Padraig Pearses 5-17; Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) 4-2: Anyone that came to Ballymacward this morning to see Pearses take on their name sakes Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) saw a hurling feast from our U14’s and by far the highest scoring game these lads have had in a long time. The Roscommon lads were gallant and fought until the end with 2 late goals but were outclassed in every single department as Pearses finished whopping winners.
Pearses had seven different scorers this morning kickstarted by a cracking Niall McDonagh goal within a minute of the throw-in. Immediately came a host of scores and scorers as Oisin Donoghue’s sweet stick pass to Orin Burke got him off the mark with a simple tap over right in front of the posts. Conor Kelly pointed from Conor Moran’s quickly taken 65’. Niall McDonagh scored a nice point from play after good fielding in the air followed by a Conor Moran point after he weaved his way into a good scoring position before simply throwing over. Moran’s high lobbing ball from an acute angle then found the net although the goalie did get a hurl to it, the umpire adjudged the goal to stand to put Pearses firmly in the driving seat within 10mins 2-4 to 0-0.
Conor Moran added to his tally with another point from play and then tapped over his first free after he himself was fouled. Harry Mitchell was called upon to make his first save and in the ensuing play, the Roscommon lads got off the mark with a whopping goal as their scorer burst through the heart of Pearses defence to finish a bullet. Conor Moran scored two frees in quick succession after Darragh Roche andamp;amp; Orin Burke respectively were fouled. Moran added another from play over his left shoulder. Cillian Fahy had the final say before half time as he scored his first point from play off his right after Oisin Donoghue found him with his pass. Half time: Pearses 2-10; Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) 1-0.
There were plenty of changes at half time to make sure everyone got playing time as Pearses continued the momentum again from the off. Within a minute Conor Kelly broke loose from a schmozzle and tapped straight over. Cillian Fahy maintained his goal scoring form when he added a goal but had a bit of work to do as he was quickly closed down but struck his effort sweetly given two defenders were hanging off him. Niall McDonagh earned a free which was converted by Moran.
Pearses scored their 4th goal courtesy of Orin Burke as Cillian Fahy blocked the goalies clearance and found Burkie who was calling for the pass and his bullet was unstoppable. Peter O’Neill set up the next score with a long drive from defence, cleanly caught in the air by Conor Kelly who notched his 3rd point from play. The opposition registered their first point from a free but it did little to halt the Pearses onslaught. Jonah Donnellan tapped over after his introduction to hurling for a while and then his neat over the shoulder pass to Jason Rabbitte set Rabbitte up for his first score. Dara Scarry’s sweet scoop into the hand of Orin Burke set him up for his 2nd point from play.
Orin Burke then took over the free taking duty and his effort was saved by the goalie but fell to Jason Rabbitte whose goal bound effort was saved but he lashed home on his second attempt. Jonah Donnellan pointed the resultant puck out for Pearses last score and the visitors got their 2nd goal which just evaded Harry Mitchell and scored their first from play soon afterwards to bring their tally to 2-2. With 2 mins left on the clock Padraig Pearses scored 2 goals in quick succession, their first hit straight off the hurl.
It was a tour de force display from the Pearses lads in all sectors of the field today and more importantly everyone got game time. So mission accomplished for Pearses today. It was a bittersweet group stage in many respects with the opening defeat to Four Roads and the stumble against Abbeyknockmoy through their last gasp goal. The effort and commitment shown by everyone today was commendable and they delivered superbly and now see themselves into a semi-final, quite likely against neighbours Skehana AGAIN… more rivalry for the 3rd time this year.
Scorers: Conor Moran 1-7 (4F); Orin Burke 1-2; Niall McDonagh 1-1; Cillian Fahy 1-1; Jason Rabbitte 1-1; Conor Kelly 0-3; Jonah Donnellan 0-2.
Squad: Harry Mitchell, Paddy Kenny, Jack Reilly, Mark Donnellan, Oisin Donoghue, Cormac Hillary, Ronan Hynes, Niall McDonagh, Darragh Roche, Orin Burke, Conor Moran, Cillian Fahy, Conor Kelly, Dara Scarry, Peter O’Neill, Oliver Laheen, Eanna Cunniffe, Jonah Donnellan, Anthony Feeney, Jason Rabbitte, Diarmuid Ryan, Jamie Nutley, Conor Hillary, Dylan Roche, Ross Lally, Cathal Hynes.
Report by Martina Donnellan.