INTERMEDIATES DOMINATE SECOND-HALF TO EMPHATICALLY DEFEAT VILLAGE
St. Canices Credit Union Senior Intermediate League Division 1 Semi-Final
Young Irelands Gowran 1-28
James Stephens 0-19
Young Irelands produced a very strong & dominant second-Half performance as they emphatically overpowered James Stephens to run out comprehensive winners.
However, at half-time James Stephens appeared to be in control as they led 0-15 to 0-10 following a dominant second quarter.
The teams were level at 0-5 each after about 10 minutes, before the Village men started to dominate as their experience was proving too much for the Young Irelands men to deal with.
The scorers for Young Irelands during the first-half were Killian Carey (0-3 0-2 frees), Paddy Langton (0-2 0-1 free 0-1’65), along with Jimmy Lennon, Jack Brennan, Diarmuid Langton, Ted Drea & Dylan Carey(free).
Both sides exchanged points early in the second-half, before Dylan Carey pointed three frees in succession to narrow the gap to just two points. 0-16 to 0-14.
James Stephens pointed a free to stretch the advantage(0-17 to 0-14), but by the midway point of the second-half Young Irelands had drawn level thanks to points by Diarmuid Langton, Geoff Brennan, Seamus Farrell & Ted Drea. 0-18 each.
The Gowran men turned the screw afterwards as they outscored the Village 1-10 to 0-1 for the remainder of the contest.
Seamus Farrell put the Young Irelands men with a superb long distance point, and they put their foot on the accelarator as they took complete control afterwards.
Further points came from Jimmy Lennon with a superb effort, Dylan Carey (0-4 0-2 frees), Padraig Naddy(0-2), Paddy Langton with a long distance free and Ted Drea.
The final act came courtesy of a goal from a Dylan Carey penalty.
Overall, it was a magnificent team performance by Young Irelands.
Sean Farrell & Paddy Langton played starring roles in the half-back line, the industrious Seamus Farrell gave another towering display in midfield ably assisted by the hard grafting Pat Farrell , while Ted Drea, Diarmuid Langton, Padraig Naddy & Dylan Carey excelled in giving leading performances.
Young Irelands will play either Thomastown or Dicksboro in the Final.
YOUNG IRELANDS TEAM: Jason Brennan, Philip O’Donnell, Emmet Byrne, Sean Middleton, Patrick Brennan, Sean Farrell, Paddy Langton 0-4(0-3 frees 0-1’65), Seamus Farrell (0-2), Geoff Brennan(0-1), Jack Brennan(0-1), Ben Phelan, Jimmy Lennon(0-2) , Ted Drea(0-3) , Killian Carey(0-3 0-2 frees)
SUBS: Diarmuid Langton (0-2), Gavin Manning, Dylan Carey 1-8(1-0 penalty 0-5 frees), Padraig Naddy (0-2), Charlie Fitzgerald
MINORS UNBEATEN RUN ENDS WITH HEAVY DEFEAT
Following a run of 7 straight victories, Young Irelands Minors unbeaten run ended emphatically with a heavy defeat against James Stephens.
The writing was on the wall after only 5 minutes as James Stephens had already scored two goals.
The Village boys extended their dominance afterwards and at half-time they led 3-13 to 0-3.
They maintained that control throughout that second-half as they added a fourth goal to run out 4-19 to 0-7 winners.
Young Irelands will be looking to bounce back away to St. Martins in Coon on Monday Night.
Disappointment for both Young Irelands U-15 Teams who suffered heavy defeats.
The U-15 A Team lost 5-26 to 1-7 against John Lockes, while The U-15 13-a-side Team lost 3-14 to 2-4 against St. Martins.
EUROPEAN GOLD FOR YOUNG IRELANDS JUVENILES
Huge Congratulations to Young Irelands Juvenile Hurlers James, Eoin and Timmy Brennan who were part of the Ireland Junior Team that won Gold at the European Showjumping Championships in Gorla Minore in Italy over the weekend.
The Ireland Team were managed by showjumping great James Kernan and they became European Champions out of 23 teams competing.
Congratulations on such a wonderful achievement.
JUNIORS LOSE OUT TO ST. PATRICKS
JJ KAVANAGH & SONS JUNIOR A HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1
Young Irelands Gowran 1-14
St. Patricks Ballyragget 3-11
In wet and blustery conditions that felt most like Winter rather than mid-July, the Young Irelands Juniors lost out to St. Patricks Ballyragget in the opening round of the Junior A Championship on a disappointing night in Gowran on Saturday night.
Playing against a very strong wind during the opening half, Young Irelands got off to an excellent start with a Ben Phelan goal in the third minute.
The Ballyragget men replied with a point, before points from a long distance free by Paddy Langton and a closer range free by Ben Phelan put them four points ahead. 1-2 to 0-1.
St. Patricks replied again with a goal to bring them level by the midway point of the first-half(1-2 each), and it was score for score for the remainder as Young Irelands led 1-6 to 1-5 at half-time as Ben Phelan added four further points(0-3 frees) to give them the advantage by the minimum at the interval.
The highlight of that first-half was an amazing save by Jason Brennan who dived full stretch to deny St. Patricks a certain goal.
It was one of the saves of the year.
With the strong wind behind them for the second-half, Young Irelands were in a very strong position but unfortunately it didn’t work out that away.
They were struggling to make an impact as the game got very scrappy. Instead, it was the Ballyragget men who were starting to dominate and they scored 1-2 without reply to put them four points ahead by the 40th minute. 2-7 to 1-6.
However, Young Irelands replied with two points from their half-back line courtesy of a Paddy Langton free and Bobbie Brennan from play from long distance to halve the deficit(2-7 to 1-8), before Daniel Manning with a point from play left just the mimimum between the teams (2-7 to 1-9) as the final quarter beckoned.
