Hurlers reach Feile final.

Shelmaliers U14 hurlers qualified for the county Feile final on Saturday in some style despite the unavoidable absence of a number of regulars.

Shelmaliers U14 hurlers qualified for the county Feile final on Saturday in some style. Despite the unavoidable absence of a number of regulars, the boys played some powerful hurling to see off Monageer in a tight first game. Despite a great start, with goals from the forceful Steven Dwyer and debutante Simon Donohoe, we were put to the pin of our collar to beat a capable Monageer outfit with a classy second half point from Graham Staples.
In our second game we were up against a determined Buffers Alley outfit, but a pair of powerhouse performances at midfield from Conor Tobin(1-1) and Craig McCabe(0-1), backed up by a half-back line in which Dean Corrigan and A.J. Lehane were dominant, was enough to ensure a comfortable victory. A late second half goal from Damien Drennan put the icing on the cake and crowned a very good performance.
We now travelled to Rathnure to face the Rapparees in the semi-final. After a very exciting first half we led by a point. The highlights of this period were a wonderful point by Simon Donohoe and a spectacular goal from a sideline cut by Craig McCabe. In the second half we pulled away and never looked like being headed. Pádraic O’ Leary was inspirational at full back, as he was all day.  Dean Corrigan again impressed, Conor Tobin scored 1-1 to seal the victory and Kevin O’ Connor topped off an impressive debut with a well-taken point. In this period goalkeeper Seán Byrne saw his first real action of the day, and pulled off saves that would do credit to Damien Fitzhenry. A feature of the semi-final was the drive provided by the all-action Niall Tobin, and the reliability of Eoghan Fitzgerald, Eoin O’ Leary, and another debutante James Cash, in the Shelmalier rearguard. We now advance to meet the Harriers in the Co. Final on May 5th