Battling Beagh survive for another day

Date Published: 01-Oct-2009

THE neutrals will hardly be storming the gates of Kenny Park to get a glimpse of the re-match this weekend after an exciting finish failed to disguise the unsatisfactory nature of this free-ridden county senior hurling quarter-final on Sunday.

After serving up possibly the worst first half of senior championship action seen in the county this year, the teams redeemed themselves somewhat when they concentrated more on the hurling after the break – and a draw was perhaps a fitting outcome to a tie which failed to come anywhere near expectations.

It was error-ridden, free-ridden, bad-tempered, and hardly aided by the inconsistent officiating of referee Christy Browne. In fairness, any man in the middle would have struggled to keep up with the amount of petty incidents which were happening during an opening period in which upwards of ten minutes could have been added on.

Loughrea, facing into the strong cross-wind, could have been accused of spoiling tactics at times, but Beagh were no angels, either, and it was remarkable that 30 players finished this game on the field. The casual observer would have believed, wrongly, that there was some ‘bad blood’ between the clubs coming into this tie.

Wind-assisted Beagh appeared to have blown their chances when they led by just one point (0-7 to 0-6) at the break and again when substitute Johnny O’Loughlin opened up a three point lead for the 2006 county champions with 12 minutes to go.

It was at this stage that Beagh, staring down the prospect of a championship exit, produced their best hurling of the afternoon, rousing them into a spirited finish which began when…