Silver Hill Foods Minor Hurling Championship Final
Emmet Grattans 4-11 Truagh Harps 2-7
Emmet Grattans won the battle of the amalgamated sides in the Silver Hill Foods Minor Hurling Championship Final against Truagh Harps at Cloghan last Saturday. The Carrickmacross/Inniskeen combination proved too strong for the combined forces of Truagh and Monaghan Harps, particularly in the second half, which they won by 2-8 to 1-1. Emmet Grattans featured nine of the team that won the Minor Hurling League last year, including Dónal Meegan, who was the star of the show, scoring 1-10 and dictating play, especially in the second half. He had good support from Kevin Crawley, Colm Meegan, Pádraig Garland, Gareth Keenan and Michael McGeeney, while Cathal McAnespie, Conor Burns and Conor Boyle did their best to keep Truagh Harps in contention.
Truagh Harps were first off the mark on four minutes when Conor Boyle converted a 40-metre free for a foul on Patrick McMeel and Boyle soon added his second point from a 30-metre effort after Dónal Meegan had been adjudged to have over-carried. Patrick McMeel hit the game’s first point from play to move Truagh Harps three clear, but Jamie Guinan (who had earlier been narrowly off-target from a couple of long-range frees), sent one over from a narrow angle, following a foul on Gareth Keenan. Dónal Meegan won and scored a 40-metre free to close the gap to one, but Boyle linked up with Conor Burns before setting off on a surging run and landing a fine point.
Truagh Harps got a real boost on 20 minutes when Cathal McAnespie struck a low shot just inside the left post for the opening goal, although Emmet Grattans quickly hit back when Dónal Meegan converted a 50-metre free after Conor Curley had been penalised for over-carrying. The south-Monaghan side then scored a fortunate goal when a long-range free from Dónal Meegan dropped into the net, but Boyle replied from a brace of frees after fouls on Curley and Ciarán McQuaid to send Truagh Harps in at half-time leading by 1-6 to 1-3.
Emmet Grattans showed they meant business with a strong start to the second half, which saw them hit 1-1 in the first two minutes to take the lead. Dónal Meegan got the point when he fired a 20-metre free over, following a foul on Keenan, before sending in a high ball which Micheál Mac Suibhne flicked to the net. Emmet Grattans added their third goal with 20 minutes to go through Michael McGeeney and when Meegan won and scored a 40-metre free, they had a six-point cushion.
Truagh Harps sub Brendan McQuaid gave his side hope when he got on the end of a Conor Curley pass to squeeze a shot past Niall Butler, but Dónal Meegan then linked up with Kevin Crawley to thump over the point of the game from inside his own half and he added another point from a 30-metre free for a foul on Micheál Mac Suibhne. Truagh Harps had a late attempt to get back into it when Conor Boyle drove a powerful 20-metre free at goal, but the Emmet Grattans defence managed to deflect it out for a ’65, which they again cleared.
Dónal Meegan hit three points in quick succession as the game went into injury-time and it got even better for them when Micheál Mac Suibhne sent a low ball in which McGeeney flicked home from close range for his second goal. Truagh Harps got the last score when Boyle blazed a 30-metre free over the bar, after a foul on McAnespie, but Emmet Grattans still had ten points to spare in the end and it was their captain Kevin Crawley who got his hands on the trophy.
Emmet Grattans: N Butler; S Hayes, P Garland, N Mac Suibhne; S Crosby, K Crawley (Capt.), C Meegan; J Guinan (0-1f), D Meegan (1-10, 1-9f); T Meegan, G Keenan, J Dooley; M Mac Suibhne (1-0), D O’Reilly, M McGeeney (2-0).
Truagh Harps: C O’Neill; T Bramley, J McKenna, C Treanor; C Burns, N Flood, G Mohan (Capt.); C Curley, C McAnespie (1-0); C Boyle (0-6, 5f), P McMeel (0-1), D McGee; C McQuaid, S Treanor, D Hughes.
Subs: B McQuaid (1-0) for Hughes (H-T), C McGee for D McGee (48 mins), C Hughes for Mohan (57).
Referee: M Trainor (Clontibret).
By michael Mon 15th Oct
