On Wednesday the 18th of April Mr Daffy and his charges travelled to Meelick to face St Mary’s of Newport in the Munster U15-D hurling final. The sun shone bright as a fresh westerly wind whipped unpredictably around the grounds.
Aided by the breeze in the first half, the Tipperary men struck an early blow as the ball snuck in to Dylan McCoy’s net with only seconds on the clock. It was quickly followed by a point from open play and within three minutes of the throw-in the CBS found themselves trailing by 1-1 to no score. A score to settle the early nerves was badly needed and Niall Mullins answered the call, raising the white flag to open the CBS account. Joshua Guyler quickly added another two points, one from a free and a second assisted by tenacious work from both Diarmuid Fahy and Ricky Wynne. Hard work from Keith Barry set Liam Cotter up to score his first point of the game. Guyler found the target again as the CBS roared in to a one point lead. The rock solid full-back line of Mark Callinan, Marc O’Loughlin and Coleman Kelly ensured that no soft score was leaked against the wind as captain Cillian McGroary orchestrated the defence from half-back. The CBS rallied further with points from Sean Rynne, Wynne and Guyler. Rynne added to his tally minutes later as he rifled past the St. Mary’s goalkeeper, furthering the CBS’s advantage to three points as they led 1-04 to 1-07. A brave block from Kelly at corner back and a save from McCoy meant St Mary’s were held to only five scores in the first half. Having weathered the storm against a stiff breeze, the CBS welcomed the break with a 1-08 to 1-04 lead.
The second half started in the same fashion as the first with Mullins striking a sweet point from range. The breeze now in their favour, wing-backs Shane Woods and Thomas O’Dwyer fired quality passes in to their forwards with impeccable accuracy as McGroary added a further score for the CBS. The focal point of the attack once again, Mullins played Cotter through and he buried the ball in the back of the net for the CBS’s second goal. Firing on all cylinders now, the CBS ran in to a 2-10 to 1-04 lead. Callinan and O’Loughlin in the backs refused to yield an inch, ensuring that their forwards hard work would not be undone. Having played a vital role in the CBS attack throughout the first half, Fahy made way for MacDara O’Keeffe. The CBS’s gallop was brought to an abrupt halt when St Mary’s found the net half way through the second half, the score now 2-10 to 2-04. Two frees scored by Guyler and another point tacked on by Rynne steadied the ship before Brendan Rouine tore up the middle of the field and rose the green flag was raised yet again. Seemingly out of sight now with a lead of 3-13 to 2-04, the CBS celebrations were quietened as the Tipperary men struck back almost instantly with a goal of their own. Adam O’Loughlin and Joshua Vaughan were brought in to bolster the side in the remaining minutes. Barry would have the final say in proceedings as he stroked the ball over the bar just as the whistle blew.
3-14 to 3-04 was the final score after a thrilling game. On a day when every man from one to fifteen contributed excellent performances, stand-out displays from Guyler, O’Loughlin, Mullins and man-of-the-match Mark Callinan ensured that the CBS team returned to Ennistymon victorious with the Munster u15-D hurling trophy on board.
Score Sheet
Niall Mullins 0-1
Joshua Guyler 0-8 (5 from frees)
Liam Cotter 1-1
Sean Rynne 1-2
Ricky Wynne 0-1
Cillian McGroary 0-1
Brendan Rouine 1-0
Keith Barry 0-1
