Good start sets Birr on the road to comfortable victory over Gracefield

BIRR 0-16

GRACEFIELD 0-4

AN EXCELLENT opening quarter in which they built up a sizeable six point lead set Birr on the road to a comfortable victory over Gracefield in the Offaly Junior B Hurling final played in Rath on Saturday.

Gracefield never really recovered from that slow start as they missed scoring chances themselves while Birr made the most of theirs in going 0-7 to 0-1 in front, and while Birr didn't build on that in the second quarter when scores were very scarce, they did still lead by 0-8 to 0-2 at half time.

It was tight again for the opening 10 minutes of the second half as chances weren't taken at either end and it was the 11th minute of the half before we saw a score but once Birr got that point it seemed to settle them down again and they began to pick off their points and ease away from their opponents.

Birr had lost the final two years ago in heartbreaking circumstances, losing by a point having led by seven late in the game, but there was going to be no repeat this year as once they got in front they didn't relinquish their grip on the game. They did miss a number of chances, which could have eased their nerves, particularly in the middle period of the game, but they did more than enough to secure their win.

On the day it just didn't happen for Gracefield. They fought hard but things just didn't go their way. They missed chances early on, particularly from frees and six of their eight first half wides came from scoreable placed balls and when you consider they were six points down at the break, it shows what a difference those chances could have made.

Those misses were compounded by Devon Beale missing very little from placed balls for Birr. He finished with nine points, seven frees and two '65s' and only missed from two efforts and that was one of the big differences between the sides.

Birr looked very sharp in that opening quarter and hit seven points without missing anything. Gracefield had missed a couple of opportunities early on and that seemed to drain a bit of confidence from them. After that good opening the level of accuracy dropped and in a 27 minute period either side of half time the sides only managed a single point each. The game was still in the melting pot at that stage and had Gracefield got a goal it could have changed things but they never managed to breach the Birr rearguard and they went 28 minutes without scoring as Birr began to pull away in the closing stages.

Birr could also call on a wealth of experience in their ranks. Players like Barry Whelahan and Michael Dwane have done it in club All-Irelands and there were plenty of others who played at the top grade like Aaron Whelahan and Michael Cleare to name just two, and that experience was very much to the fore as they didn't panic when they were missing opportunities in the middle third of the game and were content to pick off their points late on as they built up an unassailable lead.

Gracefield didn't lack heart or effort but they found the Birr defence difficult to break down. They probably started going for goals a bit early in the second half and took a couple of long range shots which were comfortably saved, while they dropped a lot of balls short in that half in the hope of getting a goal to inspire a comeback but the Birr defence dealt confidently with everything they threw at them and protected their goal very well.

Aaron Whelahan was solid in goals for Birr while Michael Cleare, captain Aaron Coffey and centre back Kevin Tierney were excellent in defence. As well as his free taking, Devon Beale did a lot of good work around the middle of the field while Sean T. O'Connor, Michael Dwane, Barry Whelahan and Tom Errity also made strong contributions with a number of the subs also making an impact.

Cormac Burke made some fine saves in the Gracefield goals while Andrew Buckley, Patrick Hurley and Jake McLoughlin also worked very hard in defence. Philip Hurley tried hard in the middle of the field while Dan Hanlon looked threatening in attack when he got on the ball and Jamie Hanlon also did well.

Birr went in front in the second minute when Devon Beale pointed a free and after Dan Hanlon missed a chance to level, Michael Dwane doubled the Birr lead with a nice point from play. Dan Hanlon did point a 4th minute free but Devon Beale replied in kind for Birr.

Then Tom Errity gathered a clearance from Kevin Tierney and made a great run down the wing before firing the ball over. Devon Beale pointed another free and Michael Dwane and Willie Hernon added points from play and Birr were 0-7 to 0-1 in front after 14 minutes.

Scores dried up after that as both sides missed chances. Birr did go close to a goal but Tom Errity and Willie Hernon had shots blocked on the goal line and Gavin Guilfoyle's follow up was also blocked down. Gracefield weren't able to build momentum from that and Michael Dwane was next on target before Dan Hanlon replied with a good point for Gracefield to leave the half time score 0-8 to 0-2 in Birr's favour.

