Granagh-Ballingarry win the highlight of opening round of Limerick SHC

In his weekly Limerick Leader column, Martin Kiely looks back on the opening round of the Limerick SHC

They stood clapping at the small gate, the smiling faces of all ages gathered in a line and watched their team come off the field.

No medals or cups had been won but a first round win in the senior hurling championship was enough to stir the hearts and emotions of the supporters of Granagh Ballingarry.

For six years they had waited to see this moment and it came about as a result of hard graft and a furious will to win.

Adare will look back and wonder where it all went wrong but for Granagh Ballingarry the future has now a clearer look about it.

For years they had tried to compete with the big boys but they always seemed to come up short.

Some of that was down to playing much better teams but part of it was down to the efforts the players were prepared to make and now it seems they are least going in the right direction.

One win is only part of the journey but for a team like Granagh Ballingarry it’s a vital step forward because for too long they have been in the shadow of others.

Newcastlewest was an ideal venue for this game and the local club had the field in superb condition.

Adare are more accustomed to playing in the Gaelic Grounds and at no stage did they look like pulling away from Granagh Ballingarry.

I would say that this was one of the best attended games of the weekend and the crowd responded to the closeness of the contest.

Adare have lost so many players from last year and as I said last week they are rebuilding.

That aside they had enough good players and enough ball to win this game but as the battle wore on they started to lose their grasp. Granagh Ballingarry had a good spine to their team, David Clancy at full back and Thomas O’Donovan at centre back were direct and commanding. Niall Kennedy at centre forward ran at the Adare backs and they didn’t like it.

The talented Denis O’Connor finished the game with a tally of 1-8 and from start to finish he had a telling impact on the outcome of this game.

Only two points separated the teams at half time but Adare should have been further ahead and would have been were it not for the “go it alone” attitude of some of their forwards.

Adare had only one point from play in the opening half, Willie Griffin had most of the points while John Fitzgibbon blasted a penalty to the net.

What impressed me most about Granagh Ballingarry in this game was that they never once dropped the head. The players were well focused and matched Adare puck for puck.

A goal by Denis O’Connor eight minutes in to the second half curtailed Adare’s momentum, between this and the twentieth minute the sides would be level on three occasions and like many other games it looked like we were heading for a draw.

Willie Griffin was in sparkling form and his point, with just two minutes of normal time remaining, would have ended the hopes of most teams but not Granagh Ballingarry.

Kevin O’Connor was not long off the subs bench when he produced a bit of magic.

The ball had broken to the wing and the angle was sharp, O’ Connor somehow not only managed to execute the shot but he flashed it into the right corner giving Adare keeper Shane O’ Donoghue no chance.

In total we had almost eight minutes of injury time played in this game but many of those minutes were played in a different tone to the rest of the game. Referee Aidan Ryan made a few strange decisions particularly during this spell but in the end the team that wanted it most won the game. Granagh Ballingarry are now firmly on the championship road and it will be interesting to see how they progress.

Garryspillane

Garryspillane had a great win over Doon in the championship and Michael O’ Donnell played a huge part in the outcome.

Were it not for injury this man would have played such a key role for Limerick and I would say he was one of the biggest losses to the county in some time.

If right was right he should not even be playing club hurling, three serious knee operations would have resulted in most people walking away but not O’Donnell.

Doon had no answer to him and his powerful frame and strong hurling proved crucial to his club’s mighty victory.

Effin

LAST week I wrote a little about young Diarmuid Byrnes from Patrickswell who had make his debut with the Limerick minor hurlers just a couple of weeks ago.

The supporters at the Patrickswell and Effin game will now know much more about him.

Byrnes came on when Patrickswell were in real trouble and the minor gave an outstanding account of himself.

His ability to win ball in the air sets this young man apart and in time this lad has the ability to play at the highest level.

Effin gave a very good account of themselves and know they had this one in the bag but, as we saw a few times over the weekend, knowing how to win at senior level carries a lot of weight.