Junior E's Still Unbeaten in Championship

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This Junior E Championship game with Skerries Harps at Silverpark on Tuesday 8th June 2011 may go down as the one that got away.  Coming into the game both teams had maximum round robin points from two games.

 

With his first competitive adult puck Caolan Conway put over a free.  Crokes then had the better of exchanges but spurned several chances and conceded a goal to give Skerries a 1-2 to 0-4 lead in the thirteenth minute.  A duet of overs from young Conway seven and nine minutes later regained the lead, 0-6 to 1-2.  From the possession enjoyed it should have been more but the Stillorgan men were unable to put daylight between the sides and the seasiders levelled.  Crokes went one clear again.  Skerries recorded the last two points of the half to leave them 1-5 to 0-7 ahead at tea time.

 

The homesters got the best possible start when a long free by Paddy Tighe was helped to the net by full forward James Byrne within sixty seconds of the resumption.  Over the next ten minutes the Kilmacud team raised one white flag while the Harps raised three to leave the sides on par again at 1-8 each.  There followed a ten minutes score free period during which Crokes failed to capitalise on opportunities.  They then went in front by the minimum only to be reeled in.  Points from Neal Martin and Dara Brennan in the fifty second and fifty fourth minute looked like they would form a base from which to drive on but it was the visitors who got the last two scores to leave it 1-11 at the end.

 

For Crokes the defence could not be faulted with Paddy Tighe, Ronan Egan, Conor  O’Dwyer, substitute Ciaran McIntyre and Adrian Crean in top form.  Caolan Conway was the pick of the forwards.  Overall had the local team taken all their chances and/or been more competitive in some areas the two points would surely have been in the bag.

 

Team:

 

P Tighe, C O’Dwyer, G Hyland, R Egan. C O’Callaghan, A Crean, N McIntyre, A Byrne, S Rouse, I O’Keeffe (0-1), N Martin (0-1), C Conway (0-6, f-3, 65-2), D Brennan (0-2), J Byrne (1-0), C McGrath (0-1).  Subs: C McIntyre for G Hyland (half time), J Parker for C McGrath (43 mins)

Hurling.