Nenagh Hockey Club

Under 14 Girls: Wintry conditions coupled with an orange weather warning for wind caused the cancellation of the girls Under 14 fixture against Cashel New Inn on Saturday.

Under 16 Girls: Nenagh 1-3 Limerick

Fortunately, the slightly later Under 16 girls fixture was deemed fit to go ahead. On arrival at the Ursuline Thurles, some goalposts had shifted and were buckled but the match pitch goals were still thankfully in place.

Nenagh were short strong players in key positions for this return leg match against Limerick which gave coaches and management some tough decisions to make on strategy and player management.

Storm Darragh was still making her presence felt as the whistle blew. Limerick held possession well in the opening minutes with Nenagh looking hesitant to tackle, giving Limerick lots of time and space with which to pass the ball. They quickly capitalised on Nenagh's sluggish start and some clean passing gave them great field position within the home side’s D. A shot on goal was deflected but the ball eventually went over the line despite the best attempts of goalkeeper Lauren Gavin.

Limerick again stole possession from the Nenagh restart and mounted another wave of attack. They were allowed to travel a good distance without being tackled giving them ample opportunity to distribute the ball and gain precious yards and field position. Before long Limerick were again in the Nenagh D, were fouled and awarded a short corner. The Nenagh defensive runners were slow to react off the line once the ball was hit allowing Limerick to advance on the goal and score their second goal.

Nenagh may have hoped to come out in the second quarter more alert and focused but Limerick still looked the more hungry for the ball. They were quick to tackle and rob possession and their midfielders chased Nenagh down on each go forward ball. Lorna Ryan made several runs but was tackled well by a solid Limerick defence. Following one such run, Limerick launched a counter-attack and again made quick yards to find themselves within scoring position. Nenagh conceded another short corner which Limerick took well. Again, a slow defensive run out allowed the Limerick players ample time to pick their shot and they scored their third goal.

When the whistle blew for half time Nenagh were starting to find gaps in the Limerick defence and some space on the wings. Taking back to the field for the second half the Nenagh girls, looked more purposeful and energetic and keen to reduce the deficit.

Some great running by Lorna Ryan with some intelligent support from Lauren Grace opened up some opportunities for Nenagh to get into the opposition D. Limerick were very strong in defence and their sweeper snuffed out wave after wave of Nenagh attack. Although Limerick appeared to be flagging at times, they had several more opportunities to score. Some excellent saves by Lauren Gavin who was solid as goalkeeper and some effective clearances by Clodagh McLoughney kept Limerick out and Nenagh in the game.

Nenagh began to look more threatening going forward in the fourth quarter. Lauren Grace and Lorna Ryan started causing lots of problems for the Limerick midfield and an excellent run by Ryan saw her take her shot in the Limerick D and score.

With still time to look for more scores Nenagh kept pressing forward and won a short corner. The Limerick defensive runners were fast and fearless sprinting at the striker and Nenagh failed to get their shot on target as a result. The whistle blew to end the game shortly thereafter with Limerick winning.

The Nenagh side can take solace in a much improved second half performance where they controlled large amounts of the game. Missing some of their strongest players on the day as well as their slow start ultimately cost them the game. They have a reprieve from matches for several weeks now over the Christmas break and will have plenty of time to train in advance of their next fixture.

Under 14 Boys: Limerick/Ennis 3-4 Nenagh

Conditions on Sunday by contrast were perfect for hockey and it was cold but dry in the late afternoon in Limerick, when Nenagh travelled to Villiers School to take on the joint team of Limerick and Ennis in the last Munster Boys League fixture before the holidays.

Limerick and Ennis elected to join forces this year due to their low numbers. Nenagh's Boys section however is thriving and had a full squad to choose from for the fixture.

With good support from the sidelines and still buoyed from their superb wins in Cork some weeks ago, Nenagh were quietly confident that they could put in a performance. From the first whistle it was evident that the teams were evenly matched and what followed was an end to end contest that could've gone either way. Nenagh for their part looked to spread the ball wide from the get-go but a strong Limerick midfield disrupted much of the go forward ball.

The boys in white looked composed on the ball in the first quarter and Hugo Stanley played some lovely passes into the forward line. One such pass made found Brian Ley who opened the scoring for Nenagh with a cracking strike inside the D.

Limerick rallied immediately and Nenagh goalkeeper Gerard O'Dowd was forced to make saves to keep them ahead. Limerick had some strong players that drew in Nenagh defenders leaving gaps in front of the goal. A swift ball into the D was finished without hesitation by Limerick and the sides drew level.

It was end to end hockey for much of the second quarter but Limerick scored again from a short corner. Frustrated as they were to have let the goal in, Nenagh regrouped and some wide passing to Jacob Ryan on the wing opened up space and Harry Rynhart scored a wonderful goal with some lovely individual skill. It was all level at half time with Nenagh on balance looking the more clinical and threatening of the two sides.

The second half saw goalkeeper Ruairí Slattery don the pads but Nenagh were immediately put under pressure by some quick free taking which was a feature of the Limerick/Ennis play book. Nenagh were caught out of position and had to scramble backwards to defend. In doing so the goalkeeper was blocked from making the save by another Nenagh back and the ball dribbled over the line to give Limerick/Ennis the lead.

From the restart, Nenagh looked focused and worked through a series of passing straight from the training ground. Andy Kennedy went on a blistering run and beat several defenders to score a terrific goal, flicking the ball over the goalie’s head to level the sides.

What followed were a tense few minutes where both goalkeepers were forced to make dramatic diving saves. A rallying shout from the Nenagh captain ignited an attack on the opposition goal and some crisp accurate passing, first out wide to Oisín Muelhausen who then passed the ball back inside to the top of the opposition “D" giving Hugo Stanley a chance on goal. The Captain scored with a lovely strike into the bottom right corner edging Nenagh ahead with minutes to go.

To their credit, Limerick chased for the equaliser, but the Nenagh defence held out and the game ended in a Nenagh win. The Coaching team were delighted with the result: “What a game! Four superb goals to the take the win. We had a ropey patch in the middle but when the chips were down the lads played excellent hockey and worked hard for each other - you can't ask much more than that. Hard luck to the Limerick/Ennis side - they put in a strong performance today and will cause problems for lots of the other teams in the league”.

Fixtures: Next weekend marks the last weekend of action before all teams take a break over the Christmas period.

Two Nenagh teams play away fixtures- the Under 14 girls will travel to Farmers Cross to take on Cork Harlequins at home in what should be a cracking game.

Nenagh's Under 18 Girls take the long trip to Newtown School to take on Waterford HC. Should they be victorious in the Déise they will be unbeaten heading into the second half of the season in 2025 and with the Munster Cup run approaching they will be feeling confident in their chances to retain the Under 18 silverware.

Christmas Party: The wider Club members and supporters will get together in Una Powell's on Friday, 13th December for their annual Christmas party.