Pearses 2-16 Turloughmore 1-12: Both teams played in alternative colours for this U16A1 Semi-Final played this evening in Loughrea. Pearses in white and Turloughmore switching from the hoops to maroon. Twice in the game it looked like Turlough could pull away, but both times Pearses got back on level terms. When Geordan Kenny goaled 18 minutes into the second half, Pearses never looked back and indeed outscored their opponents, 2-8 to 1-4 in the second half.
Turloughmore led 0-3 to 0-2 after 15 minutes. Oisin Flannery was the scorer for Pearses and was also unlucky when a goalbound shot from a 21 yard free was cleared off the line. Turloughmore controlled the next 10 minutes of the game and had pulled 0-8 to 0-3 clear by the 25th minute, with some good points from play as well as frees. However the final 10 minutes belonged to Pearses and particularly Dean Reilly with three points from play in this spell. The teams went in deadlocked at 0-8 each at the half time break.
Turloughmore again started well and pulled three clear after ten minutes, Pearses yet to score. First a Dean Reilly point and then Oisin Flannery repeated Reilly’s trick from the first half, with three points in-a-row to give Pearses the lead in the 47th minute, 0-12 to 0-11. A minute later and a good move down the right-hand side culminated with substitute Ethan Lally forcing a good save from the keeper. Geordan Kenny was on hand to finish the rebound to the net.
From this point on Pearses were always on top and a second goal arrived in the 56th minute, when a long delivery from the left wing by Mark Hennelly, who had been excellent all evening, ended up with Ethan Lally finishing to the net. Turloughmore did net a consolation goal in injury time, but too little too late. Pearses advance to a County Final, where they will meet the winners of Killimordaly and Castlegar in the other semi-final to be played on Monday July 10th in Loughrea (6.15pm).
Pearses: D McCabe; B Kelly, E McCabe, N Moran; A Lally, S Hynes, C Kitt; J Barrett, D Reilly (0-6); M Hennelly, A Delaney, G Kenny (1-0); J Mitchell, O Flannery (0-10), C Murphy. Subs used: Ethan Lally (1-0), R Hynes, E Lally. Ref: James A Lundon.