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Indoor Hurling Competition Cumann na mBunscol and Duin Ballygalget Champions !

The excellent coaching in hurling skills undertaken by Mr. Paddy Branniff and Mr. John Crossey in the local schools appears to have awakened a new enthusiasm for the game. The recent  indoor hurling competition had an entry of 24 schools and area competitions were held in early February with the top eight teams qualifying for the County Final on Feb 23 in De La Salle High School Downpatrick.. The finals were played in a two section league format with the following schools being involved :  St. Francis’ Loughbrickland, St. Caolan’s Darragh Cross, St. Dallan’s Warrenpoint, St. Malachy’s Castlewellan, St. Mary’s Kircubbin, St. Mary’s Portaferry, St. Patrick’s Hilltown and St. Patrick’s Ballygalget.

Section A was dominated by St. Mary’s Kircubbin who won all their games and St. Francis’ Loughbrickland took second place.

Section A results:

Kircubbin                     5-0       Castlewellan                 2-0

Loughbrickland 1-0       Warrenpoint                 1-0

Kircubbin                     6-0       Loughbrickland 0-0

Castlewellan                 3-0       Warrenpoint                 1-0

Kircubbin                     4-0       Warrenpoint                 0-0

Loughbrickland 1-0       Castlewellan                 0-0

Section B was a most keenly contested affair with the local rivals St. Mary’s Portaferry and St. Patrick’s Ballygalget drawing their match and ending joint top of the section. Ballygalget were adjudged winners on score difference.

Section B results:

Portaferry                     3-0       Hilltown                        0-0

Ballygalget                    4-0       Darragh Cross              2-0

Portaferry                     3-0       Darragh Cross              1-0

Ballygalget                    3-0       Hilltown                        2-0

Portaferry                     1-0       Ballygalget                    1-0

Hilltown                        1-0       Darragh Cross              1-0

Semi-finals.

Kircubbin and Portaferry were drawn in the first semi-final and this proved to be a hurling classic with both sides displaying deft touches and skilful hurling. Both goalkeepers were extremely busy and prevented scores for a long period of time. The deadlock was broken by a free awarded for an infringement in front the Portaferry goal. In an obviously well rehearsed move, Chris Egan stroked the sliothar back to the onrushing Caolan Taggart who found the back of the Portaferry net. Shortly afterwards, a poor clearance by the Kircubbin defence was met by Peter Mason to level the match. There followed an exciting period of frenetic hurling involving blocking skills and close marking before a long pass out of defence found Chris Egan in front of the Portaferry goal and he scored the winner for the Kircubbin boys.

 Score:                        Kircubbin                    2-0                   Portaferry                   1-0

The second semi-final pitched the might of St. Patrick’s Ballygalget against St. Francis’ Loughbrickland. This was an intriguing affair with the game flowing from end to end but the superior sharp shooters from the Ards proved to be too slick for the Loughbrickland team. A delightful move involving  Caolan Bailie, Stephen Smyth and John McManus brought the opening score for the Ballygalget team. John Meara in the Loughbrickland goal made several good saves before a poor clearance allowed Caolan Baillie to double the deficit with a long shot. Loughbrickland pressured the Ballygalget defense through Tony Hegarty, Michael McGrath and Rory McShane but Ballygalget goalkeeper was outstanding and kept a clean sheet. Three more goals from Caolan Baillie and one from Ryan Hagan ensured victory for the Ballygalget hurlers.

Score:  Ballygalget                 7-0                   Loughbrickland          0-0

So the stage was set for a repeat of last year’s final in which St. Mary’s Kircubbin overcame their local rivals. A buzz of excitement filled the hall with all the expectations of a thrilling encounter and we weren’t disappointed. We were treated to a fascinating game of close marking, blocking, skilful hurling and great goalkeeping. The tension seemed to dissipate to both teams as the usual sharp shooters were less accurate than in previous games. Eventually Chris Egan latched onto a poor clearance and opened the scoring for Kircubbin. Caolan Baillie had a long range effort narrowly wide before John McManus was on hand to open his team’s tally. Both teams battled to the final whistle without any further scores to show for their efforts.

Score at Full Time:    Kircubbin        1-0       Ballygalget     1-0

Extra time was called for and with it  a sudden death element. Two games had failed to separate these great rivals and now the first to score was going to be crowned Down Indoor Hurling Champions 2005.        There followed another period of exciting exchanges before an infringement  in the Kircubbin goal area presented a free and scoring opportunity to Ballygalget. The obilgatory  Kircubbin defensive wall was arranged but up stepped Caolan Baillie to drill a perfectly struck shot past the Kircubbin goalkeeper and claim the county title for his school.

Final Score:   Ballygalget      2-0       Kircubbin        1-0

After the final, Pat Watterson, who presented the trophies, thanked all who had participated in this year’s event and in particular Paddy Branniff who had encouraged some new schools to be involved through his coaching endeavours. The standard of hurling witnessed throughout the competition augured well for the future of hurling in Down. He thanked the Principal and Staff of De La Salle school  who were most generous in allocating these wonderful facilities for the finals.

2005 Indoor Hurling Competition Cumann na mBunscol and Duin Champions!

Ballygalget