The opening exchanges of the second half followed a similar pattern with scoring chances being spurned and the first score of the half didn't come until the 11th minute when Patrick Dwane won the ball in midfield, made a great run and finished with a point. Devon Beale added a point from a free and Birr seemed to settle a bit more again leading 0-10 to 0-2 heading into the final quarter.

Devon Beale pointed another free and Barry Whelahan did well to win possession on the left and fire over another point. Conor Grimes made a great catch and went for goal but Cormac Burke pulled off a great save at the expense of a '65' which Devon Beale pointed. He added another '65' two minutes later as Birr's lead stretched out to 12 points.

Gracefield had gone 28 minutes without a score before sub Ronan Walsh popped over their first score of the half after 25 minutes but Birr replied with two further Devon Beale frees. Jamie Hanlon did point a late free for Gracefield but Birr were deserving winners on the day.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

BIRR: Aaron Whelahan; Ryan Kelly, Michael Cleare, Ronan McNamara; Aaron Coffey, Kevin Tierney, Fionn O'Carroll; Ger Teehan, Devon Beale; Sean T. O'Connor, Michael Dwane, Barry Whelahan; Tom Errity, Willie Hernon, Gavin Guilfoyle. Subs. Conor Grimes (for Ger Teehan, half time), Patrick Dwane (for Willie Hernon, 33 mins), Darragh Pilkington (for Ronan McNamara, 36 mins), Ceilim King (for Gavin Guilfoyle, 50 mins), Jeffrey Pardy (for Barry Whelahan, 60 mins).

GRACEFIELD: Cormac Burke; Anthony Murphy, Shane Lawless, Andrew Buckley; Patrick Hurley, Jack Walsh, Jake McLoughlin; Philip Hurley, Ronan Mullally; Colin Hanlon, Conor Storey, Charlie Keogh; Jamie Hanlon, Dan Hanlon, Ryan Havill. Subs. Stephen Byrne (for Ronan Mullally, 29 mins), David Hickey (for Ryan Havill, 46 mins), Ronan Walsh (for Conor Storey, 48 mins), Stephen Murphy (for Colin Hanlon, 55 mins), Jake O'Neill (for Dan Hanlon, 58 mins).

REFEREE: Kieran Dooley (Drumcullen)

MAN OF THE MATCH

Devon Beale's accuracy with nine points from placed balls and Michael Dwane's three points from play in the opening half deserve mention but over the hour the Birr defence gave nothing away and centre half back Kevin Tierney was pivotal in that. He controlled the area and delivered good ball into the forward line and for consistency over the hour gets the vote.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Not a moment as such but Birr took control of the game in that opening quarter, opening up a 0-7 to 0-1 lead after 14 minutes, and Gracefield never really recovered from that.

REFEREE WATCH

Kieran Dooley did a fine job throughout. His quiet and unfussy officiating ensured the game passed off with little incident and he dealt quickly with anything untoward.

WHAT’S NEXT

Birr finish the season as Junior B champions and will move up to Junior A next year while it's the end of the year for Gracefield.

VENUE WATCH

It was a lovely sunny day in Rath and a decent sized crowd turned up for this final. As usual there were loads of stewards to look after parking and keep the traffic under control. The pitch was a little soft like all other pitches but held up well throughout the game.

STATISTICS

Wides; Birr 12 (4 in first half) Gracefield 9 (8 in first half)

Yellow Cards: Birr 3 (Conor Grimes, Ryan Kelly, Jeffrey Pardy) Gracefield 2 (Jamie Hanlon, Shane Lawless).

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Birr. Devon Beale (0-9, 0-7 frees, 0-2 '65s'), Michael Dwane (0-3), Tom Errity, Willie Hernon, Patrick Dwane, Barry Whelahan (0-1 each).

Gracefield; Dan Hanlon (0-2, 0-1 free), Ronan Walsh (0-1), Jamie Hanlon (0-1, free).