Nenagh Hockey Club

Under 18 Girls: Nenagh 5-0 Clonakilty

Nenagh’s Under 18 side took to the Thurles pitch to take on Clonakilty in the Munster League.

Clonakilty, sitting fourth in the table, were on the hunt for some much-needed points. Nenagh, on the other hand, are top of the league and were keen not to leak any points against a solid Clonakilty side.

Nenagh started well and immediately put the visitors under pressure winning a short corner. A pass from Katya Shorten was tapped in by Jane Carroll to open the scoring. The home side had several other chances in the opening quarter, but the Clonakilty goalkeeper made some fantastic saves to keep the score at 1-0.

Nenagh failed to convert several chances in the second quarter with the post denying the forwards on a couple of occasions. The score remained 1-0 heading into half time with Clonakilty growing into the game having believed that they had weather the storm.

Nenagh, however, found another gear in the second half and with some good solid passing and skill they went on to score two goals in quick succession from the sticks of Shorten and Ruby Benn. A further goal by Sophie Tooher ended any hope the Cork side had of gaining a foothold and Nenagh went on to win comfortably with another goal from Shorten sealing a 5-0 win.

The girls face a tougher challenge next weekend when they play in Dungarvan on the old-fashioned grit pitch in Waterford. The team will be keen to play well on the difficult surface which has proven to be a real leveller for visiting teams this season.

Under 16 Girls: Nenagh 2-2 Cork CofI

Nenagh renewed rivalry with Cork CofI at the weekend, the visitors still smarting from the recent loss to Nenagh in the Munster Cup two weekends ago and so a tight game was on the cards as the match got underway in the spring sunshine in Thurles.

Nenagh started strongly and camped out in the oppositions D. The pressure was rewarded when they won a short-corner. The set-piece was executed well and Hollie O’Brien opened the scoring with a clever tap-in. Sensing that the visitors were unsettled, Nenagh continued to press forward, winning another short corner which was defended well by CofI. The Cork side began to string some nice passes together as they grew into the game and went in search of an equaliser. A solid Nenagh defensive trio Kate Quigley, Hannah Delaney and Isabelle Hegarty cleared wave after wave of sustained attack until the whistle blew marking the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 started with CofI on the attack. They were awarded a short corner for a foul in the D which was cleared brilliantly by Hannah Delaney who had a great game at the back. Nenagh countered with a series of crisp clean passes to Lauren Grace who laid on a beautiful clever pass to Tina Vuyk whose strike went just wide. With minutes to go in the half, the Cork side mounted the pressure on Nenagh, and they took their chance to equalise when they were awarded a short-corner which they executed well to level heading into half time.

With the momentum behind them, CofI looked to take the lead in the opening minutes of the second half and their pressure resulted in being awarded a short corner. Nenagh goalkeeper Isabelle Smith made a terrific save to keep the sides level and swing the momentum back to the home side. Zara Byrne and Hannah Delaney worked well together to drive forward, and Byrne sent a great pass to Hollie O’Brien whose shot on goal was saved brilliantly by the CofI keeper. Nenagh kept pressing forward and were awarded another short corner minutes later. The set-piece was executed flawlessly with Jennifer Kennedy striking the ball well to the back of the net, giving the girls in white the lead heading into the final quarter.

Both teams played some lovely hockey with great passing and strong running on the wings. The action was end-to-end, and both teams had chances. It wasn't until the dying minutes that CofI were awarded a short-corner which gave them the perfect platform to level. Much to the disappointment of the Nenagh supporters the Cork side equalised. The final whistle blew shortly thereafter with the score 2-2 on what was a very tight affair.

“A super match again today with great goals scored by Hollie and Jennifer. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t hold out for the win, but a draw is still a great result against such a strong CofI side,” said coach Nanno Vuyk. The team’s next fixture is away to Kinsale next weekend.

Under 14 Boys: Nenagh 6-1 Cork Harlequins

Nenagh’s Under 14 Boys took to the field in Thurles to take on Cork Harlequins in the Munster Junior League.

Nenagh currently sit top of the table, but the visitors are a skilful side with some strong players and so the stage was set for a tight game. Despite being down a few players due to injury, the Nenagh side started well and distributed the ball cleanly. They were well matched by the visitors, and it was end to end hockey for the opening quarter. Harlequins had their chances and some good goalkeeping by Ruairí Slattery denied them an opportunity to open the scoring. Nenagh also had their chances but sent some shots just wide of the goal. The team began to settle into the game and some strong running by Oisin Muelhausen on the wing allowed a nice pass back inside to Andy Kennedy who finished with a great shot to open the scoring. The Cork side immediately counter-attacked on the restart and some good solid defence from Hugo Stanley and Jack Hourigan kept Nenagh ahead.

Quarter 2 was end to end with both teams having shots on goal and both goalkeepers needing to make saves. Harlequins scored in the eighth minute of the second quarter to level the game but a second goal from Andy Kennedy in the dying minutes of the quarter gave the home side a boost heading into half time.

Nenagh started the second half well and started to open up the visitors defence with some strong running and wide passing on the wing. A lovely ball sent by Harry Rynhart to the forwards ended in a goalmouth scramble where Jacob Ryan did well to tap the ball in to score giving Nenagh 3-1 lead.

Nenagh tackled well all game and robbed the opposition on the restart. Dylan Cleary and Iarlaith Ely-Elebert did well to pass the ball wide and Kennedy & Ryan combined well again with Ryan scoring a wonderful goal in a move straight from the training ground. To their credit, the Cork side kept pressing for go forward ball. Juandre Webb was solid in defence and tackled well to slow down Harlequins as they tried to get their shot away. Nenagh were now beginning to find gaps in the Cork defence as the visitors made substitutions and lost some of their shape. Kennedy who was tireless in attack slotted in two further goals in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Nenagh had several more chances saved by the Cork defence in the fourth quarter but one final score by Kennedy brought the final score to 6-1. The final game in the league takes place in Thurles next weekend against Cork CofI.

Other Teams

There was more action on Sunday for the Boys teams as both U9s & 11s played in Catholic Institute. The U12 girls were also in action in Thurles in a Munster Blitz where Nenagh fielded three strong teams.