Senior B Hurling Championship:  Longwood 1-14 Blackhall Gaels 1-12

Not a great game but a good win.  That would be a fair summation of Longwood’s second outing in this year’s Senior B Hurling Championship.

Recent encounters between the teams have been tight, physical affairs with rarely more than a puck of the ball between them, and the latest episode in Rathmolyon on Sunday afternoon proved to be no different. 

Having played each other so frequently in the past few years, the teams are familiar with one another, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can game plan accordingly.  This resulted in both teams cancelling each other out and it followed that the scoring was relatively low for this time of year.

The game, too often punctuated by frees, struggled to flow.  The commitment of both teams could not be questioned but each struggled to gain any meaningful periods of dominance.  The first half saw Anthony Healy and Dermot Carty demonstrate their prowess from frees on a regular basis.  To be fair to Longwood, they also registered points from play from Sean Coloe, Gavin Griffith, Conor Dixon and Kevin Heagney.  But the concession of numerous frees allowed their opponent to take a one-point lead to the dressing rooms at the break.  It could have been worse – the awarding of a penalty to Blackhall Gaels in the 26th minute gave them the opportunity to stamp their authority on the game.  But Longwood’s Mark Kennedy lived up to his captain’s role, expertly saving Shane Whitty’s goal-bound shot before clearing the ball to safety.  A critical moment. 

Half-time:  Longwood 0-7 Blackhall Gaels 0-8

The second half started in a similar vein, pointed frees being the predominate feature.  Longwood certainly lifted their performance levels in the third quarter and a run of three consecutive scores from Anthony Healy saw them lead by two.  

They stretched the leaded to three points before suffering a sucker punch with only eight minutes left.  A high ball into the danger zone caused consternation in the Longwood square and the ensuing scramble eventually resulted in a Blackhall boot driving the ball to the Longwood net.  The teams were level and the initiative now seemed to be with the Batterstown/Kilcloon men.

Longwood needed a response - it arrived quickly and emphatically.  Less than two minutes later, they won a free deep in their own half.  Damien Healy’s delivery reached Kevin Heagney and the banner man’s deft flick saw the ball reach the incoming Conor Dixon who rifled it to the roof of the net.  A goal of simplistic beauty.  Longwood back in front!

They managed the final five minutes well, conceding only a pointed free as their opponent pushed for an equalising goal.

The final whistle was greeted with a degree of relief.  Two points secured but huge room for improvement.  

Longwood: Mark Kennedy (Capt.), Tomás O’Brien, Brian Stagg, David Coloe, Conor Dixon (1-1), Damien Healy, Sean Sheridan, Joe Stenson, Sean Coloe (0-1), Gavin Griffith (0-1), Ben McLoughlin, Anthony Healy (0-10), Ronan Greene, Ryan Moore, Kevin Heagney (0-1).  Subs William Phillips for David Coloe, Thomas Dorran for Gavin Griffith, Adam Peacock.

The week-on-week rhythm of championship has now commenced; our intermediate footballers face up to Bective next Sunday before the hurlers take on Killyon the following week. 

Maigh Dearmhaí abú!! 🤍🖤🏁🏁