1min remaining to all present. Finn Murphy got his hand to the puckout, made room and delivered a smart ball to Dylan Keogh and his marking corner back. One of the most popular players on the squad and a kid with a permanent smile on his face, Dylan had shown some threatening plays and had a couple of shots that went wide since his introduction. But unfortunately for IK, on this occasion he turned into the smiling assassin, as he powered past his marker and his intent was clear. The ciotóg hit a rasper to the top corner of the net, to put daylight and 5 points between the teams. The ‘Bridge supporters went delirious and IK were stunned. The puckout came and in fairness to IK they mounted a desperate attack through a mazy run from Gearóid Barry, the ‘Bridge defence didn’t foul to stop his progress and after a goalmouth scramble the ball ended up in the net.

However Ref Barry Keating was true to his word on time, and called for the ball to signal Full time. What a game and what a comeback for this team and management to pull out of the fire. What a positive lesson for these young players to learn, to rival what they’ve seen from their Senior club counterparts in this and other seasons, and what a buzz to do that in a ‘Bridge jersey on Co final day. It takes two to tango though, and full credit has to go to a superb and skilful IK team and their sporting management team who gave their all on the day but just didn’t get the rub of the green on occasions that was needed to break that ‘Bridge charge towards the finishing post.

For the ‘Bridge, the heroes were many as they experienced the best day of their fledgling hurling careers and one that will bond them for a long time to come. There is no doubting their heart and fighting spirit when the need arises as demonstrated yesterday and versus Doora Barefield. The next step now for them is to improve and build up their skill and striking levels throughout the team and be ready for when IK, DB and others inevitably come after them in the years ahead.

It’s hard to pick out individuals but the stats show up some superb performances. Goalie and inspirational Captain Mark Sheedy had 8 possessions (a good figure usually for an outfield player) as he eagerly came off his line to sweep up any kind of long ball that got in behind his FB line. His lengthy accurate clearances and puckouts always put the team on the attack and relieved pressure. His vice-captain Matthew O’Halloran was phenomenal with 21 possessions and he forced 8 turnovers in his time at centre back and then midfield for the final qtr and extra time. Wing forward Finn Murphy has really come of age in this campaign and he showed his value with 13 possessions and forced 4 turnovers. Meanwhile Niall Liddane maintained his recent form and direct running to earn 4 frees that were converted for points and of course Eamonn Breen with 1-2 from play when the need was greatest.

Congrats to the Management team and Minor club who have nurtured this group impressively and the lads looked the part in their new tops, ordered & turned around speedily in 10 days with the help of Brian O’Connell and of course generous Minor Club sponsors O’Flynns Centra.

The Cup presentation with our own Jimmy Corbett, PRO Bord na nÓg Iomaint, was obviously constrained by contactless Covid-19 restrictions but that couldn’t impinge on the delight of Captain Mark Sheedy, the players, Management and supporters on a sunny day in what has been a tough year.

SMB: Mark Sheedy(Captain), Will Chaplin, Jack Phelan, Harry Chaplin, Will Gilligan, Matthew O’Halloran 0-1, Callum Toomey, Cillian Murphy 0-5f, Jack O’Halloran, Finn Murphy 2-0, Niall Liddane, Calum Phelan 0-1, Michael Morey 0-1, Eamonn Breen 1-2, Ben O’Connell. Sub on: Dylan Keogh 1-0 for Ben O’C.

Subs: Ben Maxwell, Mark Mullins, Darragh Whyte, Rob Stafford, Don Whitty, Daighre Clarke, Niall Moloney.

First Aid: Martina Whelan

Inagh Kilnamona: Frank Roughan, Alex Leyden, Conor Rynne, Rian Cummins, Luke McGuane, Jack Cullinan, Michael Cotter, James Hegarty, Neil Hegarty, Fred Hegarty, Gearoid Barry, Ralph Whelahan, Thomas O’Halloran, Jack Mescall, Luke Kelly.

Referee Barry Keating Eire Óg.

Download ClubZap

Get live information for Club on the ClubZap App

App Store Google Play