Carrig & Riverstown advance to provincial semi-finals after terrific tussle

CARRIG & Riverstown claimed their place in the semi-finals of the Leinster Club Junior Hurling Championship following a hard earned win over Dublin's Good Counsel Liffey Gaels in a very exciting quarter final played at The Faithful Fields on Saturday.

AIB Leinster Club Junior Hurling Quarter Final

CARRIG & RIVERSTOWN 1-20
GOOD COUNSEL LIFFEY GAELS 3-11

In a hugely competitive game, Carrig & Riverstown withstood the challenge from their Dublin opponents to advance to a home semi-final meeting with St Mary's of Leixlip on November 25 after a great contest.

Both sides put in a huge shift in this game and it swayed one way and then the other but over the hour Carrig & Riverstown played the better hurling and deserved to advance to the last four. They responded well to the concession of goals and put in a strong finish over the last 10 minutes to do enough to clinch their semi-final place.

The sides exchanged points early on and Carrig & Riverstown had edged two points clear when Good Counsel Liffey Gaels struck for their first goal. The Offaly champions responded well with the next two scores and in the second quarter they pushed four points clear but Good Counsel Liffey Gaels hit back with the final three points of the half to cut the gap to a point at half time, 0-10 to 1-6.

The sides were level early in the second half but Carrig & Riverstown goaled in the fourth minute and went four clear again. Once more Good Counsel Liffey Gaels hit back with a goal and with 10 minutes left the sides were level for the sixth and final time. Carrig & Riverstown stood up in the final 10 minutes with the next five points and although Good Counsel Liffey Gaels did pull a late goal back, Carrig & Riverstown did enough to hold on for the win.

Carrig & Riverstown showed great resilience and when their character was tested they stood up to the task impressively. While the lead changed hands a couple of times in the first half, Carrig & Riverstown were never headed in the second half. Each time Good Counsel Liffey Gaels levelled, Carrig & Riverstown responded with the next score, which is a very good sign of a team. There were a couple of great blocks that prevented goals and overall their hooking and blocking was very good.

The intensity of the game really lifted in the second half and both sides went for it and they all deserve credit for producing such an exciting contest, which entertained the crowd on a cold November day.

Liam Hoare made a number of important stops for Carrig & Riverstown while in defence Ross Connaughton worked hard at full back, Patrick Bergin had an excellent second half and Cathal Hanlon also did well in the back line. Cathal King and Peter King both impressed at midfield and did a huge amount of work in that area. In attack Brendan Hoctor, Lee Hogan and Joe Hoctor all contributed well.

Luke Thomas had a good hour in the Good Counsel Liffey Gaels goals while in defence Matthew Potts, Cathal Mahon and Conor Dunphy worked hard. Adam Skelly had good moments at midfield while in attack Corey Scahill, Luke Blood and Shane Ryan were the biggest threat.

Carrig & Riverstown took the lead inside a minute when Peter King sent over a good point but Good Counsel Liffey Gaels quickly levelled with their only point from play in the first half from Barry O'Reilly and they went in front after three minutes when Corey Scahill pointed a free.

Carrig & Riverstown were level again when Lee Hogan pointed a fifth minute free and Cathal King then put them back in front after a good move. The Gaels missed a goal chance when Shane Ryan caught a high ball but his effort was blocked at the expense of a '65' which was missed. Peter King added a point for Carrig & Riverstown but Liffey Gaels Good Counsel struck for a goal after 10 minutes when Shane Ryan caught another high ball from Barry O'Reilly and this time made no mistake shooting low to the net.

The Carrig & Riverstown response was good as Brendan Hoctor levelled from a '65' and Lee Hogan restored the lead from a free but the sides were level for the fourth time after 17 minutes when Corey Scahill pointed a free.

Carrig & Riverstown enjoyed the better of the exchanges after that and hit four points without reply. Brendan Hoctor hit three of them, two from play, with Lee Hogan notching the other to leave them 0-10 to 1-3 in front after 22 minutes. Carrig & Riverstown gave away a couple of careless frees after that and Corey Scahill pointed three of them to cut the half time deficit to a single point, 0-10 to 1-6.

Lee Hogan got the first point of the second half from a free but Corey Scahill replied quickly and straight from the puck out Luke Blood won the ball and drove over the equaliser in the third minute.

A minute later Carrig & Riverstown struck for their only goal. Conor McDowall came in from the left and saw his first shot blocked. There was a bit of a scramble the goalmouth but Conor McDowall managed to poke the ball into the net for a crucial goal. Lee Hogan added a free to stretch the lead out to four points.

