No contest in Connacht junior hurling final

Annaghdown 2-11

Calry/St. Joseph’s 0-6

CALRY/St. Joseph’s hurlers managed to register the same total, and concede much less than their footballers the previous weekend against Killanin, but the final outcome was still the same. The Sligo outfit had three starters from the football team that were hockeyed 5-17 to 0-6, and were going for a third Junior hurling title in succession last Saturday.

However, Annaghdown were worth each one of the 11 points they won this Connacht Junior hurling final by. Similar to when they overcame Ballgar in the county decider, Annaghdown’s forward line clicked into gear in the second half playing with the breeze, even if they did shoot a total of 13 wides over the hour. The Connacht Centre of Excellence in Ballyhaunis is an excellent facility, but cruelly exposed to the elements.

Damian Comer was in from the start at full-forward, and very much looked the part. He rifled in two goals in the second half as Annaghdown completly dominated matters playing with wind advantage. They moved the ball better, and were more intelligent when in possession. Caherlistrane man Adrian Murphy, who played with the Roscommon hurlers earlier this year, was excellent in this regard when he made his entrance in the 42nd minute.

Calry/St. Joseph’s were dogged, especially in the first half. Every time a man in a maroon geansai got on the ball, he was hounded and surrounded by Sligo men. Keith Raymond looked particularly good at midfield, as did Ronan Cox, but Calry/St. Joseph’s didn’t have any real attacking threat.

Playing with breeze advantage, Calry needed to have been leading at the break, but they weren’t. Instead it was Annaghdown who rattled off the final three points of the half, to lead 0-5 to 0-3. Both sides missed chances early on, and it was Raymond who opened the scoring for the Sligo side in the third minute.

Jonathan Comer had an off day with his shooting against Ballygar, but last weekend his radar was more in tune. He opened Annaghdown’s account for the afternoon in the ninth minute from a free, and would follow up with four further efforts from placed balls during the game. Raymond then showed his quality a couple of minutes later, emerging from a cluster of bodies to send over a long range point.

Annaghdown pegged their opponents back when Cathal Gaffney raised a white flag, after a move involving Ronan Newell, Enda Mullarkey and Damian Comer. Ronan Cox had Calry/St. Joseph’s ahead for the third time in the 19th minute, but they would fail to score again until the 37th minute, perhaps unjustly as it turned out.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune