December Edition 2004
 
 
 
 

 

Warwickshire GAA Update
By Pat Barry

HURLING FOCUS

All of Warwickshire's adult hurling teams have been in action in recent weeks. Pride of place goes to County Champions John Mitchels, who lifted Warwickshire`s first adult Provincial club title since 1988, when it was John Mitchels footballers who won their Provincial title.

Provincial Club Hurling Championship Final

John Mitchels (Warwickshire) 1:10
Brothers Pearse (London) 0:6

Warwickshire Champions John Mitchels travelled to Ruislip in London to take on the London Senior "B" Champions Bros Pearse in the Provincial Final as underdogs, as they were facing what was a London Senior Club in their own back yard. The general consensus was that the metropolitans would have too much for the Warwickshire representatives who, after all, represent a Junior Graded county as opposed to London who are grade Senior.
At the end of the game the doubters were forced to eat their words as Mitchels put in a power packed second half performance to outscore Pearse`s by double scores and become the first team from Britain to reach the Quarter Final stages of the All-Ireland Junior Club Championships.
After the teams reached half time level at 5 points each, John Mitchels supporters and mentors were unsure of how they would fare in the second half. They felt that the team had been sluggish in the opening period, yet appeared to be in an excellent position.
Points from Martin Gardiner and Sean Nash had given Mitchels an early lead, which was pegged back by the Londoners, who in turn went ahead before full forward John O`Doherty and midfielder Mark Lyons put Mitchels back ahead. Two further points put Pearse`s ahead before the final score of the first half, a Micheal Coen point, restored parity.
For the second half Mitchels made several positional changes, the most significant of which saw half back Mick Ryan moving into the full forward line.
It was 10 minutes before the deadlock was broken in the 2nd half, when John O`Doherty got his second point of the game, followed by another from Mark Lyons who was forced to leave the field in the first half for medical attention.
Half way through the half the positional switch that had seen Mick Ryan move to corner forward paid off as he pounced to send a loose ball into the net from close range. The next score, a Pearse`s point, was their only score of the second half and drew a quick response from Mitchels Centre-Half-Back and Captain John Healy who found his range with a `65.
As the match entered its final stages, Pearse`s were unable to breach the Mitchels defence, while Mick Ryan and substitute Peter Healy added scores to stretch the visitors lead to 7 points at the final whistle.
A great performance by Mitchels was capped when John Lacey, Chairman of the GAA Provincial Council of Britain presented the championship trophy to captain John Healy. The victory qualified Mitchels for the All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Quarter Final, where they would meet the Ulster Champions.
The last time that John Mitchels had tasted glory as Provincial Champions was in 1971 and this triumph must rank as the clubs greatest achievement since it was reformed in the early 1990`s.
At this stage I usually name the players considered to have made the biggest impact on the game, but this would be unfair after what was an outstanding team performance. I therefore have no hesitation in naming all 17 players who featured for Mitchels in the Final, as follows:
Seamus Brough, Chris Brough, John Sheehan, Richard Healy, John Bergin, John Healy, Mick Ryan, Wayne Healy, Mark Lyons, John Gardiner, Sean Nash, Daniel Kelly, Micheal Coen, John O`Doherty, Martin Morrissey, Chris Bolger & Peter Healy

Michael Houlahan Cup

Erin Go Bragh 2:8
Roger Casements 1:4

Warwickshire`s other 2 adult hurling teams competed recently for the Michael Houlahan Cup.
The Cup was presented by the family of the late Michael Houlahan, originally from Emly, Co Tipperary, and former Chairman of the Warwickshire Board.
Earlier on this year the teams has met twice, first in the 9 aside league which saw Casements record their first victory since reforming and then in what was effectively a Senior Championship Semi Final in which Erin Go Bragh narrowly came out on top thanks to a late goal.
With the breeze at their backs, EGB were earlier to settle and points from Dickie O`Brien gave them an early cushion. Casements pushed hard with Aidan Bannon, big John Hughes and Ciaran Boyle making inroads in the midfield and half forward area, but found scoring difficult.
As the game neared half time Kieran Millicent latched on to a handpassed ball end expertly dispatched the ball to the net part Casements `keeper Pat Hoey, to give EGB a half time lead of 1:5 to 0:2.
Despite the lead, EGB had been assisted by the breeze and the 3rd quarter belonged to Casements who added 2 points and then found the net with a deflected shot.
This brought the gap down to a single point and just when it seemed that Casements were about to take over, Michael Hourigan and Dickie O`Brien stepped up to the mark gaining possession of the sliotar and finally troubling the scoreboard.
It was then that Jim Sullivan pounced on a loose ball to net EGB`s second goal and seal the tie. Casements tried to the end, but had put in a tremendous effort over the previous 50 minutes with little reward on the scoreboard and ran out of steam in the last 10 minutes.
Strong performances from `keeper Liam Boxwell, Ciaran Boxwell and Odhran Creegan in defence were added to the usual commitment from John Coyne, Martin Fleming and Luke Graham among others, to forge the EGB victory. A fleeting early appearance from the evergreen Dennis Neenan worried the Casements fullback line, who would have been relieved to see him replaced after 15 minutes.
Bragh`s captain Ciaran Boxwell. who always leads by example, was presented with the trophy by the late Michael Houlahan`s widow and brother who attended Pairc Na H`Eireann specially for the purpose.
Casements were sporting losers and have made significant progress in the last year, for which manager Tony Joyce must be commended.

