Navan O’Mahony’s 2-08
Donaghmore/Ashbourne 0-08
Navan O’Mahony’s claimed the U15 Div 2 HL title after a great battle between two evenly matched teams on Wednesday evening. Credit to Rathmolyon Hurling club for their excellent set up and pitch.
O’Mahony’s took an early lead when Harry McGuirk and Luke Gaffney pointed from play within the first three minutes. Midfielder Ruairí McDermott extended the lead in the fourth minute.
In the fifteen minutes that followed, O’Mahony’s failed to score while Donaghmore/Ashbourne added three points, two from frees to leave the sides level with ten minutes remaining. In the 23rd minute, McGuirk converted a 65 to take the lead. 3 minutes later, after a scuffle in the square for possession, Ciaran Burke pulled on the ball and rattled the net to put four between the sides.
The twenty-ninth minute saw Donaghmore/Ashbourne score the last point of the half to leave three points between the sides at the interval.
Navan O’Mahony’s 1-04
Donaghmore/Ashbourne 0-04
Donaghmore/Ashbourne were quick out of the blocks in the second half, scoring from play within a minute of the resumption. Before five minutes had passed, they had drawn level .
A seventh-minute point from Darragh Ward gave O’Mahony’s the slightest advantage, which they held until the fifteenth minute when McGuirk split the posts with a free. A long-range goal from midfielder Frankie Mallon left five points between the sides after eighteen minutes.
Navan O’Mahony’s couldn’t sit on their laurels however, as Ashbourne were not giving up without a fight. They pointed in the twenty-fifth minute to leave four points in it. Although points from Darragh Maguire and McGuirk gave the Brews Hill lads some breathing space, it was a battle to the end with some great saves from Oisin Wade. Under pressure in the dying minutes, there was audible relief from the O’Mahony’s crowd when the final whistle blew. Captains Conan Tansey and Harry McGuirk accepted the cup, with Tansey giving credit to his own team, the opposition, Rathmolyon, the coaches and parents in his speech.
Navan O’Mahony’s
Oisin Wade, James Betson, Andrew Hill Ahern, John O’Flynn, Daniel Bellew, Harry McGuirk (0-04), Darragh Ward (0-01), Frankie Mallon (1-0), Ruairí McDermott (0-01), Eoghan Flannery, Mark Gordon, Darragh Maguire (0-01), Ciaran Burke (1-0), Luke Gaffney (0-01), Andrew Ormsby.
Tadhg Boland for Ormsby, Ormsby for Gordon.
