Cobh GAA Notes 07-04013

U15 Hurling : Castlelyons 5-10 , Cobh 4-3

Following their success last year in winning the U14 County title our U15 Hurlers had their first official outing this year in Castlelyons,  a familiar trip over the years.  (I wonder have this group of lads  ever played hurling  against Castlelyons in Cobh ?). Castlelyons also won a county title at U12 level and have since gone on to become one of the more established teams at the premier 2 level. Following some last minute phone calls we travelled with 15 players, short 10 (6 starters) from the panel that participated in last years county final and this was to take its toll before the end. Castlelyons were also short a few players,  as last minute phone calls were made to complete their starting 15. We started well and a Ciaran Leahy goal saw Cobh with an early lead. By half time Castlelyons had taken a small lead 1-5 to 1-2 but we were well in the game.

The early second half saw a two quick goals for Castlelyons, but these were immediately answered by two very similar, quick Cobh goals  for Cobh by Ciaran Leahy and Adam O’Donovan. The significant difference at this stage was that Castlelyons were also adding a few points and stretching their lead a little. Meanwhile Cobh were struggling to add points from play and relied mainly on frees for their 3 points (Ciaran Leahy 2, Pádí Kearney 1).  We had several lads playing in unfamiliar positions and injuries required us to make further unexpected changes. Conor Hogan had been making a significant impact at midfield since moving there at the start of the second half, but when he had to retire following an injury to his elbow we were reduced to 14 players. At this stage Castlelyons were able to step up a gear but strong defending at this stage limited Castlelyons to additional points. Our 14 players continued to press hard and this was rewarded with a late goal by Sean Hilliard.

In particular we would like thank the lads who stood up  to take on the unfamiliar roles as we seek to reorganise the team. In this game all 15 players gave every effort, but in particular the displays (in several positions) by Jeffrey McCarthy, Edward lane and Conor Hogan stood out. Next up for this group is a home fixture on Tuesday 16^th April against Father O’Neills, another team we are familiar with from past Johnny Leahy blitz’s and U10 and U12 matches.

Cobh Overcome Castlemartyr in their opening Imokilly/Avondhu Hurling League Match

Perfect conditions for Hurling were available yesterday as Cobh and Castlemartyr did battle in the Imokilly/Avondhu Hurling League and the skills on show did not disappoint spectators.

Cobh started the brighter of the two teams and hurled plenty ball into the forward line with some brilliant positioning and fieldwork from Cian Spriggs and Brian Aherne. The Cobh forward line looked hungry and Lee Murphy and Adam Mac stuck some lovely points from the right side of the field. 

Cobh’s defenders also looked strong in what one might say was an unfamiliar cast but all of them carried out their task proficiently, Stephen Kearney notably striking a lot of ball. Cobh took the slight edge in the first half when Cian Spriggs broke from midfield and struck a low shot at goal. The Castlemartyr keeper failed to deal with the bouncing ball and Cobh found the net to hold a small advantage approaching half time.

The second half started just as the first with some nice, hard and fair hurling from both teams. Lee Murphy continued his good form scoring from both play and frees. Cobh’s discipline could have been better which resulted in Castlemartyr never being too far adrift as Lawton was deadly with his positioned balls. 

Castlemartyr got themselves back into the game when they broke from the half forward line in a Killkenny style goal where it was three attackers on one defender and the waiting attacker didn’t fail to disappoint the locals. 

Cobh answered with a goal of their own when Lee Murphy cut a ball in from the wing right into the danger zone and Adam Mac was there to flick the sliotar into the net. Alan Tierney scored an immense point in the closing stages after catching a great ball and substitute Jack Ronan also added to the scoresheet. An impressive statistic now being reached as all of Cobh’s attackers getting on the scoreboard.

A nervy finish was in store for both teams as the game was levelled with minutes to go. “Chucky” McGrath, who was superb on the day, picked out the ball to Lee Murphy on the wing and won a great free to give Cobh the chance to go the minimum ahead. Lee stepped up to the plate and delivered but this game was to have one more turn before the close. Cobh conceded a free on the left hand side of the field and poor discipline again prompted the ref to move the ball in closer to goal. However Castlemartyr failed to point the free which luckily allowed Cobh to notch their opening win in the 2013 league campaign. A great team performance from the harbour men, lets hope they can continue this form going forward in the league.

Players to play well for Cobh: Stephen Kearney, Martin O Connor, Cian Spriggs, Lee Murphy & Adam McCarthy.