Ogonnelloe Hurling Club

Ogonnelloe qualified for the quarter final of the Junior B Championship when, despite playing without a number of key regulars, they edged out the Banner in a thriller in the Evicted on Saturday Afternoon.

Missing 4 of the team that started the first round against Crusheen, Ogonnelloe were forced to reshuffle the pack. Noel Gavin went to number 6 with Brian Stritch coming in at Wing back. Pat McMillan Started at midfield and Jason Kirby moved to 14 with Francis McNulty and Tom Prendergast coming in at 13 and 15.

The Banner started the game with the wind at their backs and looked the better team for long periods of the first half. They opened the scoring with point from a long range free from their Goalie. Ogonnelloe replied with a point from a free by Dermot Dinan which was won after a good run by Pat McMillan.

Banner again took the lead with another point only for it to be cancelled out this time by a point from play from Leo Sheedy who was working very hard at wing forward.

The Banner scored another point before Ogonnelloe took the lead for the first time in the game with a goal from a 21 yard free by Dermot Dinan. This was followed by a point from a free for the Banner and then a point from play for Ogonnelloe by Jason Kirby to leave Ogonnelloe leading about half way through the first half by 2 points.

The Banner then hit their best patch in the game and with their half back line and midfield well on top, they put a lot of pressure on the Ogonnelloe backs. During this spell they scored 1-5 without reply to leave give them a healthy 6 point lead heading towards half time.

However this lead was cut in half when some good pressure on the Banner Goalkeeper by Francis McNulty resulted in the ball breaking out to Jason Kirby who finished to the net. It was a goal that came against the run of play at the time and one that Ogonnelloe really needed going into half time. The Banner scored one more point before the half time whistle leaving Ogonnelloe trailing 1-10 to 2-3.

Ogonnelloe would probably have been the happier of the two teams at half time. Despite playing against the wind in the first half and having being under a lot of pressure for large periods of the half, they still only found themselves 4 points in arrears.

The second half started well for Ogonnelloe when Leo Sheedy drove straight over the black spot after finding himself in space. However, this was quickly cancelled out by a point from the accurate free taking of the Banner wing forward.

The following 10 minutes was real end to end stuff with good pressure being applied by both sets of forwards and with both defences standing firm. Joe Mooney and David Sheedy on the right side of the Ogonnelloe defence in particular cleared a lot of ball in this period.

The game then looked to have finally swung in Ogonnelloe’s favour when a free from 40 yards went all the way to the Banner net to leave the minimum between the teams. However, the Banner were not yet ready to give up and they scored the next two points to stretch their lead out to a goal again.

It was then that Ogonnelloe finally clicked into gear and started to play the kind of hurling they are well capable of.

Their purple patch was kicked off by a superb point from play by Tomas Ryan who had come on as a sub and was operating at midfield. This was followed up by a free by Dermot Dinan to leave the minimum between the teams.

With time running out, Ogonnelloe pushed hard looking for the equaliser. When it did come, it was from an unlikely source. David Sheedy, who had played superbly all day at corner back, raced up the field to take a pass about 65 yards out and fire between the posts.

Momentum was now well and truly with Ogonnelloe, and with their supporters getting behind them and Banner starting to lose their shape, the Ogonnelloe forwards were starting to find a bit more space. A long ball into the Ogonnelloe full forward line was pulled on across the square before being latched onto by the Ogonnelloe sub Noel Daly. While taking a hefty challenge from his marker and the banner goalie, Daly still managed to defiantly finish to the net to finally give Ogonnelloe the lead they deserved.

This was followed a few minutes later by another Ogonnelloe pointed free to leave 4 points between the teams and time running out for the Banner to make up the difference. The Banner did get one final chance when they earned a 21 yard free in the closing minutes. However, the shot failed to test the Ogonnelloe net minder Alan Kirby and it sailed over the bar.

When the referee blew the final whistle moments later, Ogonnelloe had held out for a memorable 3 point victory on a 4-8 to 1-14 scoreline.

This was a real team performance from Ogonnelloe. The players that came in to fill the void proved their worth with Brian Stritch solid at wing back, Pat McMillan getting through a lot of hard work at mid field and both Tom Prendergast and Francis "64" McNulty doing well to hold onto a very limited supply of ball in the full forward line in the first half. Tomas Ryan came on at midfield in the second half and had a large part to play in swinging the game Ogonnelloe's way and Noel Daly proved once again that he's the man for the big occasion with his crucial score.

All in all it was a very satisfactory victory for the Ogonnelloe players, mentors and supporters and one that will probably be remembered for a long time to come.

Ogonnelloe team :

1) Alan Kirby

2) David Sheedy 3) John McMahon 4) John Barton

5) Joseph Mooney 6) Noel Gavin 7) Brian Stritch

8) Patrick Mooney 9) Pat McMillan

10) Leo Sheedy 11) Dermot Dinan 12) Des Perry

13) Tom Prendercast 14) Jason Kirby 15) Francis McNulty

Subs : Tomas Ryan, Noel Daly, Pat Gavin and Anthony Mooney

Scorers :

Dermot Dinan 2-3 (all frees)

Jason Kirby 1-1

Noel Daly 1-0

Leo Sheedy 0-2

David Sheedy 0-1

Tomas Ryan 0-1