STORMING FINISH SECURES HARD FOUGHT VICTORY
Minor Roinn A Hurling League
Young Irelands Gowran 2-17
Naas 1-13
It was tough going, but the Young Irelands Minors maintained their unbeaten record intact as a strong & storming final quarter helped shake off the challenge of a fiercely competitive Naas outfit who pushed the Gowran lads right to the limit.
The final margin of 7 points was somewhat harsh on the Kildare club who more than matched Young Irelands almost all of the way & indeed with just two minutes of normal time remaining, Young Irelands were ahead by only two points (2-12 to 1-13).
However, they finished powerfully with five unanswered points to secure victory following a titanic struggle.
The Gowran lads made a great start & by the 5th minute they led 1-2 to 0-0 with Michael Keating getting the goal within seconds of the throw-in, while Jim Conlon & Thomas Langton added points.
Playing with a strong wind, Naas began to settle down & they frustrated Young Irelands for the rest of the half restricting their opponents to just three pointed frees from Michael Keating.
Also, Naas were wasteful with their shooting as they shot 14 wides with 10 of those wides coming in the first-half.
Young Irelands led 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time, but scores were more frequent throughout the second-half with the Gowran boys outscoring their opponents 1-12 to 1-8.
Jake Byrne added a point at the start of the second-half to stretch the advantage(1-6 to 0-5), but Naas replied with 1-1 in quick succession to draw level. 1-6 each.
However, Young Irelands responded quickly with Michael Keating adding another pointed free, before their second goal arrived in the 34th minute with the Langtons Diarmuid & Thomas combining.
Diarmuid ran in towards goal from an acute angle & his shot was blocked, before Thomas slammed home the rebound attempt. 2-7 to 1-6.
Naas though were beginning to find their range & four unanswered points in a three minute spell between the 36th & 39th minutes brought them level. 2-7 to 1-10.
Michael Keating steadied Young Irelands nerves with a pointed free in the 41st minute, before county minor Bobby Brennan took the game by the scruff of the neck & throughout that final 20 minutes he was a dominant & colossal figure.
Bobby scored a superb long range free in the 44th minute, before he magnificently pointed a long range inspirational effort from play two minutes later in the 46th minute. 2-10 to 1-10.
Those two magnificent efforts spurred his teammates on to greater effort, but Naas to their credit refused to relinquish.
The Kildare boys fought back with three unanswered points in quick succession in the 47th & 48th minutes to restore parity(2-10 to 1-13), but they didn’t score for the remainder of the game.
Young Irelands finished with a bang with 7 consecutive points as Bobby Brennan & Michael Keating added further frees, while they finished with a flurry as Jake Byrne (0-2 0-1 free), Kieran Timmins, Diarmuid Langton & Sam Brennan were all on target as they ensured victory following a hard fought battle.
Credit to Naas for pushing the Gowran boys to the pin of their collar, & they will gain a lot from the way they prevailed through such a severe test.
Despite enduring struggles for long periods, their were plenty of good performers on the Young Irelands.
Josef Walsh was a safe & assured presence in goal, the full-back line was excellent led by Richard Nolan who was superb & dominant throughout especially when they were under pressure, while Andrew Corbett & David Langton were solid also.
As mentioned Bobby Brennan led the way when the need was greatest, while Jim Conlon was his usual consistent solid self.
Jake Byrne, the reliable & accurate free-taking of Michael Keating, Diarmuid Langton & late substitute Jake Kelly were others that impressed especially throughout that late whirlwind rally & they now look forward to another home game next Monday evening against Clara.
Victory next Monday evening will almost guarantee them a League Final spot.
YOUNG IRELANDS MINOR TEAM V NAAS: Josef Walsh, Andrew Corbett, David Langton, Richard Nolan, James Brennan, Bobby Brennan (0-3 0-2 frees), Shane Simpson, Jim Conlon(0-1 free), Luke Phelan, Eoghan O’Neill, Jake Byrne, (0-3 0-1 free), Thomas Langton (1-1), Michael Keating(1-6 0-6 frees), Kieran Timmins (0-1), Diarmuid Langton(0-1),
SUBS: Sam Brennan(0-1), Jake Kelly
FOUR GOAL AIDAN INSPIRES GOWRAN BOYS TO CRUISING VICTORY
U-15 ROINN A HURLING LEAGUE
Young Irelands Gowran 7-19
Naas 0-5
The Young Irelands U-15 boys cruised to a comprehensive & facile victory against Naas on Wednesday night, as they dished out a 35 point annihilations in a most impressive team performance.
