Craughwell stumble in critical group clash

BEAGH 2-11

CRAUGHWELL 1-8

SMALL things can make a big difference in tight contests as Craughwell discovered to their cost in this Group C senior hurling championship clash at Kenny Park on Friday evening.

Beagh were that bit sharper in the tackle, a lot more consistent with their freetaking, physically stronger in key positions and a tad hungrier for victory in a hotly contested tie.

The six point winning margin was a shade on the flattering side for Beagh but there can be no denying the fact that the South Galway outfit were deserving winners of a tie watched by about 400 people.

Beagh set the tone for the match in the opening 10 minutes when they raced into a four point lead despite playing into a strong diagonal wind blowing into the scoreboard corner of the ground.

After Kevin Keehan and Fergal Healy exchanged early points, Keehan delivered the crucial early strike in the 6th minute when he ran through the heart of the Craughwell defence far too easily, before burying the sliotar in the back of Aidan Ryan’s net.

The winners held a stranglehold on this match for most of the first half with a lightish looking Craughwell attack unable to hack it against a no-nonsense Beagh defence backboned by powerful centre men, Jonathan Morris and Adrian Diviney.

Were it not for a stroke of good fortune 13 minutes into the match, Craughwell’s interval position might have been even more untenable. A long range Thomas Monaghan free came back off the post and Cian Larkin was on hand to whip the ball to the back of the net.

Craughwell badly needed to be making use of their half-chances to stay in touch, but during the course of the opening 30 minutes, they used the services of three freetakers with a very mediocre dividend on the scoreboard.

They managed only three first half points with the aid of the wind as Fergal Healy and Thomas Monaghan (two frees) hit the target, but at the other end the Beagh strike rate was far more efficient.

Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.