Dromin-Athlacca signal their intent with comfortable win over Glenroe
A return to senior is Dromin-Athlacca’s goal and they began with a straightforward win over Glenroe
DROMIN-ATHLACCA began the Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship in impressive fashion following a 1-25 to 0-16 victory over Glenroe in Knocklong this Sunday evening.
Limerick star David Reidy fired over 0-7 for the side that was relegated from senior in 2025. Tadhg Boddy also fired eight points for James Kennedy’s charges.
In a competition where there often is little difference between qualifying for the semi-finals and being condemned to the relegation final, the 12-point score difference ran up during a rampant second half is almost worth an extra point on the table at the end of the season.
If they do get there, Dromin-Athlacca can thank an imperious display from Reidy who, with the assistance of Daniel Scully, pulled the team back from a nervous opening and then relentlessly piled on the pressure after they bagged the game's only goal five minutes before half-time.
Up to that point, Glenroe had given as good as they got and even shaved the margin back to the minimum just after the break but just didn't have the spread of talent through the lines to keep the onslaught at bay.
Although Scully got Dromin-Athlacca off the mark inside the minute, both sides took their time to find the range of the posts until Darren Frewen's reply off a free
That was followed by an exchange between Reidy and Ciarán Kelly and Tadhg Boddy's free being met by Daniel Murphy.
However, once Reidy and Scully began to make their mark around the middle, Boddy's free, Cian Scully and another free by the Limerick U20 hurler put some daylight between the sides coming up to the quarter mark
Glenroe finally found the pitch of the wind and, beginning with an enormous free from goalie David McCarthy and an equally long pot from play from Oisín Browne.
Cathal Dennehy's strike on the turn had them back back level before Daithí Dennehy put them ahead for the first time.
They were still leading when Cathal Dennehy neutralised Boddy's free but Dromin-Athlacca intensified their grip on the engine room and went in front when Reidy added to Scully's equalising strike on the turn.
After an exchange between Frewen's free and Scully, Shane Fitzgibbon answered another Frewen free by getting onto Scully's pass in from the left to drive to the net.
Scully followed up immediately by sending the puckout back over the bar before Reidy answered Frewen's third free with a majestic strike under pressure from the right sideline that left his side leading 1-12 to 0-11 at the break.
Glenroe threw everything into a whirlwind restart and were back to within a point inside four minutes when Daithí Dennehy, Frewen's free Adam Frewen all found the target while their opponents sent their first four efforts wide of the posts.
They got back on the right track with another shot between the posts under severe pressure and erased the pressure on their lead after a pair of Boddy frees.
Coming to the three-quarter mark, a Frewen free broke the sequence but only temporarily with Boddy landing another free.
Jack Fitzgibbon, Boddy's '65' and Fitzgibbon again moved Dromin-Athlacca's margin out to seven. There was still time for a final flourish with points that aided the margin of victory.
Things got even worse for Glenroe when Shane O'Donoghue picked up a straight red card just before the final whistle.
SCORERS - DROMIN-ATHLACCA: Tadhg Boddy 0-8 (6f, 1 '65), Dave Reidy 0-7 (1f), Daniel Scully 0-5, Shane Fitzgibbon 1-0, Jack Fitzgibbon 0-3, Cian Scully and Seán O'Leary 0-1 each; GLENROE: Darren Frewen 0-7 (7f), Daithí Dennehy and Cathal Dennehy 0-2, Daniel Murphy, Ciarán Kelly and David McCarthy (1f), Oisín Browne, Adam Frewen 0-1 each.
DROMIN-ATHLACCA: Robbie Breen; Shane Scully, William Dore, Seán Morrissey; Patrick O'Donoghue, Micheál Reidy, Shane Fitzgibbon; Cian Scully, Dave Reidy; Daniel Scully, Tadhg Boddy, David Griffin; Jack Fitzgibbon, David Breen, Jack O'Connor; Subs: Seán O'Leary for O'Connor (43 mins), Ben Gubbins for S Scully (55 mins), Michael Quaid for J Fitzgibbon (58 mins), David Mullins for O'Donoghue (59 mins).
GLENROE: David McCarthy; Oisín Browne, Shane O'Donoghue, Darren Carroll; Kyle McCarthy, Stephen Walsh, Eoghan Fitzgerald; Daniel Murphy, Ciarán Kelly; Zach McCarthy,, Adam Frewen, Liam Dennehy; Darren Frewen, Cathal Dennehy, Daithí Dennehy; Sub: Seán O'Donnell for Ciarán Kelly (36 mins).
Referee: Mike Sexton (Bruree).