Intermediate Hurling Championship Round-up
By Shane Brophy
GROUP 1
Golden Kilfeacle made it two wins from two with a 0-19 to 0-16 win over Clonoulty/Rossmore in Bansha on Sunday. Jack Leamy top-scored with eleven points, three from play, for the victors as did Ben Currivan.
Ballybacon/Grange recorded one of the biggest upsets of the weekend with a come from behind 2-12 to 0-15 win over Cappawhite.
GROUP 2
Borrisokane 1-26 Skeheenarinky 4-11
Borrisokane recorded their first win with a six point victory over Skeheenarinky in Cappawhite on Sunday.
Philip Austin scored a first half goal while Liam Cleary was impressive from wing back with three points from as they led 1-13 to 2-4 at half time with Tomas Vaughan to the fore for the South men.
Borrisokane kept the scoreboard ticking over in the second half with Conor Ryan and Oisin Larkin impressing but needed a late save from Barry Ryan to prevent a grandstand finish.
In the other game, Ballingarry edged out Kilsheelan/Kilcash 2-17 to 4-10 with Conor Vaughan’s late free proving to be the winner. Vaughan and Dylan Walsh scored second half goals for the maroons who conceded three first half goals but a red card for Mark Kehoe hampered Kilsheelan in the second half.
GROUP 3
Portroe 1-28 Arravale Rovers 1-19
A strong first half performance helped Portroe maintain their unbeaten start in the group with a nine point win over Arravale Rovers in Newport on Saturday.
Jack Moloney’s tenth minute goal set the tone as Sam Madden and the returning AJ Willis did a lot of the damage on the scoreboard with ten points between them from play.
Port led 1-16 to 0-7 at half time but The second half was a more even affair as Arravale took three points out of the deficit, but John Sheehy and Robert Byrne kept the scoreboard ticking over for the victors with Sean O’Mahony’s 1-12 a notable contribution for the West men.
Shannon Rovers 2-17 Drom & Inch 0-19
Shannon Rovers booked a place in the knockout stage with a hard earned four point win over Drom & Inch in Nenagh on Sunday.
Drom settled straight from the throw in and within three minutes were up 0-3 to 0-1. When Rovers did get going it was nip and tuck all the way with both teams exchanging scores regularly. The half time score was Shannon Rovers 1-8 Drom & Inch 0-11, the goal coming from Eamon Hough.
Throughout the second half, the Rovers increased their dominance, and this was rewarded with a second goal from Hough. Drom kept the pressure on until the final whistle, but the Rovers defence was resolute.
Eamon Hough turned in a man of the match display amassing 2-4 from play. Others to shine were Oisin McMahon and Conor Ryan in defence, up front Conal Moran and Austin Tierney were a constant threat. Drom had fine performances from Paul Bergin, Jack Lillis, and Aidan O’Meara.
GROUP 4
Moneygall 4-22 Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams 1-21
Moneygall pulled away in the second half to defeat Knockavilla Kickhams by ten points at The Ragg on Friday.
This was a very keenly contested game from the very start with both sets of attackers causing plenty of problems. A five minute spell either side of half time proved the difference. The first half ended with a Joe Fogarty goal in injury time to send Moneygall into the break leading 2-11 to 1-11.
Paddy Fogarty sent Moneygall further in front at the start of the second half with another goal. Immediately, Ciarán Quinlan made an excellent save to prevent what looked like a certain goal for Knockavilla.
Both teams had good spells for the rest of the game, but Moneygall just about deserved their win. Best for Moneygall were Ciarán Quinlan, Cathal Greene, Aodhán Ryan, while the three Fogarty brothers (3-13 between them) and Sean Kenneally (1-6) were best up front.
Knockavilla proved they will be a match for any team with good performances from Eoin Horgan, Ben Loughman, Paudie Slattery, Davy Butler and Elliot Thompson.
In the other game in the group, despite scoring just one point in the first half, Carrick Davins scored 3-9 in the second to beat Upperchurch/Drombane 3-10 to 3-9 in Cahir.