A gritty display, coupled with great saves, sees us win.


A gritty display, coupled with great saves, sees us win.

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A gritty display, coupled with great saves, sees us win.

May 28, 2023

Last night in splendid sunshine in Glanworth, the travelling Killavullen team, short a number of regulars prevailed in a gritty display against our hosts, to pick up two very valuable league points, in the ultra-competitive Avondhu Division 1 Hurling League.


We got an early scare when Billy Norris, deputising brilliantly in goals, for our normal goalkeeper, stood up big and parried a close in shot from an acute angle, on his left hand post. Glanworth opening the scoring with a typical Steve Condon point, when he was out in front of his marker, controlled the ball beautifully, and spun, and placed it over the bar. Glanworth were to score the next two points, before Killavullen opened their scoring with a Liam Fox point, in the 6th minute. We wrestled back the lead with a lovely Liam Cronin Goal in the 8th minute when Liam went forward from his centre field berth. Paul O Sullivan added a nice point from play shortly thereafter, followed by a Mikey O Connor point, and then, a Liam Cronin score from a 65 Metre shot, after the Glanworth custodian, David O Sullivan had turned a shot around his post. This was all by the 11th minute of a game, which had bundles of skill and endeavour. Glanworth replied though, and went on a scoring spurt on their own with four points in a row, one from a free, but the others from open play, where the movement of Emmet Sheehan and Jerome Fitzgibbon was causing Killavullen problems. These players kept getting isolated in space, and found by their colleagues. Billy was forced into another great save across his body this time, and we survived and regained the lead with a fantastic point from distance from Padraig Looney. Glanworth answered back with a converted free, but the influential on the night, Paul O Sullivan restored our lead, and then Eddie Corner squeezed a free, from a tight angle, after Ian O Mahony was bundled off the ball illegally. Glanworth got another point from a free, only for Liam Cronin to regain the two-point advantage for us again, with a lovely point, after a neat exchange of passes, from defence to attack, initiated by Sean Palmer. Glanworth converted another free, and then, we lost Ronan Barry just before the interval to an ankle injury, that saw the introduction of Barry Cotter. Glanworth got the final two points of an absorbing first period of the game, to lead at the break on a score of 0-12 to 1-08. Glanworth had nine wides in that period, as against six for Killavullen.


On the resumption, Glanworth scored again from a free but Paul O Sullivan replied with a nice point on the run and then Eddie Cotter from a free, to have the teams on a co-score, by the 4th minute of the game. Glanworth increased their work rate around the middle third of the field, and the battle between David Pyne in the green and Michael Cagney in the blue silks of Killavullen  in this area, was not one for the faint hearted. Sean Palmer and Sean Blackburn from Glanworth, and the Glanworth player considerably taller was also an interesting tussle, in a game very capably handled by Dave Twomey from Shanballymore, the referee on the night. Glanworth went on another scoring spurt and opened up a four point lead, with four unanswered points by the 9th minute of a game, played in sweltering heat. Paul O Sullivan got another point back for us, after a relieving clearance from Brian Cotter, now deputising at full back, and marked the Omni-threat that Steve Condon is. Conor Brennan earned a clever free for us, when he got down low over the ball and his man pushed him in the back, and Eddie converted the free. Barry Murphy, of Clare legend fame was sprung from the bench, and that ended his conversation with some spectators, and if his corner back marker, thought that Barry was dis-interested, he was rudely awakened shortly after Barry was introduced, when Barry got his stick to a long free into a crowded goalmouth, and the flick went just agonisingly over the bar. Glanworth had tacked on another point to bring their tally to 0-18. Glanworth pushed out their lead with another converted free, and then, it look like goodnight sayonara for us, when Billy was eventually beaten by a powerful shot, from close in, from that man Condon again. Seventeen minutes gone in the second half, and now Killavullen were trailing by six points.  Killavullen management before the game stressed the necessity to garnish league points from somewhere or anywhere, and that must have must have been a resolute factor with the team, because their last 15 minutes were very committed and united to the cause. Barry Murphy, was at the right end of a Eddie Cotter centre to pivot, shimmy and score emphatically to the net. Billy brought off another great save, and Sean Bartley cleared the danger.  Eddie Cotter scored a free after Padraig Looney, set up by Rory O Regan, mazy run was stopped, and the resultant free was converted. Killavullen kept pressing and got another point back, from another free, earned by Colin Carey, to leave only the minimum between the teams with five minutes remaining. We spurned a few chances for an equalising point when our shots got blocked down, or a pass pushed us into a zone that we could not extract a score from, but Eddie Cotter got on the end of a Liam Fox effort, and finished smart and low to the net. Two point lead now to protect, a dangerous lead, with four minutes remaining.


Glanworth tried to wrestle back the lead, and just, as occurred at the start of the game, Billy was forced to make a good save from a Steve Condon spinning, dipping delivery, but Billy parried the shot and our full back line cleared the ball. Great finish to an absorbing game, and we got those league points, that should ensure our preservation in this Division 1 league where every game is a dinger.


Final Score Glanworth 1-19 – Killavullen 3-15.


The team was


  1. Billy Norris
  2. Sean Bartley
  3. Ronan Barry
  4. Rory O Regan
  5. Sean Palmer
  6. Brian Cotter
  7. Padraig Looney (0-01)
  8. Liam Cronin(1-02, 0-01 x 65)
  9. Michael Cagney
  10. Conor Brennan
  11. Liam Fox (0-01)
  12. Paul O Sullivan (0-04)
  13. Eddie Cotter (1-05, 0-05F)
  14. Mikey O Connor (0-01)
  15. Ian O Mahony


Substitutes.


  • Barry Cotter for Ronan Barry (injured)
  • Barry Murphy (1-01) for Conor Brennan
  • Colin Carey for Ian O Mahony



Great to see Seamus Fox on the line as well and we will be pressing him back into action soon, as soon as he loses his newly acquired Australian accent. G’day Seamus.

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