Pearses Senior hurlers qualified for a second successive Senior Championship Quarter-Final, with a game to spare in the Group, yesterday evening in Athenry, defeating a gallant Beagh side. This was a third win from three games in this year’s Championship for John Raftery’s side and they always looked like winning this one after taking the lead for the first time in the sixth minute.
It was Tomandamp;aacute;s Flannery who got Pearses off the mark to level the score at 0-1 each. Then Cyril Donnellan had his first intervention in this game, hitting two points from play before his involvement in the build up to the game’s first goal on the 13th minute, along with Tomandamp;aacute;s Flannery. It was whipped to the net first time by the industrious Gary Lally. Flannery tagged on another free six minutes later and Pearses, aided by the breeze, led 1-4 to 0-2.
Colm Raftery and Flannery again exchanged points with Beagh’s Padraig Landers, Adrian Touhy and Kevin Keehan, before Donnellan split the posts from the stand side sideline. Joe Gantley escaped for once from Tommy McDonagh’s shackles to record the final point of the first-half. Half-time: Pearses 1-7 Beagh 0-6.
The second half begun at a breakneck speed and five minutes in Donnellan was pulled down in the Beagh square for a penalty. Keeper Fearghal Flannery came forward and buried it to extend the Pearses lead to five and leave Beagh with an uphill battle. To their credit they never wilted and hit the next two points, before Tomandamp;aacute;s Flannery was on target from another free, 2-8 to 0-8. Beagh’s Adrian Diviney and Kevin Keehan (free) tallied two more points, before Donnellan fielded a Kevin O’Grady puckout, bursted forward and sent it straight back over the Beagh crossbar andamp;ndash; an inspirational score.
Again Beagh fought back, with 3 points on the trot, one a stylish score from the dugout sideline by wing-forward Adrian Touhy. Young Ronan Bellew, introduced for Sean Hardiman, stemmed the Beagh onslaught andamp;ndash; after some good work by Gelston and Cormac Ward andamp;ndash; with a point from play. Kevin Keehan struck a Beagh free on the 26th minute, for what would be the South Galway team’s last score of the game. Cormac Ward pointed under pressure three minutes later to leave Pearses 3 in front. Beagh’s Keehan missed two very scoreable frees in injury time and so Pearses held on for a deserved victory.
Cyril Donnellan was excellent thoughout, popping up always when needed most. Jimmy Gelston and Cormac Ward got through an abundance of hard work and graft around the middle. Tommy McDonagh had a stormer deputising at wing-back in a solid defence and Tomas Flannery was as reliable as ever from placed balls. This was a great win, despite the absence of the injured pair, Kerrill Hardiman and Emmett Ward, and after the Tommie Larkin’s game the lads can look forward to another Quarter-FInal in the Autumn. Well done to all involved!
Pearses: Fearghal Flannery (1-0); Anthony Kenny, Tomandamp;aacute;s Kenny, Padraic Raftery; Richie Lally, Shane Raftery, Tommy McDonagh; Sean Hardiman, Jimmy Gelston; Darragh Skehill, Cormac Ward (0-1), Cyril Donnellan (0-4); Gary Lally (1-0), Colm Raftery (0-1), Tomandamp;aacute;s Flannery (0-4f). Subs: Ronan Bellew (0-1), Aidan Kilkenny, Robbie Donnellan.