UNDER 14 HURLING
Under 14s Narrowly Beaten in Final Thriller
Warrenpoint 1-4 Liatriom 0-10
Scorers:
Conleth Conway 0-2 [All frees]
Malachy Caldwell 0-1
Jamie Grant 0-1
Brian “Og” Murphy 1-0
Team
- Daryl Freer
- Ruari Caldwell
- Adain “Joe” Devlin
- Tiernan Conway
- Brian “Og” Murphy
- Jamie Grant
- Colin O’Hare
- Malachy Caldwell
- Jason Gray [Captain]
- Thomas O’Hare
- Conleth Conway
- Gareth O’Hare
- Gary McShane
- Michael Rodgers
- Cathal McGivern
- Danny Elwell [came on for Cathal McGivern]
Man Of The Match: Jamie Grant
On a wind-swept and open pitch both teams served up a thriller for the crowd in attendance, with a solitary score the difference between the teams. It’s tough on the Under 14s and indeed the whole of underage who have all lost their Championship matches with one puck of the ball, but they can certainly hold their heads up high for an extremely hard fought and evenly contested game played in the very best of spirits.
Captain Jason Gray lost the toss and was given the wind as advantage in the first half, but it was Liatriom who started the brighter, carving up space in the half back line, and popping over two very fine scores in the third and 8th minute. It didn’t take long however for Warrenpoint to respond, a finely taken score from the dead ball by Conleth in the 12th minute brought a point between the teams. A lovely hand pass by Gareth O’Hare put midfielder Malachy Caldwell in space and he calmly knocked the ball over the bar. This led to a good period of dominance for the Blues as the wind was keeping the ball in Liatriom’s half. Conleth Conway was growing in stature and was causing all sorts of problems for the opponents defence and it was only some superb goalkeeping that prevented him from scoring a major in the 16th minute. He did however knock over another free two minutes later to put the Blues a point up. However Liatriom responded with a fine point from their outstanding midfielder “stumpy”.
In the last ten minutes of the first half Warrenpoint bombarded the Liatriom defence and came out with the two best scores of the match, both coming from their half-backs. First up was Brian Og, outstanding in the first half, who bombed forward with the ball and drove a fantastic shot into the back of the net. Next up was Jamie Grant, whose power and drive led to a man of the match display. He collected the ball in the middle of the park with literally a minute left on the clock and smashed it over the bar to give Warrenpoint a 4 point lead. However the management knew that they faced a difficult second half, and a total of 9 wides were extremely disappointing.
The second half started with the wind picking up in its ferocity, and Liatriom started like a train on fire. In the first 12 minutes they knocked over 5 scores to take a point lead, which they never lost. It would have been all different if Conleth’s super shot wasn’t saved by Liatriom’s star keeper. However Daryl Freer was providing some heroics of his own, pulling off a wonderful save with ten minutes remaining to keep the Point in the game. Liatriom knocked over another free to give them a 2 point lead with 8 minutes remaining. Warrenpoint threw everything at their defence, with another spectacular save from their keeper with just two minutes on the clock, a save that surely won the game for the Blues, as they counter-attacked and drove another point over the bar to seal the game for Liatriom.
It was a disappointing defeat but the management took a lot of positives from the game. Their full back line with Ruari Caldwell, Joe Devlin and Tiernan Conway were outstanding, with keeper Daryl Freer stopping anything that went behind them. Not to concede a goal, especially facing a torrent of pressure in the second half, was a fantastic achievement. In midfield Jason Gray led the team by example, showing drive and passion and experience beyond his years. Jamie Grant was a rock at centre-half back. Certainly playing second row for Abbey Rugby Team has helped, as his strength and power were noticeable from the start!
The only gripe was the time and venue of the game, something which I’m sure the Liatriom team would empathise with. It’s difficult to see how the match was scheduled for so early a time using a council pitch and hardly helps the promotion of hurling in the area. Indeed even the Down representative remarked that he was surprised to attend the match, which says a lot!
Many heartfelt congratulations must go the Liatriom, who contributed to an enthralling contest. They have a fine young team that play some lovely open hurling and have many a star in the making.
The management were delighted with the effort of all the players, and would like to thank them for their efforts throughout the year. With three cousins and two sets of brothers on the pitch they produced a really close-knit team that will hopefully form a successful under 16 team in a couple of years time. With 5 under 12s on the panel they can take their experience and improve considerably, and there’s no knowing what they can achieve with a bit of graft.
The management would of course like to thank Hughes for the generous support and sponsorship throughout the year, without which they would struggle to survive.
Match Report Liam Rice
U-14 B Championship (commencing week beginning 13 May)
A. St Patricks v. Castlewellan
B. Bredagh v. Liatroim
C. Warrenpoint v. Carryduff
D. Clonduff v. Newry Shamrocks
Semi Finals (Cup/Shield) B v. A; D v. C
Under 14s begin season with Down Feile in Castlewellan
Mentors: Kieran Rice, Dermot Baxter, Mark Rafferty
Team: 1. D Freer, 2. R Caldwell, 3. J Gray, 4. C Flett, 5. B Og Murphy, 6.A Devlin, 7. E McMahon, 8. C Conway, 9. M Caldwell, 10. C O’Hare, 11. J Grant, 12. N McGovern, 13. G Mcshane, 15. C McGivern
Game 1: Vs Clonduff 0-0 to 1-2
A low scoring but very competitive game against eventual winners Clonduff. Half-time score was 0-0 to 0-2, with both scores coming from frees. The second half was a much more cagy affair, with Warrenpoint piling on the pressure, but nearly a dozen wides from play meant they couldn’t get in the game. To compound matters Clonduff went up the pitch and scored a soft goal, lowering the heads of the young Point players.
Man of the match for the Point would have to by Ruairi Caldwell playing in the full back line.
Game 2: Vs Liatroim 0-4 to 2-1
A much more physical game and a vast improvement from the previous game. There was some great link up play and scores from G McShane, Niall McGovern and Jamie Grant. Liatrom’s first goal was superb play on their behalf, but the second goal which won the game was from a rather harsh referring decision.
Overview
Clearly match practice is needed for the team but the fundamentals are there and will improve over time. Ruarí Caldwell has to get a special mention as he was excellent throughout and certainly a star for the future. Managers Kieran and Dermot encourage all players to get out to training on Wednesdays and Saturdays to really work on their game for the long season ahead.