St. Patricks replied with a brace of points to stretch the lead to three points(2-9 to 1-9), before Young Irelands came back again with points from a Ben Phelan free and Gavin Manning with a superb effort. 2-9 to 1-11.
With about 10 minutes remaining St. Patricks got their third goal that proved significant(3-9 to 1-11), and despite Young Irelands battling to the end with points from two Ben Phelan frees and long distance effort by Paddy Langton, the Ballyragget men held on for a deserved triumph.
In truth, they were far greater value for their victory than the final margin suggested.
They shot 10 wides and would have won by a greater margin only for the brilliance of Jason Brennan who denied the opposition three certain goals.
Paddy Langton gave another top class performance at Centre-Back, while Bobbie Brennan and Ben Phelan stood out.
However, too many of Young Irelands players didn’t perform to their capability considering the good form they showed during the league.
YOUNG IRELANDS:
Jason Brennan, Michael Lennon, Sean Middleton, Martin Carter, Bobby Brennan (0-1), Paddy Langton (0-3 frees), Charlie Fitzgerald, Diarmuid Langton, Jimmy Lennon, Patrick Brennan, Gavin Manning(0-1), Ben Phelan (1-8 0-7 frees), Daniel Manning(0-1), Conor Fitzpatrick, Peter Hutchinson,
Referee: Paul Hunston
JUNIORS F TEAM LOSE OUT IN EXTRA-TIME FOLLOWING BRAVE EFFORT
JJ KAVANAGH & SONS JUNIOR F HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1
Young Irelands Gowran 1-20
Mullinavat 2-20
After Extra-Time
An absorbing contest in Gowran on Sunday evening saw the Young Irelands Junior F Team endure heartbreak after extra-time as they lost to Mullinavat in the first round of the Junior F Championship.
Having trailed by 6 points after about 40 minutes, Young Irelands fought back and a wonder goal from goalkeeper turned forward Davy Carter in stoppage time appeared to have given them victory, but a last gasp long distance Mullinavat free forced extra-time in which they emerged victorious.
The Gowran men made a bright start, and they led 0-3 to 0-1 after 10 minutes with points from Jack Blagriff, Paul Kinsella & Davy Holland.
Mullinavat replied with a goal(1-1 to 0-3) and after Blagriff pointed a ’65 to level matters, Mullinavat replied again with a brace of points to lead by two points at midway point of first-half. 1-3 to 0-4.
Both teams exchanged points twice to remain level as superb efforts from a Jack Blagriff free and Ciaran Byrne near the sideline added to Young Irelands account, before Mullinavat finished the half with three consecutive points to lead 1-7 to 0-7 at half-time.
The South Kilkenny men added three further points to stretch their lead further (1-10 to 0-7), before Young Irelands responded with three consecutive points from Rob Dunne, Blagriff (0-2 free and ’65) to halve the deficit (1-10 to 0-10).
Mullinavat appeared to have taken control as they responded with a second goal to go 6 points clear (2-10 to 0-10), but huge credit to Young Irelands who fought gallantly in an attempt to retrieve the situation.
Five consecutive points narrowed the advantage to just a solitary point with a few minutes remaining as Jack Blagriff (0-3 0-2 frees), Thomas Drennan & Thomas Carroll all found the range to put Mullinavat on the ropes. 2-11 to 0-16.
Mullinavat steadied the ship with a brace of points sandwiched in between another point from Thomas Drennan to lead by two points(2-13 to 0-17) as the match had entered stoppage.
However, Davy Carter came up with a moment of magic that appeared to have given them victory, but almost immediately Mullinavat levelled from a long distance free and the match went into extra-time. 2-14 to 1-17
Both sides scored two 0-2 each in the first period of extra-time as the match remained deadlocked(2-16 to 1-19), with Jack Blagriff pointing another free while Thomas Carroll also found the range.
Davy Holland – who was reintroduced as a substitute in extra-time – struck over a brilliant individual point following a scintillating solo run to level matters after Mullinavat had gone ahead again, but the South Kilkenny men had the final say with three unanswered points as they closed out the game.
It was a trojan effort by Young Irelands who fought manfully particularly when 6 points behind midway through the second-half.
They played with ferocious spirit & determination that was epitomized particularly by Bailey Byrne who was superb at corner-back.
Jack Glendon gave another solid outing at full-back, Jack Kennedy Byrne worked trojanly in midfield, while Player-Manager Thomas Drennan and Jack Blagriff with his prolific accuracy from frees led the way in attack.
YOUNG IRELANDS: Davy Carter(1-0), CJ Delaney Tobin, Jack Glendon, Bailey Byrne, Dylan Doyle, Jonathan Dunphy. Kevin Quinlan, Jack Kennedy Byrne, Paul Kinsella (0-1), Thomas Drennan (0-3), Thomas Carroll(0-2), Jack Blagriff (0-10 0-7 frees 0-1’65), Rob Dunne, Kieran Byrne(0-1), Davy Holland (0-2)
Referee: Brandon Power
SIX OF THE BEST FOR JUVENILES
Both the Young Irelands U-13 & Minor B teams recorded emphatic victories as they scored 6 goals in their respective matches over the weekend.
The U-13s had a 6-10 to 1-6 win away to James Stephens, while the Minor B Team had a 6-15 to 2-5 win away to Mullinavat.
GOLF CLASSIC AT GOWRAN PARK
On Tues 18th July a Golf Classic will be held at Gowran Park to help raise funds for The Kilkenny competing in next Sunday’s All-Ireland Final.
Team of 3 will cost €150. There will be a number of prizes on the day. Tee times from Carmel Kenny on 087-6680084 or the Supporters Club or any officer of the County Board.
