The opening round of the U-17 A hurling Mid Championship took place at a windy Holycross on Monday evening last. Brackens struggled against the elements in the opening half and trailed by 0-11 to 0-4 at the break. Cian Broderick landed our only score from play while Jamie Ormond pointed three frees. Brackens were transformed after the break and upped their work rate considerably. Holycross did land the opening score of the half before Brackens landed five on the trot courtesy of the O'Shea brothers Ciaran (2) and Padraic, Jack Marnell and another free from Ormond. The sides shared the next four points, Ormond from a free and Marnell, to leave it 0-14 to 0-11 entering the last quarter. It was game on now with the game finally coming to life. Three quick fire points from Ormond (f), Padraic O'Shea and Marnell's third tied it up by the 48th minute. The home side dug in and landed three of the next four to nudge two ahead in the 54th minute. Ormond's first from play was quickly followed by the game's only major from Ciaran O'Shea to put Brackens ahead for the first time. Holycross finished strongest, grabbing the last two points from play to finish as we started, all square. (1-16 to 0-19). Brackens will be delighted with their improvement as the game wore on and will feel slightly unlucky not to have won it. But overall the draw was probably a fair reflection of the game. In the other games Durlas Og defeated Drom/Inch (3-20 to 2-10) and Boherlahan overcame Gortnahoe (7-14 to 2-15). All teams play each other in the round-robin with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. The remaining four will contest the quarter-finals. Boherlahan are next up for Brackens on Monday night at 7pm in Templemore.
Team and Scorers: Cormac Bourke, Tommy Burke, Kyle Whelan, Robert Crampton, Robert Lee, Niall Delaney, Kieran Martin, Jamie Ormond (0-8, 7f ), Dylan Quinlan, Cian Broderick (0-1), Cian Sheedy, Padraic O'Shea (0-2), Jack Marnell (0-3), Ciaran O'Shea (1-2, 0-1f), Sean Purcell. Subs Used: Callum Patterson for Dylan Quinlan (inj) 29 mins, Dayle Hogan for Lee (H/T).
Referee: Philly Ryan, Boherlahan.
