James Stephens on top against against Graigue Ballycallan in Under 21 Hurling Semi-Final

James Stephens produced a classy display as they beat Graigue-Ballycallan to book their place in the JJ Kavanagh and Sons Under 21 A hurling championship final.

Goals from Stephen Manogue, Ed McDermott and Zak Scanlon gave the Village the edge in a game they controlled from start to finish.

In total, the city side had eight different scorers which was in contrast to Graigue Ballycallan who relied almost entirely on Aaron McEvoy, and while the former St Kieran’s College student excelled with 1-8, he was never going to win the game on his own.

The loss of Jeff Neary to a second half injury and Ben Young to a late red card didn’t help matters for Ballycallan but they were also hugely wasteful in front of goal with their wide tallies going well into double figures.

James Stephens came into the game on the back of a quarter-final success over Young Irelands and they included eight starters from the side that beat Dicksboro in the minor final last month.

One of those young stars, Ed McDermott, was quickly into his stride when he got the first goal of the game after only three minutes, calmly shooting past Sean McGrath on the back of Sam McEvoy making a storming break up the field.

An Aaron McEvoy free had earlier given Graigue Ballycallan the lead but by the seventh minute it was the Village who looked in real control when McDermott’s goal was followed up by quickfire points from Daniel Ring, Stephen Manogue and Ed Lauhoff.

McEvoy kept the beaten side in touch with a free and a 65 before Ryan Corcoran hit a goalbound effort into the side-netting, while Eoghan Cahill had an effort well hooked by a defender.

Those opportunities would have given Graigue Ballycallan a huge boost, but with the Village registering 1-1 without reply afterwards, the Kells Road outfit raced eight points clear.

A Stephen Manogue 65 got the momentum going for James Stephens before the free-taker was involved alongside Ed McDermott as they set up Zac Scanlon for their second goal in the 21st minute.

Both goalkeepers played their part in an entertaining half with Sean McGrath stopping Stephen Manogue when he tried to dink the sliotar over his head while Daniel Power was even more impressive when producing a point-blank save to deny Ryan Corcoran who looked destined to get Ballycallan’s opening goal.

With Manogue knocking over three more points before the end of the half, James Stephens held a big advantage as they led 2-9 to 0-5 at the break.

James Stephens’ third goal of the day then arrived within seven minutes of the restart as Manogue took advantage of loose defending to score and while McEvoy got a goal of his own a couple of minutes later, the final quarter was all one-way traffic as the winners set up a final against Bennettsbridge or Dicksboro.

Teams and Scorers

James Stephens - Stephen Manogue (1-8, 0-5 frees and 0-2 65s); Ed McDermott (1-2); Zac Scanlon (1-0); Ed Lauhoff (0-3); Daniel Ring (0-2); Oisin Bateman, Sean Bergin, Paddy Kehoe (0-1 each).

Graigue-Ballycallan - Aaron McEvoy (1-8, 0-3 frees and 0-1 65); Eoghan Cahill (0-1).

James Stephens - Daniel Power; Stephen Power-Kellett, Adam O’Connor, Dara Behan; Noah Manogue, Sam McEvoy, Oisin Bateman; Eoin Deely, Sean Bergin; Stephen Manogue, Sean Deely, Ed Lauhoff; Zac Scanlon, Ed McDermott, Daniel Ring.

Subs: Bill McDermott for Ring, 40 mins; Sean Casey for Scanlon, 40 mins; Bill Whelan for McEvoy, 42 mins; Paddy Kehoe for Bergin, 50 mins; Conor Heffernan for Power-Kellett, 55 mins.

Graigue-Ballycallan - Sean McGrath; Shane Comerford, Ryan Cody, Billy Dowling; Jack Butler, Billy O’Neill, Dean O’Brien; Jeff Neary, Conor Walton; Sean Roberts, Patrick Foley; Eoghan Cahill; Ben Young, Aaron McEvoy, Ryan Corcoran. Sub: Paidi Egan for Neary, 37 mins.

Referee: Peter Burke (Emeralds)