Granagh-Ballingary power past South Liberties in Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship

GRANAGH-BALLINGARRY made it two wins from two in the Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship on Saturday evening, overcoming South Liberties 1-19 to 0-14 in a wet and windy Adare.

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Both sides found the conditions tough to deal with in the opening half. Defences were on top for the majority of the opening 30 minutes with placed balls the most successful route to goal for both teams. 

Ken Byrnes was on free-taking duties for South Liberties and the lively corner-forward kept his side in it with some expert free-taking, whilst also being a threat from play. 

Granagh-Ballingarry's Luke Flynn was equally as impressive, raising white flag after white flag with some really impressive efforts.

A Barry Nash point on five minutes gave Liberties a 0-03 to 0-01 lead but from there the half would be nip and tuck, both sides unable to establish a lead of real significance. 

That was until the 17th minute when Granagh/Ballingary full-forward Sean O'Connor latched on to a loose puck out and made no mistake in rifling his effort into the back of Ben Garry's net.

That goal proved to be the pivotal score of the half as Granagh/Ballingarry went in at the break three ahead, 1-09 to 0-09. The half-time interval gave both sides a chance to draw breath and escape the elements for a quarter of an hour.

If the first-half was close, the second was anything but. Granagh/Ballingary flexed their muscles and began to turn the screw on their South Liberty opponents. 

The levels of intensity by John Connor's side ramped up significantly and South Liberties couldn't match it for the majority of the half. 

Sean O'Connor, who had notched his side's goal mid-way through the first-half, signaled his side's intent with an excellent point seconds into the half. 

The energetic Ronan Mullane and the rest of his defensive unit were dogged in in their duties, not giving the Liberties attack the chance to build up a head of steam. 

Centre-forward Luke Flynn continued his fine first-half form for the victors, finishing with a scoring tally of 0-10, his efforts, both from placed balls and from play, keeping their opponents at arm's length. 

Ken Byrnes kept Liberties in it but in truth, it was a professional showing by John Connor's side, with excellent showings from the likes of Daragh Casey, Brian Sheedy and Paudie Murphy. 

Granagh/Ballingarry were able to see out the game with the minimum of fuss, keeping the scoreboard ticking over as the worked their way towards the 70th minute mark. 

Full-time score, Granagh/Ballingarry 1-19 South Liberties 0-14. 

SOUTH LIBERTIES: Ben Garry, Ben O'Donoghue, Alex Keyes, Shane Kilcoyne, Eoghan Godfrey (C), David Garry, Barry Nash (0-02), John Hickey (VC), Sean Holland (0-02), Shane O'Neill, Barry Cooney (Brendan Aherne 47'), Ben Compton (Shane Brosnahan 50'), Brendan McSweeney, Ken Byrnes (0-10) (7f)

GRANAGH-BALLINGARRY: Denis Connor (0-01) (1f), Eoghan Casey, John Kealy, Mark O'Shea, Eoin Horgan, Jack Cagney, Ronan Mullan, Daragh Casey (0-01), Brian Sheedy (0-01), Michael Russel (0-01), Luke Flynn (0-10) (7f), Tom Horgan (0-01), Jack Hartnett (Jack Mulqueen 56'), Sean O'Connor (1-02), Paudie Murphy (0-02)

REFEREE: Eamonn Stapleton (Doon)