U20 Hurling Championship Semi-Final
Na Piarsaigh 3-12
Doon 2-08
Mick Neville Park was the venue for our U20 county semi-final meeting with Doon on Monday night. While a cold evening, the conditions were dry and pitch in solid nick. We set up for a right match.
It took both teams a few minutes to warm into the game as scores were hard to come by. We struck first with a goal after 4 minutes following some great work by Mark Hogan on the far sideline. He found David O’Keeffe free on the edge of the 21, for the Ferndale man to lash the ball to the net. Our goal was cancelled out minutes later when Doon found the net at the other end. David would add a point from play before Eoin Brosnan struck our second goal. I say struck but in reality it was more bundled to the net. A shot for a point came down off the post for Brossie to outmuscle a Doon defender and the keeper, forcing the ball over the line. Doon stayed in the hunt with a couple of frees before Brossie added a point just before the break. The ref blew for half time with Na Piarsaigh leading 2-04 to 1-03. Our full back line were the standout performers of the opening half with John O’Keeffe having a stormer at number 3. He had the reliable help of Mike Duggan and Harry McGann on either side, both performing diligently not only in the opening half but right across the hour.
Doon opened the second half with a free but we responded well with Alex Kearns landing a ‘65 followed by another placed ball. Doon registered another from play before Brossie drove one over from close to the stand. Sam Jordan added his name to the scoresheet directly from the resultant puckout. We were motoring well at this stage and Doon had started to miss some scorable frees. Ronan Benson landed the point of the day on the 43 minute mark, coming in off the far sideline, evading his man and launching the ball over the bar from 50 yards. A beauty.
David O’Keeffe scored our 3rd goal with 5 minutes of normal time to play. High ball in on top of the keeper, David applied the necessary pressure to force a fumble and guide the ball to the net. A bit of scuttery one but it counted and all but sealed the result. Doon got their second goal in the dying moments but their day was spent. There were no man of the match awards given out on the night but if asked, I’d be sharing it between David and our captain James Finn. James was simply awesome at centre back from start to finish. Be it a high or low ball, he dealt with it so well along with providing a serious attacking threat with his rangey runs. A colossal at the heart of our defense.
Such a pleasing drive home from Rathkeale, discussing what was another positive night for Na Piarsaigh. The blend of skill and work rate from our boys was a joy to watch. We’ve had some great days at senior level over the past few years but Monday’s result sees us through to our first U20/U21 final since 2021, with our last victory coming in 2017.
The county final is provisionally fixed for next Sunday the 30th with venue and throw-in time to be confirmed. We await the winner of Tuesday’s semi-final between Mungret and Monaleen, which may be known by the time you read this.
Team: Darragh Jordan, Mike Duggan, John O'Keeffe, Harry McGann, Tadgh Mullane, James Finn, Adam Fitzsimons, David O'Keeffe(2-02), Ronan Benson(0-01), Josh Sheehan, Paul McDonogh, Sam Jordan(0-01), Alex Kearns(0-06, 0-05f 1’65), Eoin Brosnan(1-02), Mark Hogan.
Subs used: Ger O’Tiarnaigh, Conor Bermingham, Ben O’Regan, Ferdia Minihan & Padriag Murnane.
Subs not used: Marcus Murphy, Thomas Fitzgerald, Louis Murphy, Sean Harrington, Ben Murray, James McGann, Edmund Hillary, Brian Connolly, Leon Power, Danny Sheehan(inj), John O'Tiarnaigh(inj).
