Tullamore club notes
August 10, 2015
Lotto Draw
This weeks Lotto numbers were 1, 12 , 21, 25. There was no Jackpot winner and 2 match 3 winners Aoife O Brien c/o Ladies Football and Julia Moore c/o Ken Furlong. Next weeks Jackpot is €16,200 and draw takes place in Digan's.
U14 Hurling
Tullamore and Belmont lit up the U14 Hurling Championship with a super game played at O'Brien Park on Thursday August 6th. Indeed, all present were in agreement that this was the best game of hurling played at any grade in Offaly this year. Despite being idle for six weeks this Summer, great credit must be given to both teams for the wonderful exhibition of skills put on display. In the end, Tullamore came out on top by seven points and were full value for their victory on this occasion.
The first half served up some dramatic patches of play as both forward lines held the upper hand. Tullamore raced into an early three points to one lead thanks to Luke Egan who continued his good form in the number 14 jersey. It was then that the fireworks began.Star player Cathal Flynn fired in two quick goals for Belmont before Padraig Martin rifled an unstoppable 21m free to the roof of the visitors net.Game on. Further points were exchanged before Cool Hand Luke Egan regained the initiative for Tullamore with a fantastic goal.However Cathal Flynn completed his hat-trick for Belmont after only 20 minutes played and Tullamore were beginning to look vulnerable again. The home management took emergency action by switching the classy Kalvin Fenlon Sent from my iPhone
Both teams tightened up immeasurably in the second half with defences coming to grips with the threat posed by dangerous forward lines who were definitely on their game. However it was in the vital third quarter that Tullamore grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. With Kalvin Fenlon putting the shackles on the ever-dangerous Flynn and Padraig Martin totally dominant at Midfield, The Blues pushed for home. Indeed, it was three un-answered Martin points that first opened up a decent amount of daylight between the teams. Points were then swapped as two Belmont scores were cancelled out by excellent efforts from Matthew Keegan and Cormac Kelly. A long-range free from Padraig Martin dipped into the Belmont net on 50 minutes and a ten point lead opened up. Despite a gargantuan effort,the young lads from West Offaly couldn't break down a very disciplined home defence where John Mahon,Sean Courtney and Cian Martin continued to burst out through tackles and lift the crowd with telling clearances. They did get some reward for their endeavours when another long-range free fell into the Tullamore net. However, it was too little too late. Fittingly, the final score of the evening fell to Padraig Martin who brought his final tally to 2-4 with a lovely point with three minutes left on the clock.
Tullamore will be very pleased with this result as they overcame table-toppers and the previously unbeaten Belmont team. All this was achieved without the services of team captain Kevin Mann and Inter-County Player Ciaran Egan. The Blues now turn their attention to the Quarter Finals and they can prepare in confidence. All their hard work is paying off and we are looking forward to following their progress in the weeks ahead.Final Score: Tullamore 6-10 Belmont 5-6. Scorers: Padraig Martin 2-4; Anthony Lambe 2-0; Luke Egan 1-3; Cormac Kelly 1-1; Matthew Keegan 0-2.
Minor Football
Tullamore and Shamrocks played out a fine game in Mucklagh last Wednesday in dreadful conditions. Scores were level on a number of occasions with both sides having spells of dominance. In the end both sides shared the points on a score line of Tullamore 1:15 to Shamrocks 2:12. Tullamore panel was K. Bryant, E. Geoghegan, L. O Hoisting, J. Carroll, S. Flanagan, C. Kavanagh, K. Galvin, M. Rowland, A. Leavy, L. Plunkett, D. Foley, E. Martin, T. Digan, P. Norton, J. Dooley, B. Deering, C Brennan, O. Donovan, S. Martin, B. Kellegher, C. Fogarty, S McCabe, S. Pike
Senior Hurling
Our senior hurlers had a good win on Friday evening over Ballinamere on a score line of 3:22 to 1:19. Our Juniors were beaten by Clodiagh Gaels in the Junior play off. It was a high scoring game with the final score of 4:14 to 2:10. Our intermediate footballers are out on Friday night in Croghan at 8pm playing Ballyfore. And our Seniors are playing St Rynaghs in Pullough on Saturday at 6pm. Good luck to both teams.