Both teams exchanged early points, before star man Aidan Keating grabbed the first of his 4 goals in the 3rd minute. 1-1 to 0-1.
Naas replied with consecutive points, but immediately the Gowran boys hit back with 3-2 between the 6th & 11th minute as they already led 4-3 to 0-3.
Aidan added two further goals while Thomas Langton also registered a green flag, as the outstanding midfield duo of Kieran Carter & Matthew Murray added points.
The scores dried up for the remainder of the half, but Young Irelands still added 1-4 without reply as they led 5-7 to 0-3 at the interval.
Aidan completed his four timer with another goal in the 26th minute, while he also added a point from play two minutes later, as Jake Kelly, Matthew Murray & Alex Kenny kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Young Irelands kept the momentum going into the start of the second-Half, with further goals from a brilliant Kieran Carter volleyed effort in the 33rd minute followed by a Jake Kelly goal a minute later.
Aidan Keating added three more points from play, with Thomas Langton & centre-back Kieran Timmins also in on the act as they led 7-12 to 0-4 by the 45th minute.
Seven further points were added during the final quarter as some of the substitutes got a run out.
Further points came from Jake Kelly(0-3 0-2 frees), Aidan Keating (free) along with Matthew Murray, Tom Doheny & Alex Kenny from play to complete a most comprehensive victory in a comprehensive performance.
Stiffer tests will lie ahead as they play St. Martins away in Muckalee next Wednesday July 13th, before a home match against Danesfort the following Wednesday July 20th.
YOUNG IRELANDS: Josef Walsh, Philip Middleton, Ruairi Phelan, Conor Brennan, Keelan Barcoe, Kieran Timmins, Sam Brennan, Matthew Murray(0-3), Kieran Carter (1-1), Aidan Keating (4-5 0-1 free), Jake Kelly (1-4 0-3 frees), Tom Doheny (0-1), Alex Kenny(0-2), Thomas Langton (1-2), Michael Holland
MINOR GIRLS RESPOND STRONGLY TO WIN
Minor Roinn C Camogie Summer League
Young Irelands Gowran 5-8
Bennettsbridge 4-4
The Young Irelands Minor Camogie girls qualified for a Summer League Quarter-Final showdown with near neighbours Blacks & Whites next Wednesday evening, as they produced a strong finish to defeat near neighbours Bennettsbridge in a thrilling contest played on Thursday.
The match was played as an 11-a-side contest & Bennettsbridge got the opening score of the game, but the Gowran girls took over & responded with Ella Middleton(2-3) & Ciara Bryan (2-4 0-1 free) leading the way as they accounted for 4-7 of their sides total.
Ella added the levelling point from play, before grabbing two goals in quick succession as they built up a 2-2 to 0-1 lead.
Young Irelands strengthened that dominance further with 1-4 without reply as they led 3-6 to 0-1 by about the midway point of the half.
Ciara Bryan(2) & Ella Middleton with further points from play added to their tally as Chloe Pitt grabbed Young Irelands third goal.
It appeared to be plain sailing & all too easy for the Gowran girls, but to their credit Bennettsbridge played superbly for the remainder of the half & they scored three goals to leave just 5 points between the teams at half-time. 3-6 to 3-1.
Defences tightened up considerably throughout the second-half as scores were more difficult to materialize.
Bennettsbridge added 1-1 in quick succession in the early stages of the second-half as only a solitary point separated the teams – 3-6 to 4-2 – but credit to the Young Irelands defence who were a tighter meaner outfit for the remainder of the game as they only conceded 0-2.
In particular, Aine Delahunty who was superb throughout & at one stage in the dying minutes she got across to deny Bennettsbridge a certain goal chance that would have brought them level.
Ciara Bryan soloed forward upfield to score a superb goal & she followed shortly afterwards with a point from play. 4-7 to 4-2.
Bennettsbridge to their credit kept plugging & they added consecutive points to narrow the deficit to three points(4-7 to 4-4), but the Gowran girls finished strongly with another superb solo goal by Ciara Bryan to give them a vital cushion.
As mentioned, Young Irelands now have a Quarter-Final clash to look forward to next Wednesday night against Blacks & Whites in Gowran at 7.30pm.
Elsewhere, in what was a very successful week for Young Irelands Teams, the Minor Camogie girls overcame Tullogher-Rosbercon 4-10 to 2-11 in Tullogher last Monday night to qualify for the Summer League Semi-Final, while last night(Friday), the Young Irelands U-14 continued their devastating goalscoring blitz as they won 7-9 to 1-3 against St. Martins.
This was in addition to the 6 goals scored last week against Ballyhale Shamrocks.
