Kilbrittain 3-19
Nemo Rangers 1-10
JJ HURLEY REPORTS
KILBRITTAIN blitzed Nemo Rangers with a devastating three-goal burst inside the opening ten minutes and never looked back, cruising to victory in Riverstown on Friday night.
The Carbery side’s fast start floored Nemo and sealed Kilbrittain’s place in the Co-op Superstores Premier Junior A Hurling Championship semi-finals – they await the winner of the quarter-final between Ballygarvan and St Catherines.
It could have been even worse for Nemo. A ninth-minute Kilbrittain goal was ruled out after the referee recalled play, and Conor O’Donovan produced a brilliant 26th-minute stop to deny Conor Hogan a hat-trick.
Despite the emphatic nature of the win, Kilbrittain manager Joe Ryan wasn’t getting carried away afterwards.
‘We got out of the group which is good, and we’ve a semi-final, which is also good – but we’ll have a look at the quarter-finals. We didn’t get out of the group last year, so as regards promotion, we’re a million miles away from that,’ he insisted.
Ryan was pleased with the energy and sharpness his team showed, especially in the opening exchanges.
‘The lads started very well, they took their goals brilliantly. The conditions were perfect for hurling, and all the forwards worked very hard. There were chances in other games we didn’t take, but in fairness to the lads, they took them tonight,’ he said.
That whirlwind start effectively decided the contest. By the tenth minute, Kilbrittain were 3-1 to 0-2 in front, with Hogan striking twice and Philip Wall also raising a green flag. Josh O’Donovan tacked on two fine points, one a monster effort from distance, as the Carbery men carved through Nemo’s defence at will.
At the back, Kilbrittain were just as assured. Aaron Holland anchored a watertight defence at centre-back, and by the 24th minute the scoreboard read 3-6 to 0-5, with Ronan Crowley landing a classy score off his left.
The pressure was relentless. Before half-time, Hogan, O’Donovan and Luke Griffin added further points, leaving Nemo trailing 3-10 to 0-5 at the interval.
There was no respite on the restart. Mark Hickey split the posts twice in quick succession, while Nemo’s Eoin Kelly did manage to respond with a point. But the trend was set – Kilbrittain kept the scoreboard ticking over while Nemo struggled to break down their disciplined rearguard.
By the 51st minute, Kilbrittain had stretched the gap to 3-17 to 0-9, with Griffin, O’Donovan and Hickey all on target. At the other end, Davis Desmond pulled off a superb save to again deny Hogan his hat-trick.
The final ten minutes were played at a slower tempo, with the result long beyond doubt. Colm Sheehan and Wall added late points, while Nemo finally found a goal through John Kearney. It was little more than consolation, though, as Kilbrittain closed out a commanding win.
OUR STAR: It was a close call between Josh O’Donovan and Conor Hogan, but corner-forward Hogan just edges it for his ruthless finishing in front of goal.
Scorers
Kilbrittain: C Hogan 2-2; P Wall 1-2; M Hickey 0-5 (3f); J O’Donovan 0-4; L Griffin, R Crowley 0-2 each; C Sheehan, C Ustianowski 0-1 each.
Nemo Rangers: S Horgan 0-5 (4f); J Kearney 1-0; C Hogan 0-3; J Cogan, B O’Neill 0-1 each.
Kilbrittain: D Desmond; D Considine, J Hurley, E O’Neill; T Sheehan, A Holland, C Sheehan; S Sexton, J O’Donovan; M Hickey, P Wall, R Crowley; C Hogan, L Griffin, T Harrington.
Subs: C Ustianowski for T Sheehan (40), N O’Donovan for J O’Donovan (50).
Nemo Rangers: O O’Connell; J Cowhig, C O’Donovan, C O’Neill; B O’Neill, A O’Donovan, G Barrett; A Cronin, E Kelly; E Dilloughrey, B Cripps, C Horgan; A Petrov, R Dalton, S Horgan.
Subs: E Kelly for A Petrov (ht), J Kearney for A Cronin (41), J Lyns for J Cowhig (42).
Referee: E Coleman (Youghal).
