St Fechins lose out to Leixlip following scoring spurt

AIB LEINSTER CLUB JUNIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP

St Fechins 4-14                                                                                                                                                       

Leixlip 3-19

A scoring spurt down the home straight saw Leixlip pip St Fechins to a place in the Leinster Junior Championship semi final in this thrilling, see-saw like encounter in Darver on Saturday afternoon.

Despite trailing by four points after the third quarter, Leixlip found scores that bit easier to come by than their Louth counterparts, and an impressive 1-11 in the final 20 minutes of the game, ultimately saw Pierce Treacy’s side secure a place in that Leinster decider, in a match where they accrued 17 scores (3-14) from 24 shots in open play.

But the match did not peter out without some late drama. With Leixlip seemingly home and dry, leading by 3-18 to 2-14 in stoppage time.

The Fechins who were thwarted on several occasions by Leixlip’s Keith O’Callaghan, managed to make a major dent in the deficit, when Sean Kerrisk’s strike flew into the top corner to bring the Hoops back into contention.

Moments later, a long ball into the square, was eventually bundled over the line by Seaghan Conneely, and the game was back in the melting pot. With a strong, vocal support behind them, St Fechins won the next puckout, but were penalised for fouling the ball.

Darragh Melville stepped up to convert to add to his personal tally, to send his side through, much to the delight of their away supporters who travelled in their droves.

A lively opening 10 minutes saw St Fechins get a dream start, when Paul Mathews seized on a loose ball to grab the opening major of the match, after a Sean Kerrisk effort had dropped short.

Despite the rocky start, Leixlip settled down and soon began to cause the Fechins rearguard endless problems, with Darragh Melville and Cormac Keegan lively inside.

With centre half forward Jack Travers in a deeper, sweeping role, Leixlip laid solid foundations to build their attacks, winning 20 out of 26 on their own puckout, with Travers particularly influential.

This tactic, along with Keegan and Melville out in front of their markers, saw Leixlip look menacing every time they attacked.

Having got his side off the mark moments earlier, James Canning set up Cormac Keegan who fired passed St Fechin’s custodian Dan O’Neill for the first of his two opening half majors.

Two Melville strikes including one from play after combining with Keegan, saw them lead by 1-3 to 1-2 inside 10 minutes, with frees from Patrick Lynch and David Stephenson responding for the Fechins.

Conor Higgins teed up the marauding Keegan for his second goal, to put four between the sides, and Darragh Melville continued to prosper, with more precise shooting, as well as teeing up team captain Conor Burke who put five between the sides at 2-5 to 1-3 after 20 minutes.

Leixlip continued to find scores easier to come by than the Fechins, who were mainly relying on the free taking of David Stephenson, with the Louth champions living on scraps at this juncture.

With the presence of Seaghan Conneely and Paul Mathews inside, the Fechins’ direct approach did bring joy, and Conneely combined with Ruari Morrissey to set up Paul Mathews for a goal to bring them roaring back into contention against the run of play at 2-4 to 2-5.

Leixlip’s O’Callaghan produced a smart save to deny the lively Sean Kerrisk minutes later, with the Fechins’ tails up.

Leixlip still managed to steal a few points on the break, through Melville, Jack Travers, and John Roche to keep their noses in front at the break, with marvellous shooting by Danny Morgan and Sean Kerrisk keeping St Fechins in touch at 2-8 to 2-6.

Second Half:

The Fechins came out for the second half, and roared into life, scoring six points without reply to take that four point buffer into the 40th minute.

This second half saw the home side win 12 out of 16 on their own puckout, while Donal Ryan, Danny Morgan, Ross Berkery, and Cormac McAuley won crucial turnovers, working exceptionally hard for the Fechins cause, with Peter Fortune finishing with 15 possessions over the hour.

Berkey and Sean Hodgins combined to set up Sean Kerrisk for their side’s opening score, in a spree which included three Patrick Lynch strikes, and fine scores from Paul Mathews and Kerrisk again, to put the Fechins in a healthy position.

Four or five point leads are never comfortable in the unique game that is hurling, and so this proved in Darver with momentum turning once again.

Following that early dominance from the Fechins, Leixlip responded, with Darragh Melville’s scoring exploits putting them back in charge.

Melville’s goal completed Leixlip’s revival, as they soon led by 3-12 to 2-12 in the blink of an eye, with Melville and Keegan continuing to find the range.

That scoring spurt, which included fine scores from brothers Ben and Jack Travers, coinciding with Keegan and Melville’s prowess, along with sub Alan Murphy’s effort appeared to be sufficient for a comfortable Leixlip win, as they led by 3-19 to 2-14 heading into added time.

Despite losing his hurley, Paul Mathews made clever use of his football talents to kick the sliotar over the bar to break up that Leixlip momentum.

The Fechins managed to engineer a free, which they tried working it closer to the goal, with time running out. The ball came to Sean Kerrisk who sent his missile to the net to give the Fechins hope, closing the gap to four.

Moments later, a long, searching ball was scrambled over the line by Seaghan Conneely, with the goal eventually awarded after the referee consulted with the umpires, and the slenderest of margins separated the sides in added time.

Despite winning the next puckout, St Fechins’ hearts were broken, when a free was awarded against Danny Morgan for fouling the ball. The free was converted by that man Danny Melville, to seal a narrow victory for Leixlip, as the Fechins died with their boots on.

St Fechins: Dan O’Neill; Cormac McAuley, Danny Morgan (0-1), Conor Higgins; David Stephenson (0-3) (3f), Peter Fortune, Cathal Ryan; Donal Ryan, Sean Hodgins; Ross Berkery, Seaghán Conneely (1-0), Sean Kerrisk (1-2); Patrick Lynch (0-6) (5f), Ruairí Morrissey, Paul Mathews (2-2).

Subs: Barry Devlin for Morrissey (52), Jack Murray for Cathal Ryan (61).

Leixlip: Keith O’Callaghan; Jack McGonigle, Ryan Doyle, Cillian Nicholson; Conor Higgins, John Doran, Conor Burke (0-1); James Canning (0-1), John Roche (0-1); Ben Travers (0-1), Jack Travers (0-3), Tomas Seale; Cormac Keegan (2-3), Stephen Ryan, Darragh Melville (1-8) (4f).

Subs: Alan Murphy (0-1) for Seale (39), Sean McManus for Roche (59).

Referee: Kyle Waters (Offaly).