Corey Scahill pulled one back from a free but Peter King replied with a well worked point after 10 minutes. Good Counsel Liffey Gaels then got themselves back into the game. Corey Scahill's free from 66m was heading to the right but Shane Ryan managed to catch it and keep it in play and he came out and fired to the net to leave just a point in it again.

Carrig & Riverstown almost replied immediately with a fine move but Lee Hogan's shot was well saved by Luke Thomas. Brendan Hoctor did get a point but Corey Scahill replied from play and when he pointed a free after 20 minutes the sides were level again.

Carrig & Riverstown knuckled down and Lee Hogan quickly put them back in front. Then heading into the final five minutes they upped things again. Brendan Hoctor and Lee Hogan pointed frees and from the puck out from the latter, Patrick Bergin won the ball and fired over a point from 60m to push them four clear. Liam Hoare added another free from inside his own 65m line.

Carrig & Riverstown looked safe but Good Counsel Liffey Gaels didn't give up and Corey Scahill sent a pass to Luke Blood and he steered a great shot to the top corner of the net to cut the gap to two points again. However Carrig & Riverstown held on and Lee Hogan added a further point to seal their place in the semi-finals.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

CARRIG & RIVERSTOWN: Liam Hoare; Thomas Hogan, Ross Connaughton, Dylan Hogan; Cathal Hanlon, Patrick Bergin, Michael Fitzgerald; Cathal King, Peter King; Joe Hoctor, Brendan Hoctor, David Egan; Conor McDowall, Daniel England, Lee Hogan. Subs. Canice Stevenson (for Daniel England, 45 mins), Kian McDowall (for Michael Fitzgerald, 51 mins), Mark Hogan (for David Egan, 63 mins).

GOOD COUNSEL LIFFEY GAELS: Luke Thomas; Eoin Kirby, Matthew Potts, Josh O'Brien; Conor Dunphy, Cathal Mahon, Leo Costigan; Conor Forrestor, Adam Skelly; Brian Mahon, Corey Scahill, Luke Blood; Adam Quinn, Shane Ryan, Barry O'Reilly. Subs. Fiachara Corry (for Conor Forrestor, 47 mins), Shane Kirby (for Barry O'Reilly, 56 mins).

REFEREE: Gearoid McGrath (Wexford).

MAN OF THE MATCH

Midfielder Peter King was the star of the show for Carrig & Riverstown. He did a huge amount of work, winning a lot of ball and getting his side on the attack. Added to that he fired over three points from play in a strong all round performance.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

It turned out to be a consolation score but Luke Blood's late goal for Good Counsel Liffey Gaels was a terrific score. Corey Scahill did great work in beginning the attack and when he passed the ball out to the right to Luke Blood about 20m out, he arrowed a great shot to the far top corner of the net to give his side a glimmer of late hope but it wasn't to be.

REFEREE WATCH

On the whole Gearoid McGrath did a decent job. He was a little bit over fussy about peripheral things like ensuring both sides didn't have too many people standing out of the dug outs but in general there was little issue with his officiating. He liaised well with his linesmen and umpires and he got the bulk of the decisions correct.

WHAT’S NEXT

Carrig & Riverstown advance to the Leinster semi-final where they will face St Mary's of Leixlip at home on November 25th.

VENUE WATCH

The constant rain in recent times has made pitches very soft and in some cases unplayable and with St Brendan's Park in Birr ruled out for this fixture, the game was switched to The Faithful Fields. It was a fine day for the game and the pitch was in excellent condition. There were plenty of stewards on duty to cater for the crowd present, which included an enthusiastic and vociferous contingent from Dublin.

STATISTICS

Wides; Carrig & Riverstown 7 (4 in first half) Good Counsel Liffey Gaels 7 (6 in first half)

Yellow Cards: Good Counsel Liffey Gaels 1 (Dylan Hogan) Good Counsel Liffey Gaels 3 (Conor Forrestor, Shane Ryan, Shane Kirby).

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Carrig & Riverstown; Lee Hogan (0-8, 0-5 frees), Brendan Hoctor (0-6, 0-2 frees, 0-1 '65'), Peter King (0-3), Conor McDowall (1-0), Cathal King, Patrick Bergin, Liam Hoare (free) (0-1 each).

Good Counsel Liffey Gaels; Corey Scahill (0-9, 0-7 frees), Shane Ryan (2-0), Luke Blood (1-1), Barry O'Reilly (0-1).