Cashel King Cormacs bridge a forty year gap in style

Cashel King Cormacs U13 boys won the County 'A' Hurling championship in style after overcoming a brave Kilruane MacDonaghs side at Dundrum on Sunday last in front of a huge crowd that were treated to an intriguing encounter.

Having already contested the Football final earlier in the year, this group of Cashel heroes went a step further defeating last year's champions in style and in doing so secured the first juvenile county title for the club in forty years. 

The opening exchanges saw both teams go at it hard and fair. A superb save by Shane O'Meara denied Scott Ryan an opening goal as Cashel poured on the pressure.

The commitment to every ball and tackle was fierce with Robert Dunne a colossus at centre back for Cashel while Mark Cleary and Tadgh Teefey marshalled the rearguard for Kilruane. 

The teams were tied at 0-3 a piece at half time and Kilruane attacked on the resumption. Kasper Marshall between the sticks was coolness personified and in front of him Brian O'Dwyer, Joshua Mulcahy, Will Riordan and Ronan Devitt were like magnets. 

Lukah Williams and the Kilruane forwards kept hurling until the last ball but when Adam Hayde pointed the momentum was firmly with Cashel.

The hooking, blocking and chasing back was phenomenal from both sides but in the end Cashel won out 0-10 to 0-5 in the end. Speaking after the game, Liz Williams from Kilruane said it was just an excellent game of hurling:

"Both sides gave it everything. It was an outstanding game. Both goalies were superb and the standard was really high. It was really good for Cashel to win this as Kilruane were coming into it after not losing a match all this year and all last year."

The Cashel coach Declan Fitzgerald said it was a special victory for his side who have trained really hard all season: "It is just an unbelievable feeling. We have had this group since they were five years of age and just to see all the effort the parents and the families and the players have put in means a lot. 

"We have this day after forty years and win the juvenile A county final again. This could be a starting point and this team can inspire others. This is a journey and hopefully the first step for other teams to follow in the club now. 

"Our senior goalie Arron Browne came in and did a lot of work with Kasper during the year and if we get the ball into the right spots we can win it. Our goalie has a great temperment and didn't let emotions take over. He stuck to what he knew would help us get over the line," said Declan Fitgerald.

The head coach - who worked alongside team manager Conal Bonner, Brendan Bonner, Cormac O'Dwyer, Donie O'Donaghue, Eddie Hayde, Ger Slattery, Nathan Kennedy, John Ryan Bob and Ray Manton - said that they learned fast as the season went on:

"We played Kilruane above in Cloughjordan in July and on that night they gave us a nice clipping and coming away from a game like that, when your on the losing side, you always have more to take out of it and we took learnings from that."

Kilruane had two teams competing on county final day and while they lost the A final, they were successful and tasted success in the D final where they beat Rockwell Rovers.

After that game their coach Matt Cleary said they gave it their best: "It turned out well today thank God. They are a good honest bunch and there is seven or eight over the team and everyone gives it everything. 

"Having two teams in the club is great. Keeping everyone playing is how we see it and the more hurling the better so we are glad to win this title on what is a great day for hurling to have all the county finals taking place."