Sixmilebridge 5-08    

Feakle-Killanena 1-03

Killanena pitch was the venue for the Sixmilebridge U14’s round six match vs. Feakle/Killanena last Friday evening. With a strong cross field breeze it promised to be a good night for hurling and from a Bridge perspective it didn’t disappoint.

Within 50 seconds of the throw in David Kennedy had the ball in the back of the Feakle/Killanena net after a lovely overhead flick that caught the goalie off guard. The dust hadn’t even settled in the Feakle/Killanena square and the ball was in the back of the Sixmilebridge net after a quick puck out was well worked up the field by Feakle/Killanena and expertly finished by Jack O’Donnell.

Both teams were evenly matched for the next ten minutes with Luke O’Halloran and Evan Murphy scoring points for the Bridge and Oisin Clune and Jack O’Donnell scoring points for Feakle/Killanena.

Sixmilebridge then switched Kennedy to midfield and O’Halloran into full forward in a move that seemed to settle the Bridge. They started to come into the game a bit more and were rewarded in 20th minute when O’Halloran finished off a Noel Flynn shot at goal that was saved by Seamus O’Donnell. The Bridge were now getting on top with their whole backline starting to exert pressure on the Feakle/Killanena forwards and their work rate was excellent breaking down every attack with the result that Feakle/Killanena wouldn’t score again in the first half with the Bridge adding two Evan Murphy frees and a Noel Flynn point to finish the half 2-06 to 1-02 ahead.

The second half started with Feakle/Killanena moving full back Adam Hogan out to half back to try and spearhead their attack. It was effective and he sent a lot of ball into their forward line but the Bridge backs dealt with it efficiently. Ian McNamara pointed from a free in the 4th minute and this would be the last time Feakle/Killanena would score in the game such was the dominance of the Bridge backs. This kind of strong disciplined defensive performance will be key in the coming weeks, now that the ‘Bridge have qualified for the business end of the Championship.

Luke O’Halloran got his second goal in the 8th minute and he followed up with two more points after that. James Egan then replaced O’Halloran and within a minute of coming on he had the ball in the back of the net. Conor Murphy finished the scoring with a goal 2 minutes from time to seal it for the Bridge.

The score in this match would suggest the Bridge forwards were on top but the truth is the work rate of the entire Bridge team on Friday night was first class with the hooking and blocking and sheer determination to win evident all over the field. However the tone was set from the backs with the two corner backs Morgan O’Connell and Michael Carey again giving rock solid Championship performances along with the central defensive pillars of Evan O’Callaghan and Colin Kelly. Overall the team itself can take the credit for turning around from the disappointment of their performance v ScarriffOgonelloe the previous week.

For Feakle/Killanena  Adam Hogan, Oisin Clune, Jack O’Donnell, Ian McNamara, and Ronan O’Connor played some lovely hurling throughout.

The win gives Sixmilebridge five wins out of six in the group matches and they top the table ensuring a home semi-final in two weeks time. The rest of the group games will be played next weekend with the Bridge having the weekend off.

Sixmilebridge: Cian Fawl, Michael Carey, Evan O’Callaghan, Morgan O’Connell, Scott Kirkland, Colin Kelly, Adam Murray, David Kennedy (1-0), Evan Murphy (0-4, 3F), Colm Flynn, Seamus O’Connell, Cian Gleeson, Dara Casey, Luke O’Halloran (2-3) Noel Flynn (0-1).

 Subs: Conor Murphy (1-0) for Cian Gleeson, James Egan (1-0) for Luke O’Halloran, Oran Carey for Dara Casey, Jack Hughes for Noel Fylnn, Ian Collins for Michael Carey.
Feakle/Killanena: Seamus O’Donnell, Ryan Keane, Adam Hogan, Rory McNamara, Darren McMahon, Ian McNamara, Eoghan Daly, Ronan O’Connor, James Greene, Oisin O’Connor, Oisin Clune, Conor McGann, Christopher Moloney, Jack O’Donnell, Sean Walsh, Eoghan McGann, Oisin Minogue, Ronan Keane.