Murroe-Boher celebrate extra time win in Limerick U21 A hurling final

IT might have been the shortest day of the year with an 8pm throw-in but Murroe-Boher and Newcastle West showed no intention of leaving Mick Neville Park early on Wednesday night as an even-Stephen county under-21A hurling final spread over into extra time before the East Limerick club made staying power play in the second added period on a 0-19 to 0-15 scoreline.

The sides had finished deadlocked at 0-12 each at the end of normal time, with Bryan Nix's late point for the West Limerick side sending the game to extra time. 

In the end, the victory was no more than Murroe-Boher deserved as they showed the greater focus on their one shot at county glory for the year, but that was only after their opponents finally ran out of gas after a long season competing over a range of codes, grades and competitions.

If there was a factor that gave the winner's an edge, Michael Ryan's nine frees out of a twelve-point haul not only allowed them to keep in touch whenever the Magpies threatened to build up a significant lead but also gave them the end-of-game firepower to get them over the line.

Despite the contributions of man-of-the-match Ethan Hurley from distance, Con Hayes from closer in and skipper Bryan Nix, a total of sixteen wides prevented Newcastle from making the most from their periods of dominance.

Newcastle West had led the game 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time in normal time, while Murroe-Boher held a 0-16 to 0-15 advantage at half-time in extra-time.  

SCORERS: MURROE-BOHER: Michael Ryan 0-12 (9 frees), Killian Quaid 0-3, David Hickey, Mark Nicholas, Jack Nicholas, Brian O'Keeffe 0-1 each; NEWCASTLE WEST: Con Hayes 0-7 (2 frees), Bryan Nix 0-3, Ethan Hurley (2 frees), Jack O'Connor 0-2 each, Ruadhán O'Connor 0-1.

MURROE-BOHER: Cathal Barry; Stephen Moore; Liam Quaid, David Hickey; Seán O'Brien, Euan Sheridan, Eoghan Bourke; Mark Nicholas, Jack Nicholas; Brian O'Keeffe, Michael O'Brien, Michael Ryan; Killian Quaid, Joe Shanahan, Conor Foley. SUBS: Jack O;Sullivan for Evan Sheridan (injured, 18 minutes), Shane Bartley for Jack O'Sullivan (55 minutes), Mikey Walsh for Shane Bartley (68 minutes), Ruaidhrí Casey for Sean O'Brien (80 minutes).

NEWCASTLE WEST: James Lyons; Aaron Neville, Jody Woulfe, Andrew Mortell; Todd Donovan, Ethan Hurley, John Whelan; Michael Cremin, Ruadhán O'Connor; Conor Walker, Brian Foley, John O'Grady; Bryan Nix, Jack O'Connor, Con Hayes. SUBS: Seán Torley for John O'Grady (41 minutes), John O'Grady for Seán Torley (74 minutes), Leon Barry for Michael Cremin (77 minutes).

REFEREE: David Deady (Bruree).