U12 Hurling Div 2 - Castleknock A 2-7 Lucan Sarsfields A 4-13

On a cool, blustery Monday evening , the U12A team ventured out to Porterstown for first league match v Castleknock. Previous history for games v Castleknock had been close run affairs , with Lucan typically coming out on top in the end. This game followed a very similar pattern. The early exchanges were tense , with lucan goalkeeper Adam Whyte being called into action on a number of occasion in the first half – pulling off a a few very good saves and ably controlling under pressure. Despite playing with the breeze in the first half , Lucan struggled to make their dominance pay, relaying on some sterling defending by man of the match Michael Young at Centre Back to twart Castleknock attacks. Lucan made some head-way through scores from among Hugh Cuffe , Neil O’Leary , Brendan Kavanagh , Michael Young and Matthew Coogan., but somehow found themselves only leading by 1 point at half time due to a fortuitous goal from Castleknock right on half time.

A rejigging of the line-up for the 2nd half , saw Sean Harkness moved into full forward with Neil O’Leary dropping to the backs , Cillian Morrissey coming in to the backs, Adam Whyte moving to wing-forward , Cian Canavan moving to Midfield with James Ryan moving to goal. From the start of the 2nd half , the hurling was more fluid and Lucan competed better in the ruck ball , with Michael Young again excelling. Playing against the wind in the half, ensured on the small pitch that instead of balls going wide that, the full forward line was being serviced , with immediate effect as Sean Harkness grabbed a good goal to push Lucan further ahead. Lucan’s started to dominate in the backs with Aidan Sheary, Diarmuid Keher, James Finn , Cillian Morrissey , Michael Young and Neil O’Leary coping admirably under the high ball , with particularly note for James Ryan in goal for his assured handling in the 2nd half and accurate puck-outs. It was from one of these puck-outs to Hugh Cuffe that the best move the game was noted , when a quick pass to Matthew Coogan , was forwarded onto Brendan Kavanagh , who with time and space scored a well-deserved point.

The tireless work of Sean Harkness, Louis Butler and Adam Gilmore in the forwards frustrated the Castleknock defence throughout the 2nd half and laid the platform for some great scores , in particular the addition of 3 more goals from Sean Harkness , Hugh Cuffe and Matthew Coogan. As the 2nd half continued Lucan pull steadily away from Castleknock , with Lucan running out easy enough winners on a scoreline of 4-13 to 2-7 at the final whistle.
 
Team : Adam Whyte , Diarmuid Keher (Capt), Aidan Sheary, Cillian Morrissey, Adam Gilmore, Sean Harkness, Brendan Kavanagh, Michael Young, Hugh Cuffe , Cian Canavan, Neil O’Leary, Louis Butler , James Finn, Matthew Coogan, James Ryan.

Man of the Match : Michael Young