White’s Cross unbeaten run in the Junior 1 hurling league has come to an end following this ten-point defeat in Whitechurch on Sunday morning. Visiting the City Division Junior A champions was always likely to be a daunting task but short so many players, as White’s Cross are at present, the task-at-hand became more pronounced.
The scoreline in this case is not misleading. Whitechurch were full value for their win. They had more possession, they won their own puck-outs and turned the ball-over far less than their White’s Cross counterparts. Where there may have been some flaw for the home-side was in their shooting. They had more wides over the hour and could have won by more.
All that said, there were some positives for White’s Cross. Conor Buckley rolled back the years with his free-taking. In the first half, he was the only player that scored for his side – all from placed balls. He only missed one – an effort from out on the sideline, against a stiff breeze right on the stroke of half-time. Conor scored a total of 12 points in total. An incredible effort.
The only other scorer was Brendan Quain. He was introduced at half-time and certainly made is presence known. He tapped over three fine points from play in his 30 minutes on the field. It wasn’t enough to impact the result on this occasion given the half-time deficit. However, having a scoring forward returning can only be a boost to a squad in badly need of the same.
Daniel Kelleher also had a great game at wing back. This was debut for the club and he impressed in a back line that was under considerable pressure thoroughout.
While this may be seen as somewhat of a setback, it ought to be remembered that in last year’s league, despite some good performances, we lost every game that we played. This is only our first defeat this year and we are short so many. We are far better in this league than in a lower one. The team is progressing and there will be bumps along the road.
Team
1 – Shane Cahill
2 – Senan Ryan
3 – Dan O’Sullivan
4 – Max Philpott
5 – Daniel Kelleher
6 – Gearoid Fleming
7 – Ronan Fahy
8 – Aidan O’Neill
9 – Aidan Docherty
10 – James Cussen
11 – Conor Buckley (0-12, 10 frees)
12 – Fiachra O’Connell
13 – Patrick Harrington
14 – John McElhinney
15 – Adam Dunne
SUBS:
off: Ronan Fahy on: Seamus Quinlan
off: Adam Dunne on: Brendan Quain (0-03)