Killeen to the fore in comfortable win for Tynagh/ Abbey boys

Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry 1-12
Craughwell 0-9

Eoghan Cormican in Loughrea

FOURTEEN-man Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry overcame all the odds and, indeed, the reigning champions to advance to a first ever County U-21 hurling final in a moderate contest at Loughrea on Sunday.

Though this semi-final affair won’t live long in the memory of those present, both sides should be commended for attempting to a play a game on a most uncooperative surface.

Put simply, the hour’s fare was a circus of calamities, a comedy of errors due to the weather and the most basic of skills such as the pick-up and solo became arduous tasks. We also had fresh airs, slipping, sliding, regular scrums, and fiercely struck pucks hardly registering 20 yards in one half and surpassing 100 in the other.

Consequently, the outcome was always going to be determined by which side better adapted to the elements and Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry’s resolute first-half showing, despite playing into the driving wind and rain, laid the foundations for a win that was every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.

That said, their cause wasn’t helped by the sending off on 26 minutes of sharpshooter Shane Moloney. The full-forward, who had accounted for his side’s entire tally at the time of his dismissal, received a first yellow card for a late pull on Craughwell’s Mark Monaghan.

Subsequently, Maloney illegally challenged Mark Horan and while the Craughwell centre-back received a yellow for his troubles, Maloney was sent to the line by referee Leonard Fay.

Without doubt, it was the crucial moment of the opening half, but instead of capitalising on their numerical advantage Craughwell continued to squander chance after chance after chance on their way to 12 first-half wides – a truly shocking statistic by any standards.

Tynagh/ Abbey-Duniry, on the other hand, responded superbly to Moloney’s sending off. Instead of adopting a more cautionary approach they took the game to their opponents, none more so than Paul Killeen who hit seven points in a man-of-the-match performance.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.