Aghada Gaa

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Junior B Hurling Championship – Aghada 0-9 v Youghal 5-16

The 1st round of this year’s East Cork JB hurling championship was a very one sided affair in Shanagarry on Friday last the 13th of July. Youghal had a number of players that might go on and play on their first team later this year, while Aghada are probably closer to the C grading with this group. The result therefore was inevitable, and Youghal wasted little time in hammering home their obvious superiority. Their 1st two scores were green flags and they had a point from play on 10 mins before Mark McCarthy opened the Aghada account with a pointed free on 13 minutes. From the 15th to the 20 minute, Youghal rattled off 5 points. Mark, after being fouled himself, hit Aghada’s second on 17 minutes. Mark, Mathew Leahy, Luke O’Connell and Aiden O’Connell were trying hardest for Aghada, and the two O’Connells combined to create a goal chance for Luke which was well saved by the ‘keeper. Had we scored however, the goal would only have cancelled out the 3rd goal Youghal had just scored in the 22nd minute. They had a 4th goal on 26 minutes and a 5th on the stroke at halftime, which left the halftime score 5-11 v 0-3. Again it was Mark with Aghada’s 3rd point, this time a fine score from play.

Aghada turned to play with the wind in the second half, and to their great credit, they refused to lie down and continued to give every honest effort for the second half. Early in the half Aaron Berry met his man with a very hefty shoulder, and it seemed to be the signal for Aghada to draw a line under the hammering they took in the 1st half. Tommy Dobbyn, Ciaran Galligan and Craig Hogan did well when introduced, with Luke Foley and Ger Lynch on top for the 2nd period. Aiden O’Connell continued to impress as did namesake Luke, who would draw 3 more excellent saves from the Youghal keeper. All 3 of these saves ultimately led to 3 points from placed balls from Mark McCarthy who also continued his fine showing from the 1st half. Corner forward Alan Walsh also chipped in with a point from play in the 5th minute after the restart, and Luke pointed from play from the resulting puck out. When all was said and done Aghada won the 2nd half 6 points to Youghal’s 5, and while overall that might be scant consolation, under the circumstances huge huge credit is due to the Aghada team for standing their ground in that second half.

Aghada will now play Watergrasshill, in the back door of this competition.

Aghada Team and scorers – Ciaran O’Shea, Richie Condon(capt), Aaron Butler, Luke Foley, Ger Lynch, Shane Wall, Declan Foley, Aiden O’Connell, Kyle O’Shea, Mathew Leahy, Luke O’Connell(0-1), Aaron Berry, Alan Walsh(0-1), Marcus Leahy, Mark McCarthy(0-7, 4f,2’65). Subs Used – Tommy Dobbyn, Ciaran Galligan, Craig Hogan, Michael Desmond, Vince Rohan, Ger O’Brien.

Premier Intermediate Hurling league – Aghada 1-23 v Dungourney 2-11; Rostellan, 22/7/2018

So after a week of championship defeats for the club, there was some light at the end of the tunnel when our Premier Intermediate hurlers gave a fine performance on route to picking up two league points against Dungourney on Sunday evening last. Playing with the wind and boosted by the return of Will Leahy from a long term injury, Aghada were quickly into their stride, with Leahy in sublime form at full forward. Aghada led 4 points to no score, before being rocked somewhat by Dungourney’s first score which was a goal from a penalty. Leahy, who would finish the half with 5 points from play, quickly got the scoreboard going for Aghada again. That would start a run of 10 points for Aghada before the break, 9 from play, all fine scores, 2 from long range from Billy Hennessy at wingback. In response the Duns’s hit 3 points from play, and at halftime Aghada had a deserved lead on a 14pts to 1-3 scoreline.

Dungourney turned to play with the wind in the second half, but never really looked like making significant inroads into the deficit. The sides quickly exchanged 2 points each, before wing forward Charlie Terry quickly fired over two great scores – the 1st from the left sideline on 7 minutes and his second from the opposite sideline a minute later. Next up was the score that put the game beyond doubt. Ronan Kennedy was fouled going through on goals and Cian Fleming buried the resulting penalty. 1-18 to 1-5 with 11 minutes on the second half clock, only one outcome from there. From the 13th to the 25th minute, Aghada outscored their opponents 5 points to 4. With Aghada then making a number of changes, Dungourney finished the stronger hitting 1-3 in the last 5 minutes to take some of the bad look off the final score. Overall, albeit with a bit of rustiness on view, it was an impressive team performance with some fine hurling and well taken scores.

Aghada Team and Scorers – Trevor O’Keeffe, David Rice, Jake O’Donoghue, Timmy Hartnett, Billy Hennessy(0-2), Stephen O’Keeffe, Jordan Tynan, Aiden O’Connell, Kalen O’Donoghue(0-2), Pearse O’Neill(0-2), Ronan Kennedy(0-2), Charlie Terry(0-2), Kevin O’Hanlon, Will Leahy(0-7), Cian Fleming(1-6, 1-2 f’s). Subs Used – Brian Morrissey, Daniel Creedon, Aaron Stafford, Mark McCarthy, Aaron Berry, Marcus Leahy and Richard Condon.

Fixtures

All roads to Ballygarvan for our first outing in the Premier 2 U21 hurling county championship on this Wednesday night against Ahan Gaels. Throw in is 7.30pm and best of luck to all involved.

Premier intermediate hurling league Aghada v Ballincollig, Thurs 26th in Rostellan at 7.30pm

Lotto

The current jackpot is €3,000 and the next draw is on Thursday 26th in The Schooner Bar. Last week’s numbers were 2,8,19,24. There was no jackpot winner, but congratulations to Val Smith, Betty Parsons, John Browne, Cait O’Neill and Con Ryan who each won a €30 lucky dip.