Battling Colaiste Choilm go out with their heads held high

A malfunction of sorts in the first half along with the brilliance of three of the winning players were chiefly responsible as a brave Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore side exited from the Leinster Colleges Senior “B” Hurling Championship in St Loman's, Mullingar on Tuesday afternoon.

Leinster Colleges Senior “B” Hurling Championship quarter-final

Maynooth Education Campus 0-17

Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore 1-11

The Tullamore students were way off the pace in the first half against a clinical, very efficient Maynooth Education Campus who barely put a foot wrong as they led by double scores, 0-12 to 0-6 at the break.

You just couldn't envisage any way back for Colaiste Choilm at that stage and the smart money would have been on the winning margin heading north but they did really well to get back into contention in the second half. They outscored the winners by 1-5 to 0-5, had the gap back to two points with fifteen minutes to go and had Maynooth seriously worried.

There was no disputing the assertion that the better team won but Colaiste Choilm showed great fortitude to turn the tide and were not that far away from pulling off a spectacular snatch and grab raid. Their salvage bid was always in the long shot category but a couple of mistakes at inopportune times cost them while Robert Burns almost got in for an injury time goal but his shot was blocked after a great surge forward by Eoin Rouse.

Ultimately, however, Colaiste Choilm left themselves with too much to do in the first half when they were clearly second best. With the super Ciaran Dunne leading the way, Maynooth led by 0-6 to 0-2 after fifteen minutes. Colaiste Choilm rallied well to reduce it to 0-7 to 0-5 after 20 minutes, Donal Dooley pointing from play and Glenn Keaveney and Jason Donoghue converting frees.

Maynooth, however, found another gear and Colaiste Choilm struggled badly coming up to half time. They were outscored by 0-5 to 0-1 for that six point half time deficit and they had a mountain to climb in the second half.

They gave a great go at surmounting it, raising their intensity levels and working very hard to close down and curb the influence of Maynooth's best players.

They got the first three points to bring the deficit down to just three after 41 minutes and were fighting with everything they had, digging deep all over the field. Those three points, however, showed where Colaiste Choilm's big problems were. They were all frees and their forwards struggled the whole afternoon, finding it extremely difficult to create and convert scoring chances in open play.

Colaiste Choilm's 1-4 from play was not enough and another quality point from Ciaran Dunne in the 43^rd minute settled Maynooth down. Tom Power added a free but Colaiste Choilm got the break they had to get with a 45^th minute goal. Eoin Rouse was the provider, though his handpass was certainly in throw ball territory, and Tadgh Kelly finished very well from close range.

Suddenly the gap was just two points, 1-9 to 0-14 and Jason Donoghue was just off target with another long range free that would have brought it down to the minimum. Maynooth found the right answers with Tom Power and Dunne putting them four in front with eight minutes left.

Hard working young sub Keith O'Rourke brought it back to a score, a goal with a 55^th minute point but Power's '65' restored a four point cushion heading into injury time. Colaiste Choilm missed their late goal chance and this meant that Glenn Keaveney's late free was immaterial.

While they will be disappointed at their return from play and the threat up front, Colaiste Choilm can be very proud of their battling qualities and commitment levels. They were not that far away and it is a tribute to their determination that a victory was possible inside the closing ten minutes.

Ultimately Maynooth progressed because of the quality of Ciaran Dunne, Oran Byrne and Tom Power and Colaiste Choilm were under pressure every time the ball went into one of their hands – the statistic that sixteen of Maynooth's seventeen points came from this trio says all that is needed on their impact..

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ciaran Dunne (Maynooth Education Campus): The performances of Ciaran Dunne, Oran Byrne and Tom Power was the defining factor in this game and Colaiste Choilm had no one near their level. Byrne and Power are on the Kildare senior hurling squad and Colaiste Choilm were always going to find it hard to cope with this type of player. Power's crisp hurling and striking commanded complete respect while Byrne gave a terrific tour-de-force, especially in the second half when Colaiste Choilm came at them and turned the screw.

The selection is Ciaran Dunne. Wearing number six but playing at midfield, he made a game winning contribution with five points, three in the first half, two in the second. This was only one facet of a great display as he won a huge volume of ball, gathered breaks and linked very well with team mates – he also had a few wides and his influence was profound.

While Maynooth relied more on individual excellence, Colaiste Choilm's strengths were in the collective. With Offaly senior hurlers, Brian Duignan, a terrific addition for Offaly GAA to the teaching staff at the school, and his Durrow club mate Mark Troy over the squad, they displayed a real work ethic in the second half, knuckling down all over the field and tightening up on players – they had been just too loose in the first half when their touch occasionally let them down.

Jason Donghue was one of their best players, cutting out a lot of ball in the centre of defence, while Eoin Rouse really came to his milk in the second half when he began to drive at their defence, Glenn Keaveney converted his frees well and there was an all round raising of the bar across the team.

THE SCORERS

Maynooth Education Campus: Tom Power 0-9 (7f), Ciaran Dunne 0-5, Oran Byrne 0-2, Eoin Mills 0-1.

Colaiste Choilm: Glenn Keaveney 0-6 (5f), Tadgh Kelly 1-0, Jason Donoghue 0-2 (2f), Daire Boland, Donal Dooley and Keith O'Rourke 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

COLAISTE CHOILM, TULLAMORE: Adam Martin (Tullamore); Cormac Staunton (Na Fianna), Conor Berry (Na Fianna), Sean Finlay (Tullamore); Daire Boland (Ballinamere-Durrow), Jason Donoghue (Tullamore), Darragh Stewart (Tullamore); Sean Dunne (Na Fianna), Patrick Duffy (Tullamore); Glenn Keaveney (Tullamore), Eoin Rouse (Tullamore), Tadgh Kelly (St Vincent's); Robert Burns (Tullamore), Donal Dooley (Shanrocks), Adam Spollen (Ballinamere-Durrow). Subs – Keith O'Rourke (Shamrocks) for Duffy (38m), Oisin O'Meara (Clara) for Spollen (47m).

MAYNOOTH EDUCATION CAMPUS: Cillian Madden; Joe Harrington, Conall Knox, Sean Miley; Cillian Price, Darragh Devine, Hugh Dowling; Oran Byrne, Ciaran Dunne; Aaron Larkin, Eoin Mills, Tom Power; David Duffy, Tom Kelly, Glen O'Brien. Sub – Paidi Knox for Kelly (49m).

Referee – Marius Stones (Clara).

REFEREE WATCH

Offaly referee Marius Stones had a very good game. He let the game flow, got most calls right and quickly let mentors know on the sideline that he would not tolerate interference. He may have missed an Eoin Rouse throw in the lead up for Colaiste Choilm's goal but he may have not had a clear line of sight for that as there were a few players between him and the Tullamore man.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ciaran Dunne got some sensational points and his fifth one in the 52^nd minute was a big one as it gave Maynooth a four point lead at a crucial stage.

VENUE WATCH

The all weather pitch at St Loman's in Mullingar was in the news at the weekend when Kilkenny refused to play Westmeath there in the Walsh Cup, arguing that players would be more susceptible to injury on it. There may well be some merit in that argument but irrespective of that, St Loman's have provided a fantastic facility and it is a great asset to Leinster GAA, who frequently use it for colleges games. Without it, this game could have fell victim to the weather and even if it didn't, it would have been a very different, much messier, match on a muddy, grass pitch, cutting up by the minute.

WHAT'S NEXT

Colaiste Choilm's year is over while Maynooth go onto the semi-finals.

STATISICS

Wides; Colaiste Choilm – 9 (5 in first half); Maynooth Education Campus – 10 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.