Kenny's Perfect Ten
October 27, 2014
Tooreen (Mayo) 2-14
Easkey (Sligo) 0-11
Reigning Connacht Club U16 Hurling Champions Easkey surrendered their title at the hands of a determined Tooreen outfit at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan recently. In a repeat pairing of last years quater final, the East Mayo side overturned the Sea Blues by nine points - with Tooreen sharpshooter Sean Kenny showing great composure to convert ten placed balls throughout the course of the game.
In blustery conditions at the Connacht Centre, Tooreen set the platform for their victory whilst playing into a strong gale for the opening thirty minutes. After fifteen minutes of the tie, Easkey led by 0-5 to 0-1 - thanks to excellent Sea Blue points from Mikie Gordon and Joe McHugh. Sean Kenny - who had opened his account in the 4th minute added a further free for Tooreen in the 18th - before the crucial and defining score of the game following closely in the 21st minute.
David Gannon - who had just switched from the Tooreen midfield into the egde of the square - caught a Sean Kenny pass and headed for the Easkey goal. He unleashed his goalbound shot from distance which found its way to the roof of the Easkey net with style. That Gannon goal - coupled with a closely followed Tooreen point from Daniel Huane - brought the sides back level, whilst knocking the wind out of the Easkey sail in the process. Having had the majority of possession in the opening twenty minutes, Easkey now faced an uphill task of holding onto their Connacht title. Two late opening half frees from Kenny again left the Mayo champions in a commanding 1-5 to 0-7 lead at the interval - knowing that the strengthening elements would be in their favour for the second period.
The resumption saw Easkey come out fighting scoring the opening point from Mikie Gordon. However, Tooreen totally dominated the tie between the 35th and the 42nd minute of the game - rattling in 1-5 without reply - a period of the game which set up a comfortable slide home for the locals. Sean Kenny accounted for four of these points during their purple patch, with the goal coming from the hard working Daniel Huane - while Cillian English recorded a white flag from out near the sideline with a beautifully taken score on the run. English's point left Tooreen in a commanding 2-10 to 0-8 lead with fifteen minutes remaining on the clock.
The closing stages of the game saw Easkey throw the proverbial kitchen sink at Tooreen but the Mayo lads rearguard stood firm. Bobby Douglas in the Tooreen nets showed his value to the team with a string of commanding blocks and long range defensive clearances, while the full back line of Conor Hunt, John Cassidy and PJ Burke stood firm throughout. However, the platform for the Tooreen side was built around the half back line of Ml Freyne and Chris Murphy - with the impenetrable Ross Egan commanding his position at number six.
The final whistle brought a deserved nine point win for the Tooreen charges - who are managed by Nicky Freyne - along with the assistance of Paul Squires and Austin Kenny. The Tooreen side will now play Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) in the Connacht Club semi final next Saturday 1st November at 2.00pm back in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence again, with the winners of that tie going forward to play Ahascragh-Fohenagh (Galway) in the Connacht final.
Tooreen: Bobby Douglas; Conor Hunt, John Cassidy, PJ Burke; Ml Frayne, Ross Egan, Chris Murphy; Cillian English (0-1), David Gannon (1-0); Daniel Huane (1-1), Brian Morley (0-1), Dylan Niland (0-1); Dara Crawley, Sean Kenny (0-10,10f), Shane Crinnegan. Subs: Eoin Delaney for Crawley, Ml McNeive for Murphy.
Ref: Kevin McGeeney (Roscommon)