Fr Forde Cup Final
(Senior Football)

Sean McDermotts 1:12
Roger Casements 2:3

McDermotts gained some revenge for their defeat in the Championship Final, with this comfortable victory against a youngish looking Casements selection.
With Joe Dowling and John Roche influential, McDermotts established early dominance and outscored their challengers by 13 scores to 5 over the hour.
In heavy conditions players found it difficult to keep their feet in parts of the pitch, yet their were some good points scored. The 2 goals scored by Casements meant that McDermotts could not afford to relax until the end.
By the final whistle McDermotts were deserving winners and the victory ensured that there would be some silverware for them to celebrate with in 2004.

 

All Ireland Club Junior Hurling Quarter Final


Glenarm Shane O`Neills (Antrim) 1:7 (Ulster Champions)
John Mitchels (Warwickshire) 0:8 (British Champions)

John Mitchels reward for their provincial success was a visit from Ulster Champions Shane O`Neills, 7 days later.
The recent wet spell has left pitches heavy and although there was no rain during the match, conditions underfoot were slippery. Nonetheless, the game that took place was exciting and took a late turn to send the visitors from Glenarm home as narrow victors.
Glenarm`s team was a mix of talented youngsters and seasoned campaigners, as would be typical in junior teams from all over Ireland. Togged out in colours similar to Dublin teams (light blue & navy), they contrasted with the red of Mitchels and there was certainly no danger of a colour clash here.
Despite plenty of possession by Glenarm, 2 early points put Mitchels in the driving seat and further scores saw them establish a 4 points to 2 lead after about 20 minutes. Sensing that they had a serious game on their hands, the visitors stepped up their play to draw level before a late score sent Mitchels in leading 5 to 4 at half time.
Both teams had been guilty of misses which could have made a significant difference to the final result if they had been taken.
The second half was 3 minutes old when Glenarm drew level and for a period of 10 minutes they dominated possession and starved the Mitchels full forward line of any chances. In addition the loss of Mark Lyons for 5 minutes following an accidental clash, saw Mitchels lose grip in midfield and enable the visitors to move into a narrow lead at 6 points to 5.
Two stoppages meant that their would be at least 5 minutes of added time at the end of the game. At around the 20 minutes mark Mitchels seemed to step up a gear and slotted over 3 points with Glenarm on the back foot replying with one minor score.
As the game entered additional time Mitchels were a point ahead and seemed on the verge of a famous victory until a superb sideline cut dropped towards the Mitchels far post and was expertly doubled into the net for what turned out to be a late late winner.
It was a score worthy of settling such an exciting game and the relief of the Glenarm players was clear to see as they jumped for joy as the goal was flagged. It was as if they had got out of jail!
There were still 3 minutes to play and Mitchels were determined to give it a good go. Mick Ryan gained position 15 metres out and his low shot was blocked on the line and cleared for a 65 by the Glenarm `keeper, which was dropped into the square but cleared. Again Mitchels pushed hard but their reward was a narrowly wide effort following another goalmouth skirmish.
Referee Dennis Richardson (Limerick) played around 5 minutes injury time but unfortunately Mitchels were unable to claw back the deficit and there was a great cheer from the Glenarm supporters at the whistle.
Although bitterly disappointed, the Mitchels players have put down a marker for the future. In a well contested and sporting game, they matched the visitors in virtually every area. The lack of competitive matches may be their biggest problem, but the strong performance at Pairc Na H`Eireann augers well for the future.
During the game both teams appeared evenly matched, which must serve as a big boost to the advocates of teams from Britain competing at this level. It remains to be seen how competitive Glenarm will be against teams from Munster, Leinster or Connacht but the closeness of this match reflects greatly on Mitchels and Warwickshire.


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