Garryspillane have too much for Bruff in Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship

GARRYSPILLANE made it two wins from two in the Lyons of Limerick county premier intermediate hurling championship after they defeated Bruff 1-20 to 0-13 in Kilmallock on Friday evening. 

“We did enough against the breeze in the first half and we were able to build on our lead after the break. Mind you, it could have been a lot closer if they hadn't shot so many wides.”

Manager Aaron Considine was reflecting on a job well done as Garryspillane emerged from their second outing in the competition with their 100% record intact after an impressive victory over Bruff.

Busier, more focused and applying greater energy across every line of their formation, the Knocklong club sent out another powerful message to the remainder of their opponents that was even starker than their first round dismissal of South Liberties.

From the moment they regained the lead going into the second quarter, the outcome was never seriously in doubt as the flood of underage talent from the last five years showed that it is maturing into a serious team at adult level.

Not only were they able to step on the gas whenever needed but they paced their efforts as well when they sank back into containment mode to consolidate their intermittent bursts of scores.

Although the result leaves Bruff with a decreasing margin of error as they face into the five remaining rounds of the championship, they at least put together a greater collective effort than in their first round loss to Blackrock.

However, that all came apart within sight of the posts as a horrendous tally of nineteen wides stopped them from gaining any momentum whenever they got the chance to respond.

Garryspillane struck straight from the throw-in with Morrissey's point on the run before Bruff found the measure of the breeze at their backs after Owen Meaney's equalising free when Seán Finn sent over a monster strike from deep inside his own half.

Hugh Flanagan then tied up the scores from a free before Danny O'Leary's goal chance was blocked at the other end by Adam Sheehan but the Stars' centre-forward found the consolation of a point from the next passage of play.

At that point, however, their troubles with finding the posts took off, allowing the Bouncers to move back ahead off Flanagan's free, Eoghan O'Mahony's wallop from beyond half way and Flanagan pointing a '65' after Colin Ryan was foiled by Patrick Finn's last-gasp challenge after a puckout turnover.

Kevin Bonner did break the sequence but his knacky leit and strike was immediately answered by Flanagan's free and Bruff's difficulties suddenly grew an extra dimension when Colin Ryan plucked the sliotar from a forest of raised hurleys and turned to strike through the challenges that took the sting out the shot but it still managed to limp over the line for the game's only goal.

Bonner struck back again to reduce the gap to four before the Knocklong club were awarded a penalty for a foul on Bryan Heavey, but Eric Finn dived low to his right for his outstreched hurley to deflect Flanagan's stroke over the crossbar.

In the run-in to the break, Meaney punished a foul down at the scoreboard end to reduce the deficit facing 'the Stars' to 1-7 to 0-6.

Inside a minute after the restart, Heavey and Flanagan's free added to the Knocklong club's tally and, after Seán Finn's reply, Dylan O'Shea and another Flanagan free had the gap out to seven before the intensity dropped.

However, Bruff just lacked the width and the accuracy to put a decent run of scores together and had to settle for just Paul O'Riordan's strike and sub Josh Keating's free as well as his second free in response to O'Shea's pot from beyond halfway.

By this stage, the replacements were being sprung from the bench and, in the Bouncers' case, some of last seasons regular's whose return to action had been delayed by injury or holidays.

One pot from Flanagan and and a pair from Mark Quinlan shoved the prospects of Bruff's redemption into the realms of the improbable and, even though that was followed by an exchange between Darragh Butler and Ryan as well as one from Paul Browne and Jamie Morrissey, Robert Sampson and O'Shea rammed home Garryspillane's dominance in added time before Heavey answered Keating's free to close off the scoring

SCORERS: GARRYSPILLANE: Hugh Flanagan 0-8 (0-5 frees, 0-1 '65', 0-1 penalty), Colin Ryan 1-1, Dylan O'Shea 0-3, Jamie Morrissey, Bryan Heavey, Mark Quinlan 0-2 each, Eoin O'Mahony, Robert Sampson 0-1 each; BRUFF: Josh Keating 0-3 (3 frees), Owen Meaney (2 frees), Kevin Bonner, Seán Finn 0-2 each, Danny O'Leary, Paul O'Riordan, Paul Browne, Darragh Butler 0-1 each.

GARRYSPILLANE: Adam Sheehan; James O'Sullivan, Roibeard Donovan, Ciarán Sheehan; Declan Heavey, Dylan O'Shea, Eoin O'Mahony; Jamie Morrissey, Josh Dineen; Hugh Flanagan, Bryan Heavey, Cian Ryan; Shane Ryan, Colin Ryan, Calum Sheehan. SUBS: Rossa Stapleton for James O'Sullivan (50 minutes), Mark Quinlan for Josh Dineen (50 minutes), Mike Donovan for Cian Ryan (50 minutes), Ryan Tobin for Calum Sheehan (52 minutes), Robert Sampson for Declan Heavey (54 minutes).

BRUFF: Eric Finn; Patrick Finn, Seán Finn, Colm O'Loughlin; Paul O Riordan, Paul Browne, Kevin Bonner; Seán Casey, Gavin Bracken; Donnacha O'Rahilly, Danny O'Leary, Darragh Butler; Barry Callinan, Bobby O'Brien, Owen Meaney. SUBS: Seán Murnane for Donnacha O'Rahilly (43 minutes), Josh Keating for Barry Callinan (43 minutes), Mikey O'Riordan for Bobby O'Brien (49 minutes), Charlie Cronin for Owen Meaney (53 minutes), Ewan Daly for Paul O'Riordan (56 minutes).

REFEREE: Tom McGlinchey (Newport).