U21AHC R1 Result – Kilworth 4-14 Ballygiblin 4-12

In a game which saw 8 goals scored, 6 in the first half alone and saw Kilworth lead by 8 points at one stage in the second half, it turned out to be a close finish and could have easily gone either way but thankfully Kilworth dug deep and came out on top by a margin of 2 points, 4-14 to 4-12. 

A fine crowd gathered in Kildorrery on Tuesday night last for this first round robin game of the Avondhu U21AHC 2017 which saw Kilworth face-off against Ballygiblin. Ballygiblin were first out of the blocks with the opening point of the game before Eoin Carey at midfield got Kilworth on the scoreboard with two quick points from play. We didn’t have to wait long for the first goal of the game either which came only 7 minutes into the half. Brian Sheehan dropped back behind his defender to win a long ball into the square, turning and striking for a well taken goal. Kilworth now led 1-2 to 0-1. That lead only lasted a minute however as Ballygiblin came roaring back with a point and a goal of their own with their number 11 causing trouble for our full-back line. The goals were flying in now as Kilworth continued to look dangerous upfront. This time it was Jeremy Saich who got his name on the score sheet. His initial shot at the goalkeeper was saved but it rebounded and Jeremy took his chance to bury the ball to the back of the Ballygiblin net for Kilworth’s second goal of the game. Another point from Eoin Carey put Kilworth ahead again after 11 minutes, 2-3 to 1-2. It was tit-for-tat with both sides putting over well taken points before Kilworth put some more daylight between the sides. We were awarded a close range free in the 17^th minute which Brian Sheehan stepped up to take and he rippled the inside of the opposition’s net to score Kilworth’s third goal and to leave the score line reading 3-5 to 1-4. Brian Sheehan tagged on another pointed free two minutes later which Ballygiblin cancelled out almost immediately and that is when goal number five of the game came. This time it was the opposition who were once again causing problems for our full-back line. The ball broke inside and the Ballygiblin full-forward came away with it to bury the ball past goalkeeper Aidan O’Brien. The gap was back down to four points, 3-6 to 2-5. The goals were coming thick and fast. Kilworth won the puck out and they moved the ball quickly up the field, looking to cancel out the latest Ballygiblin goal with one of their own and that’s exactly what they did in the 22^nd minute when Brian Sheehan laid off a great pass to corner-forward Jamie Sheehan who scored a great goal at an acute angle to put us seven ahead once again. Ballygiblin responded with three points from play but Dave Twomey scored a fantastic long range free in the 25^th minute and Eoin Carey tagged on his fifth point of the first half just before the break to leave us six ahead and so at half-time we lead 4-08 to 2-08.

Ballygiblin came out and as they did in the first half, they opened the scoring to reduce the gap to five points before Jeremy Saich put a superbly taken side line cut straight between the posts to maintain Kilworth’s six point lead. Dave Twomey popped over his second pointed free of the night to increase the margin between the sides to seven. It was almost 10 minutes before the next score of the game was registered as both sides suffered a number of wides and the game became a little stop-start. Brian Sheehan got the scoring going again with his first free of the second half in the 43^rd minute and at the three-quarter stage mark the score line read 4-11 to 2-09 and Kilworth were in the driving seat. But we should know my now one puck of the ball can change the game and unfortunately for Kilworth the goal fest would soon resume for the opposition and in the space of two minutes, out of nowhere Ballygiblin had two more goals on the score board and they had the gap reduced to 2 points with still over ten minutes of normal time to play. They had Kilworth rattled for a few minutes and they looked dangerous on the ball but our defenders worked very hard and Brian Sheehan steadied the ship once again with two pointed frees in the 52^nd and 54^th minute. Jamie Sheehan tagged on a third with a point from play and a five point lead was restored, 4-14 to 4-09. Credit must be given to Ballygiblin who never gave up and we were in for a tense finish as they reduced the gap to two points heading into injury time and two points is always a dangerous lead in hurling. The opposition were awarded a late free in the 63^rd minute which they dropped in but thankfully nothing came of it and as the final whistle was sounded Kilworth breathed a sigh of relief. The final score line on the night was 4-14 to 4-12. Well done to all the players and management involved on a great performance and on a well fought, well deserved victory. We wish you all the very best of luck in your next two games against St. Dominics and Fermoy.

Team and Scorers: Aidan O’Brien, James McCarthy, Daniel O’Regan, Keelan Condon, Eoin McGrath, David Twomey (0-2), Timmy Dunne, Jeremy Saich (1-1), Eoin Carey (0-5), Ciarán Gowen, Ronan Abernethy, Jamie Kenneally, Jamie Sheehan (1-1), Brian Sheehan (2-5), Cormac Donnellan. Subs Used: Nathan Roche for Ciarán Gowen.