Kilkenny JHL- Callan see off Graignamanagh in topsy-turvy affair

​It was mainly a game of two halves as John Lockes held on to defeat Graignamanagh in Round 1 of the JJ Kavanagh Junior Hurling League on Sunday afternoon.

A goal within 10 seconds of the start from Ollie O’Donovan gave the Callan side the initial advantage but they had to fight off a gallant Graig comeback that came up just short.

As well as O’Donovan who finished with 1-2 in total, John Lockes were well served by the free-taking of Tomas Roche as well as Ryan Bergin and Paddy O’Brien and with the wind backing they led 1-13 to 0-2 at the interval.

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Graignamanagh piled the pressure on the side in blue and gold but Shamie Kavanagh’s late goal ultimately came too late in the day as Callan took home the points.

John Lockes couldn’t have dreamt of a better beginning with Kilkenny under-20 star Ollie O’Donovan running through to score a goal in the very first attack.

Eoghan Lynch followed up with a point two minutes later before Graig got off the mark with a ninth minute Steven Kinsella free.

For a long period of the first half, John Lockes let the game get away from them considering the elements in their favour with succesive pointed efforts from O’Donovan, Tomas Roche and Ryan Bergin eventually giving them a good lead on the scoreboard.

Graig hit back with a Michael Bolger point but that second score of the half proved to also be their last as John Lockes really turned on the style with eight points on the trot before the break.

Roche got more than half of that tally with a couple of well taken frees and with O’Donovan, Eoghan Lynch and Zak O’Halloran also hitting the target, the Callan side brought a huge 14 point advantage into the break.

Within three minutes of the resumption, Graignamanagh had already registered four points with a pair of Steven Kinsella frees and efforts from play by Richard Foley and Sean Hamilton helping them back into the contest.

Callan steadied the ship with scores from Tomas Roche and Ryan Bergin in response to Kinsella and Richard Foley adding to the Graig tally.

When Kinsella, Shamier Kavanagh and Ivan Bolger then added on three points without reply, the deficit was back to seven points at the halfway mark of the half. Paddy O’Brien and Ryan Bergin scored to push Callan back into a 1-17 to 0-11 lead going inside the final 10 minutes but even still, Graignamangh wouldn’t go away.

Between the 51st and 58th minutes, Graig landed five points in a row as Kinsella knocked over three frees and one from play in addition to a well taken Pierce Blanchfield score.

Callan still maintained the lead though and when Paddy O’Brien pushed the difference out to five, they looked like they had done enough. Not quite was the answer though as after Kinsella converted a 10th score of the day, Graig then grabbed a goal through Shamie Kavanagh but John Lockes did enough to hold on to a one point success.

​Teams and Scorers

John Lockes: Tomas Roche (0-8, 7fs); Ollie O’Donovan (1-2); Ryan Bergin (0-3); Eoghan Lynch, Paddy O’Brien (0-2 each); Zak O’Halloran (0-1)

Graignamanagh: Steven Kinsella (0-10, 8fs); Shamie Kavanagh (1-1); Richard Foley (0-2); Ivan Bolger, Michael Bolger, Sean Hamilton, Pierce Blanchfield (0-1 each)

John Lockes: Brian Doheny; Danny Carey, Jack McDowell, Tommy Hoyne; Denis O’Sullivan, Michael Lynch, Tony Delaney; Paddy O’Brien, Ciaran Phelan; Tomas Roche, Owen McGrath, Eoghan Lynch; Ollie O’Donovan, Ryan Bergin, Zak O’Halloran.

Subs: Cathal McGrath for Delaney, 52 mins.

Graignamanagh: Colin Bolger; Owen O’Brien, James Meaney, Kian Murphy; Joe Dowling, Richard Foley, Cian O’Shea; Ivan Bolger, Nicky Ryan; Terry Dreenan, Jack Ryan, Steven Kinsella; Michael Bolger, Sean Hamilton, Pierce Blanchfield.

Subs: Ted Dunne for Ryan, 15 mins; Shamie Kavanagh for Meaney, 40 mins. Sean O’Grady for Hamilton, 55 mins.

Referee: Paul Cahill