Louth Champions narrowly defeated in grueling Leinster tussle  

AIB Leinster Club Junior Hurling Semi-Final

St Fechins 1-4 Horeswood (Wexford) 1-8

Having to travel to the usually sunny south-east, St Fechins were expected by many to be lambs to the slaughter as they locked horns with Wexford Junior champions Horeswood. However instead it was a titanic struggle, where they pushed the heavy favourites to the limit.

A soft goal on 13 minutes helped create an early five-point cushion for the home side, one which they never relinquished, yet they were always looking over their shoulders as the Louth champions had prolonged periods on the top.

Sadly, on a difficult afternoon for hurling The Termonfeckin outfits shooting let them down, particularly in the first half where their final tally saw them grab three points, knock seven wide and another three short. Even taking half of those missed opportunities could have made a difference.

in their defence, they were playing against the elements and a strong breeze was very hard to decipher, with Horeswood only bagging four themselves when tasked with scoring into the town end of St Patrick’s Park.

In a low scoring affair, St Fechins needed an early goal in the second half to bounce back into contention. A square ball stopped them taking the lead midway through the second half, allowing the men in red and green to stay ahead.

Jack Murray did finally rattle the net for his side early in additional time, but it was a case of it being too little too late as Horeswood hung on for a four-point victory.

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The tie was played in tough conditions, with heavy rainfall in the leadup to and during the match making for some tough underfoot conditions, while a huge breeze coupled with a wet sliotar meant this tie was destined to be low scoring.

It was five minutes in before anyone got on the scoreboard, as Wexford county panelist Jack Myler did well to get free in the corner and win a free that was nicely tapped over by Michael O’Hanlon. Another free from his hurl quickly doubled their lead.

It was a mix of luck and top-class reactions that saw the home side open up an early five-point lead on 13 minutes. A ranged effort from Cathal Parker ended up striking the posts, with Sean Nolan being the first man to get his hurl onto the ball for a simple tap in goal.  

Despite this deficit, St Fechins never looked outclassed in this match and throughout seemed the hungrier and more driven side. One clearly hear to show just how good hurlers from Louth can be when put under pressure.

They had the lion’s share of possession in this half, helped by their ferocity to win any breaking ball. Any time a scrum for possession broke out, the Termonfeckin side’s aggression and hard work saw them getting hold of the sliotar and creating chance after chance.

They were hugely on top around the middle and coupled with their quick movement and solo runs from their forward line, they were drawing an endless supply of frees. The problem was they just weren’t capitalising on the opportunities they created.

Paddy Lynch had been one of the competitions top scorers, notching 11 in both ties so far in Leinster, but throughout this match he struggled to get going. He finished the game with five wides to his name.

Elsewhere their running game was possibly taking away one of their biggest weapons in Seaghan Conneely. In their earlier Leinster wins this year, the Galwegian was unbeatable in the air. His fielding used to tee up countless attacks. In Enniscorthy, he had a much more look key role in proceedings.  

Defensively St Fechins were very well drilled and anytime Horeswood did get into their half, they were rarely fouled. That forced them to play long and direct, with Declan Murphy and Conor Foley supplying some decent diagonal balls to try and catch out the Louth champions.

It helped them keep the scoreboard ticking over via O’Hanlon and Foley. They were awarded few chances in the first half but took the majority. Five out of eight efforts were taken by the Wexford champions, as opposed to three out of 13 for the men from the Wee County.

A switch in free-taking duties from Lynch to Bob Grace saw St Fechins grab two more points before half time, leaving them trailing by 1-4 to 0-3 at the break.

Horeswood almost immediately added to their lead after the restart via Declan Murphy but would then go another 17 minutes without a score. A period where they were kept to just one shot that dropped short, as the men in green and white took control once more.

Niall McNamee’s troops were more clinical in this half and having begun turning over their opponent’s puck outs more often, isolating Horeswood into their own half.

Lynch tapped over an early free, but as the tie became scrappier, through stoppages for injuries and substitutions, chances were at a premium.

The tie could have finished differently had a St Fechins goal on 47 minutes been awarded. Seaghan Conneely picked out substitute Barry Devlin, who only had a goal on his mind as he soloed forward.

His effort was well saved by the keeper Eoin Mythen; however he could not stop Murray from firing home the tap in. Que dubious scenes from their vocal traveling support.

Sadly, their jubilation was short lived, as the referee Brian Kearney disallowed the goal for a square ball.

While Murray did eventually get a goal in injury time, three more efforts from the hurl of Foley (2) and Adam Harris prior to the green flag meant it had little relevance by this stage, as Horeswood did just enough to see off a St Fechins side who now know they are well capable of producing the goods at provincial level.

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St Fechins: Ruairi Morrissey; Conor Matthews, Oisin Byrne, Cormac McAuley; David Stephenson, Peter Fortune, Jamie McDonnell; Danny Morgan, Donal Ryan; Seaghan Conneely (0-1), Ross Berkery, Paddy Lynch (0-1 free); Sean Kerrisk, Bob Grace (0-2 frees), Sean Hodgins. Subs: Jack Murray (1-0) for Conor Mathews (HT), Paul Mathews for Berkery (46), Barry Devlin for Kerrisk (46), Thomas McCreesh for Hodgins (51), John Crosbie for Conneely (62).

Horeswood: Eoin Mythen; David Murphy, Shane O’Hanlon, Eamon O’Sullivan; Sean Hunt, Barry Hearn, Joe O’Sullivan; Declan Murphy (0-1), Conor Foley (0-3, 0-1 free); Cathal Parker, Danny Byrne Murphy, Jack Kehoe; Jamie Myler, Michael O’Hanlon (0-3 frees), Sean Nolan (1-0). Subs: Adam Harris (0-1) for M O’Hanlon (49), Shanr Rowe for Byrne Murphy (51), Sean Stafford for Kehoe (63).

Referee: Brian Kearney (Kildare)