Mortimer's magic secures Féile and league double for Camross

Camross completed the double on Wednesday evening at the LOETB Centre of Excellence, adding the Midlands Park Hotel U-15 Hurling League Division 1 title to the Feile crown they captured just last month. Camross produced a polished and clinical performance to overcome Ballinakill Ballypickas to claim the title.

The standout player on the night was Daragh Mortimer, who helped himself to an outstanding personal tally of 3-2. His pace, movement and ruthless finishing were too much for the Ballinakill Ballypickas defence to handle. Alongside him, Ryan Guilfoyle contributed 0-6, four of which came from placed balls, as Camross laid the foundation early and never looked back.

Camross 3-10

Ballinakill Ballypickas 1-8

The game exploded into life from the throw-in. Camross wasted no time in asserting their dominance and raced into a 1-2 to no score lead inside the first three minutes. Guilfoyle opened the scoring with a well-struck free, and moments later, Mortimer pounced to raise a green flag. He added a point almost immediately after, as Camross hit their stride with remarkable efficiency.

Ballinakill Ballypickas got their first score of the game through a 65' from their talisman James O’Mara in the sixth minute. However, any hopes of building momentum were swiftly snuffed out as Camross turned the screw once more. Guilfoyle converted two 65's before Mortimer bagged his second goal of the evening, slamming the ball past the keeper to push his side even further ahead.

An exchange of points between Aaron O’Brien for Ballinakill Ballypickas and Guilfoyle maintained Camross’ strong grip on the game. The first half closed with two more points from O’Mara, including one from a free, but Camross were firmly in the driving seat with a 2-5 to 0-4 lead at the interval.

On the restart, Camross maintained their focus and intensity. Guilfoyle slotted over two more frees to extend the gap even further, and it took Ballinakill Ballypickas 14 minutes to register their first point of the second half, another placed ball from the reliable O’Mara.

Midfielder Charlie Peavoy, who was a driving force for Camross throughout, got in on the scoring act with a brilliant point from play. His work rate and distribution in the middle third provided a strong platform for the forwards to flourish. At the other end, goalkeeper Jack Carter pulled off a tremendous goal-line clearance to deny Jack Higgins what looked to be a certain third goal for Camross, keeping his side in contention.

Ballinakill Ballypickas kept battling and were rewarded with two more points from O’Mara, whose performance was one of real quality despite being on the losing side. Mortimer responded with another well-taken point before Jake Keating slotted a free for Ballinakill Ballypickas.

Mortimer then completed his hat-trick in style, capping off a dominant display with a third goal to seal the victory. Yet Ballinakill Ballypickas had one last moment of brilliance as O’Mara produced the score of the match, catching a Keating free cleanly before rifling the sliotar into the net, a deserved reward for his outstanding individual effort.

There was still time for Camross to add a final score, with Peavoy knocking over his second point to put the finishing touch on a fine team performance.

While the forwards took the headlines, this win was built on solid work all over the pitch. Leo Guilfoyle was a commanding presence at full-back for Camross, cutting out numerous attacks and marshalling his defence superbly. Midfielder Darragh Cuddy, Peavoy’s partner in the engine room, was another key figure in keeping Camross on the front foot throughout.

It was a fitting way for Camross to round off a memorable few weeks for this talented group, and they now head into the summer full of confidence with two major trophies already secured.