Our Ahane u21 hurlers took on near neighbours Monaleen in the last game of the league series last Tuesday night. A win was needed to guarantee a place in the quarter final against Kilmallock. The persistent wind and rain made hurling on the night extremely challenging, but huge credit must go to the St Patrick’s club on the excellent condition of their pitch.

Despite going behind to an early Monaleen point, it was Ahane who dominated the early exchanges, especially in defence, where there were some really outstanding performances. Both teams found scores hard to come by, not least because of the worsening conditions. We had good points from Adam Murrihy and Kevin Morrissey but the critical breakthrough came with 15 mins gone when Peter Donoghue rifled they ball to the roof of the Monaleen net after a mix up in their defence. Monaleen to their credit kept in touch through a free taking masterclass from Mark O’ Dwyer who was their only scorer on the night. Ahane led at the interval 1-6 to 0-6.

The second half took a similar pattern to the first with scores proving elusive for both teams. But the decisive moment in the game came with 10 minutes to go when William Brennan grabbed a speculative long range free from Ciaran Barry, spun to his left and blasted to the net from close range. That gave Ahane a 4 point cushion but a series of excellent frees from the aforementioned O’ Dwyer meant that the gap was down to the minimum for the last 3 minutes.

The character of this group then came shining through, with bodies being put on the line everywhere, and the lads came out on the right side of a 2-7 to 0-12 score line. This was an immensely satisfying result, not least because of the huge determination and work rate that was shown on an atrocious night for hurling. Next stop is Rathkeale this Tuesday night 12th March against Kilmallock. As always, all support is very much appreciated.

Team: Mikey Power, Tristan O Sullivan, Gearoid Harnett, Aidan Carroll, Peter O’ Grady, Ciaran Barry, Padraig Harnett, Cian Casey, Adam Murrihy, Kevin Morrissey, Ronan Fox, William Brennan, Peter Donoghue, Andrew Shanahan, Mark Donnellan. Subs: Conor Morrissey, Luke O’ Sullivan.