Regional Hurling Féile Champions
June 09, 2018
After a strong performance in the recent County Hurling Féile Competition, our U14 Hurlers were selected to compete in the Regional Hurling Féile Finals in Thurles last Saturday. The team set out on a glorious day to tackle strong opposition from Wexford, Tipperary and Waterford.
The day started with a good performance to beat Shelmaliers (Wexford) by 4 points, before tackling local favourites (St Marys from Tipperary). With a first half injury to Tadgh O'Connell and a second half dismissal for James Dwyer, all our lads dug deep to beat St Mary's to set-up a group qualifier against Waterford's Abbeyside club. Abbeyside came with a strong reputation and were also unbeaten, while we had the disadvantage of a one game suspension for James, but with our backs to the wall, the lads put in a fantastic performance to win by 2 goals.
The Regional Final of the day was now set-up, with both Cork Clubs facing off in the grande finale. One of our strongest competitors in Cork over the last few years, Na Piarsaigh, beat Kilmacud Crokes, Toomevara and Clarecastle on the way to the final. Under the shadows of Semple Stadium, Dr Morris Park was treated to a thriller in this U14 Féile Final, with no easy score available for either team. Thankfully our lads persevered and produced a great performance to win out by 2 points.
Winning 4 top grade hurling matches bodes well for the future, while the management team led by Danny Dwyer (i.e. Brendan O'Connell, Joe Moore, Aidan Lucey, Fergus Ward, Noel Hurley, Michael O'Brien & Mike McGrath), were delighted with the outcome after 7-8 years of encouragement and support. Our win on Saturday would not have been possible either without the great help from the U13 squad, so thanks to John Buckley and Ger Dore.
Not to be out done, on Sunday at noon we played Eire Og in a local football league encounter. The weary legs from Saturday's efforts were evident as we finished the first half down by 6 points. But with further encouragement from the sideline and some changes in luck in the second half, our lads showed great attitude to turn around the scoreline to win by 12 points in the end.
Focus now returns to Hurling, where we have a top of the table clash with the Barrs on Friday night in Ballincollig, so why not come down to the club tonight and watch the Regional Hurling Féile Champions in action.