Gowran turn on the style in convincing success over Blacks and Whites
Young Irelands 0-28 Blacks and Whites 0-12
Young Irelands put in a polished display as they ran out comfortable winners over Blacks and Whites in last Sunday’s Michael Lyng Motors Intermediate Hurling Championship Relegation Semi-Final.
The local derby clash was well anticipated but Gowran just outclassed their opponents all over the field with all but two of their 28 point tally arriving from play in a ruthless attacking performance.
Ten different players got on the scoresheet for Young Irelands as they bossed the contest from the outset.
Blacks and Whites had a relatively decent first half showing but once the 2024 intermediate county finalists went up a few gears, they had no answer and they must dust themselves down for a must win relegation final against St Martin’s in two weeks’ time.
Aaron Foley and Kealan Barcoe exchanged scores in the opening minutes before back to back efforts from Padraig O’Neill and Paddy Langton, who were both influential throughout, left the Gowran outfit ahead on a 0-3 to 0-1 scoreline.
Points from Sam Byrne and Paul Murphy levelled up the game before a Ryan Murphy free gave Blacks and Whites the lead for the only time in the game.
Gowran goalkeeper Sean Kehoe also had to make a point-blank save to deny Sam Byrne during this spell but afterwards it was all one way traffic as Young Irelands took command.
Five points on the trot between the 17th and 24th minutes from Thomas Langton on the double, Paddy Langton, Padraig O’Neill and Ted Drea quickly put daylight between the near neighbours as Gowran opened up a double scores advantage.
The side in red and white maintained that momentum till the half-time interval as Paddy Langton, Kealan Barcoe and Ted Drea extended their tallies to go into the break with an 0-11 to 0-6 lead.
Early second half scores from Ryan Murphy and Paul Murphy briefly kept Blacks and Whites in contention but there was no answer to the Young Irelands surge as Jason Brennan’s men racked up 17 points in the second period.
Seamus Farrell, Jim Conlon and Ted Drea also had goal chances go astray but with Padraig O’Neill and Kealan Barcoe in particular scoring points at will, goals were not needed on this occasion.
The winners ended the game in rampant style as they knocked over points from all angles and is bound to be big confidence booster ahead of a championship quarter-final with league shield champions Lisdowney this weekend while for Blacks and Whites, it’s all about staying up and maintaining their status.
Teams and Scorers
Young Irelands: Padraig O’Neill (0-6); Kealan Barcoe (0-5); Paddy Langton (0-5, 1f), Ted Drea (0-3); Thomas Langton, Cian Phelan (0-2 each); Killian Carey (0-2, 1f); Paddy Brennan, Mick Walsh, Jim Conlon (0-1 each)
Blacks and Whites: Ryan Murphy (0-5, 2fs); Paul Murphy, Martin Kelly, Aaron Foley (0-2 each); Sam Byrne (0-1)
Young Irelands: Sean Kehoe; Sam Brennan, Geoff Brennan, Bobbie Brennan; Mick Walsh, Mikey Carey, Paddy Langton; Cian Phelan, Jim Conlon; Padraig O’Neill, Seamus Farrell, Thomas Langton; Kealan Barcoe, Ted Drea, Killian Carey.
Subs: Paddy Brennan for T.Langton, 47 mins; Gavin Manning for Phelan, 53 mins; Tommy Phelan for O’Neill, 52 mins; Dylan Carey for K.Carey, 54 mins; David Langton for B.Brennan, 55 mins.
Blacks and Whites: Keelan O’Grady; Jamie Ryan, Seanan Doyle, Tommy Joyce; Daire Murphy, Ian Foley, Joe Kelly; James Whitty, Ryan Murphy; Paul Murphy, Martin Kelly, Jason Byrne; Sam Byrne, Louie Brennan, Aaron Foley.
Subs: Alex Langrell for Brennan, h-t; John Lennon for Whitty, h-t; Niall Kennedy for J.Byrne, h-t; Michael Prendergast for I.Foley, 42 mins; Shaun Greene for A.Foley, 44 mins; Dan Wade for J.Kelly, 62 mins.
Referee: Conor Everard