Birr continue good start with convincing win over out of sorts Coolderry

WITH two wins out of two, Birr are motoring very nicely and firmly on course for a place in the quarter-finals if not the semi-finals of the Senior Hurling Championship. A convincing and much easier than anticipated win over Coolderry in Shinrone on Friday evening has them on four points and they will be delighted with the way they are going.

Molloy Precast and Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 1

Birr 2-18

Coolderry 1-14

This was a very solid, efficient display by Birr and they certainly look to be in the process of turning some sort of a corner. Time will determine that but there was something quietly impressive about the way they disposed of a Coolderry side who went into the game with four points from their first two games.

A surprise first round win over Ballinamere set up Coolderry for a good season but they struggled over Seir Kieran in the second round and this performance raises further doubts about their title prospects.

Birr were full value for their win. They did most things very well with nearly all players performing but they were very much assisted by a Coolderry side who were guilty of some atrocious shooting. Coolderry had seventeen wides, twelve of them in the second half, including a 59^th minute penalty that Eoin Burke sent wide.

It is a symptom of the poverty of Coolderry's display that a goal from that penalty would not have rescued them and the damage was well and truly done at that stage. Some of their second half wides were really poor – a couple were just “hail Mary” attempts while the body language of the strikers of a few others told us that they were going wide before they got near the posts and that is the thing that their manager Brian Carroll will be most disappointed with.

Birr were certainly the better side in the first half and their 1-9 to 0-7 lead was a fair reflection of the way it went.

Birr were just that bit better in most facets of play and Coolderry may have been disrupted by a second minute injury that saw the departure of corner back Stephen Connolly. This resulted in a realignment with Shane Connolly coming on into the attack and Shane Ryan dropping back.

Birr were 0-3 to no score ahead after seven minutes and Coolderry's cause was not helped by four quick wides – their first only came in the 10^th minute, followed by Kevin Connolly's opener moments later.

Frees from Stephen Corcoran and Eoin Burke had Coolderry level at 0-4 each after 18 minutes. An Eoghan Cahill free edged Birr back ahead and Cahill, tightly marked by Ajay Cleary, was instrumental in a super 21^st minute goal. Morgan Watkins superbly robbed a Coolderry player in the middle of the field, Luke Nolan raced forward, passing to Eoghan Cahill, who quickly transferred to Lochlann Quinn and Quinn pulled first time in the air to the net for a really good goal.

Coolderry should have cancelled that out immediately as Eoin Burke blazed over the bar with the net only metres in front of him.

Birr were the better from here to the interval, outscoring their opponents by 0-4 to 0-2 for a deserved five point interval lead.

Birr looked the like winning all the way in the second half – some of that was down to their own collective work rate and general hurling but Coolderry's wides made it all too comfortable for them. Ben Miller was wide with a great goal chance at the start of the second half and Coolderry had cut the gap to four, 1-10 to 0-9 after five minutes but four wides in the same spell meant that the questions were nowhere near as tough as they should have been.

Four points in a row, the pick of them a Morgan Watkins beauty, pushed Birr out to a 1-14 to 0-9 lead after 42 minutes and the result had an air of inevitability about it. Shane Connolly got in for a 44^th minute Coolderry goal but the gap was still six points and it changed little. Kevin Connolly added a fine point and briefly, we thought the losers might make a game out of it.

Instead, Eoghan Cahill scored a fantastic 46^th minute goal out of nothing and a 2-14 to 1-10 lead was more than Birr needed to settle this one. Birr got to 2-18 with five minutes left and Coolderry continued to mount up the wides with reckless abandon, though sub Daniel Miller did offer something, scoring the last two points while he was also fouled for the penalty that Burke sent wide in a very tame Coolderry defeat.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Eoghan Cahill (Birr): Birr had really good performances in all sectors and there is merit in going for one of the players who laid the ground work. Sean Ryan, Brendan Murphy, Ailbe Watkins, Joe Ryan, Ben Miller, Luke Nolan and Morgan Watkins all staked claims in this regard while Lochlann Quinn had an excellent first half, scoring 1-2.

For the second game in a row, however, Eoghan Cahill's contribution was a decisive one. Ajay Cleary marked him for a while and David King was on him for a lot of it and they succeeded to an extent but only in spells and Cahill was wonderfully sharp. He scored 1-9, including 1-2 from play and a great sideline, giving the final pass for the crucial first goal, ending it as a contest with a super second half goal. He set up scores and distributed very well in a top class display.

Coolderry didn't have many contenders for man of the match though Cian Burke did do a lot of very good work in the middle third for them and kept going when it was out of reach.

THE SCORERS

Birr: Eoghan Cahill 1-9 (6f and one sideline), Lochlann Quinn 1-2, Morgan Watkins and Luke Nolan 0-2 each, Sean Ryan, Ailbe Watkins, Ben Miller 0-1 each.

Coolderry: Eoin Burke 0-7 (5f and 1 '65'), Shane Connolly 1-0, Stephen Corcoran (2f), Kevin Connolly and Daniel Miller 0-2 each, Gearoid McCormack 0-1.

THE TEAMS

BIRR: Sean Thompson; Campbell Boyd, Eoin Hayes, Cormac Kenny; Sean Ryan, Brendan Murphy, Colm Mulrooney; Ailbe Watkins, Joe Ryan; Barry Harding, Eoghan Cahill, Ben Miller; Lochlann Quinn, Morgan Watkins, Like Nolan. Subs – Jimmy Irwin for Mulrooney (53m).

COOLDERRY: Stephen Corcoran; Stephen Connolly, David King, Stephen Burke; Conor Molloy, Ajay Cleary, Cian Burke; Marc Ryan, Eoin Ryan; Eoghan Parlon, Kevin Connolly, Gearoid McCormack; Eoin Burke, Shane Ryan, Andy Connolly. Subs – Shane Connlly for Stephen Connolly, inj. (2m), Daniel Miller for Andy Connolly (43m),

Referee – Matthew Farrell, Tullamore.

REFEREE WATCH

Matthew Farrell is a very steady, consistent referee and he handled this fixture very well.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Lochlann Quinn's 21^st minute goal, followed by a point from Eoin Burke that should have been a goal at the other end, went a long way towards determining the outcome here.

VENUE WATCH

Shinrone once again demonstrated great pride in their facilities. The place was looking very well and they ensured all participants from players to supporters to media were well catered for. Their intermediate hurlers were playing at the same time in Ballinamere and it meant that several members had to stay at home but they had more than enough stewards to ensure the fixture went like clockwork.

WHAT'S NEXT

Birr host Tullamore in round 4 while Coolderry have a bye until round 5 when they meet Tullamore.

STATISTICS

Wides: Coolderry – 17 (5 in first half); Birr - 12 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Coolderry – 1 (Eoin Ryan); Birr – 1 (Brendan Murphy).

Red cards: 0