Convincing display leads Graig to under-21 glory

A super display saw Graignamanagh claim the under-21 Roinn D title, bridging a 14-year gap since their last under-21 victory, with a convincing win over Conahy Shamrocks.

Graig’s Sean Hamilton, who was superb throughout, scored his side’s opening two scores in the first few minutes, one from a placed ball. It was the 10th minute before Conahy registered a score as Graig’s grit, determination and hard work kept their shackles on their rivals, who managed just two Mark Gunner frees in the opening half.

Graig captain, Jack Ryan, along with Dylan Cahill, directed operations from the back, closing down any number of Conahy attacks. Ryan was instrumental in setting up some of his side’s scores as he fed ball after ball into his forwards, picking out Jack Dunne and Sean Hamilton, who both dodged some serious challenges before scoring.

Ivan Bolger was also working hard at midfield and his pass to Ted Dunne in the 15th minute sailed straight over the crossbar.

On 20 minutes Jack Ryan grabbed a short puckout and took off at pace up field. He was hooked just as he went to strike the ball but he won the ball back and won himself a free which Sean Hamilton duly pointed.

The last five minutes of the first half saw the Graig men extend their lead with two more points from Jack Dunne and one from Ted, all the while shutting down every attack from Conahy (half-time: 0-9 to 0-2).

Graignamanagh came out in the second half as determined as ever to keep the momentum up, attacking every ball with the same intensity throughout. The Conahy men were struggling to keep apace and any hope of mounting a comeback was hampered when they were reduced to 14 men in the 41st minute. From there, Graig drove on and dominated all over the field.

It took 25 seconds from the throw-in for Ted Dunne to score his third point of the afternoon. Steven Kinsella got in on the action when he pointed two in the space of a minute, one from a placed ball inside the 45.

Mark Gunner took aim in the 35th minute and converted another free, but Graig kept the pressure on the Conahy defence. It seemed as if it would only a matter of time before they found the back of the net and that they did in the 40th minute, Ted Dunne picking out Steven Kinsella to rifle the sliotar home.

Conahy never gave up and centre-back Ciarán Rice converted a long range free in the 43rd minute before Mark Gunner, winning his puckout, pointed shortly afterwards. A lineball from Ted Dunne in the 45th minute made its way to Ivan Bolger, who put his name on the scoresheet. Substitute Pierce Blanchfield’s introduction paid dividends when he found the back of the net from a long range strike from Jack Ryan.

Graignamanagh were well out of reach now and Jack Dunne added two more points to extend his side’s lead even further and bring his tally to an impressive five points on the day. A second goal from Pierce Blanchfield in the dying minutes was the icing on the cake as they closed out the game comprehensive winners.

Teams and Scorers

Graignamanagh - Bill O’Shea; Michael O’Neill, Jack Ryan (capt), Gavin Kielthy; Kian Murphy, Dylan Cahill, Fintan Gahan; Ivan Bolger (0-1), Sean Hamilton (0-4, 0-2 frees); Ted Dunne (0-3), Jack Dunne (0-5), Nicky Ryan; Steven Kinsella (1-2, 0-1 free), Colin Hamilton, Joe O’Neill (vice capt).

Subs: Pierce Blanchfield (2-0) for Joe O’Neill, Oran Canning for Colin Hamilton, Abhainn Flood for Gavin Kielthy, Sean O’Neill for Nicky Ryan, Paul Kielthy for Steven Kinsella.

Conahy Shamrocks - Oisin Cahill; Conor Duggan, JP Gamble, Kevin Conroy (capt); Sean Dunne, Ciarán Rice (0-1, free), Darragh Hennessy; Darren Cuddihy, Kieran Brennan; Harry O’Mahony, Jack Murphy, Robbie Ring; Billy Mulhall, Mark Gunner (0-7, 0-6 frees), Brooklyn Sinnott.

Subs: Oisin O’Connor for Kieran Brennan, Adam Walsh for Harry O’Mahony.

Referee - John Walsh (Rower Inistioge)