OUTSTANDING HURLING AS DETERMINED B's MAKE MAGPIE HURLING HISTORY

cOUNTY  JUNIOR B Hurling Championship Final,DECEMBER 1ST,1997,at KILMALLOCK.

Newcastle West.....................................................................................1-12

MURROE-BOHER.........................................................................................3-05

Fitzgerald Park, Kilmallock on Sunday last was the "Theatre of Dreams" for our gallant Junior B hurlers,(and their suppporters who came in huge numbers), as they deservedly captured the blue riband of County Junior B hurling for the very first time ever.

In doing so, they brought the first County Junior Hurling Championship title to the parish since 1926.First things first:the game was brilliant, intensely competitive, supremely exciting,outstandingly sporting and a credit to both teams, the issue in doubt right up to the final whistle.

Sunshine bathed the Kilmallock pitch when the teams trotted out. The weather was dry and mild,there aws no breeze and no rain fell or threatened to fall.Winter seemed to have taken the day off.The sveldt sward however flattered to deceive.The nice coating of grass concealed conditions that were very soft.We defended the dressing room goals in the first half.

We had the kind of starty that induced nightmares and thought of going home again. At two minutes we were a point behind.At five minutes,it was 0-0 to 1-1.Three minutes later, there was another green flag to bring the score to 0-0 to 2-1.We were playing well off the pace,second to the ball,out of it.Optimism was waning.Neil McGowan pointed from a free in the ninth minute bringing the score to 0-1 to 2-1.Liam Cremin had a brace in the tenth and fourteenth minutes,0-3 to 2-1.We were now holding our own and getting on top.When Michael O'Grady and Neil McGowan added further points in the sixteenth and seventeenth minutes to narrow the gap to a mere two points,heads were up again.;it was now 0-5 to 2-2,we were back in business.A very soft goal at twenty four minutes deflated us again and when we went for the half time sós, the score was 0-7 to 3-3,a five point gap,big enough the way we were playing.

We owned the second half,the half back line of Senán Kelly,Joe Lee and James Hennessy,the heart of our superiority,Donal Horgan superb at midfield. The scores however came reluctantly and slowly, the Murroe backs conceding very little.Nevertheless,picking off our points,we edged closer,finally equalising 0-12 to 3-3 through Derek Power,(who excelled after coming on as a first half sub for Neil McGowan), in the fifteenth minute.

The final fifteen minutes were almost scoreless.We dominated but missed many chances.Then,from a rare attack, the East champions converted a twenty metre free:0-12 to 3-04,three and a half minutes left.The huge Magpie following urged on the team and at twenty eight minutes, Seánie Gleeson got the touch fotr the vital goal hat gave us a two point cushion.At thirty minutes,Murroe-Boher scored a point to leave but one point in it.In over-time, they had opportunities to level,as we had to widen the gap,but neither side scored further and two minutes into that over-time,the referee called for the ball.Despair and disappointment for Murroe-Boher, the joy of victory for the Magpies.

Overall, our team played with fantastic heart,spirit and commitment.Very much out of sorts in the first quarter,they fought their way back into the game,endured the disappointment of missing and conceding scores and came from behind when it was difficult to do so.Well done to all.

Donal Horgan was undoubtedly our best player and the games man of the match.Joe Lee was not far behind him,James Hennessy excelled all through,Senán Kelly had a brilliant second half,as did Derek Power,Liam Cremin,(when moved out to half forward) and Michael O'Grady.Indeed,after an indifferent enough first half,all upped their games in the second half,fought for every ball,contested the issue.In the final analysis,it was this team effort that won the day,though young Donal was undoubtedly the jewel in the crown.

Manager Mort O'Connor and his selectors Tommy Quinn and Mike Lane can take a bow also.Not slow to make switches or substitutions,(sometimes controversial),they played a vital part in annexing the title.By all accounts,(we have it from the horses mouth of course),their half-time exhortations on Sunday left the team in no doubt about what was needed and expected in the second half if a win was to be achieved.What happened is a tribute to the motivational powers of Mort,Tommy and Mike.

So a fantastic year for our Junior B's ends with a famous win.It was a win that often looked unlikely after the West League semi-final defeat to Kilcornan,in the West Championship final first game vs Kilcornan,in both games against Bruree,in this Championship semi-final and in the first quarter/half on Sunday last.But the maxim is "when the going gets tough,the tough get going" and it was this "fight to the finish" spirit that this week has our Junior B hurlers,monarchs of all they survey in their hurling world,the 1997 County Hurling Champions.

TEAM:Mike Sammon;Kenneth Mortell,Liam Keane,Paul Devine;Senán Kelly,Joe Lee(Capt),James Hennessy;Tony Ahern,Neil McGowan;Donal Horgan,Tommy Quinn,Michael O'Grady;Liam Cremin,Connie Kelly,Seánie Gleeson.SUBS:Derek Power,Pa Meehan,Dan Cahill,Gerald Sheehy,Declan Curtin.