St Lachtain’s ‘Road to Croker’
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
Steven Farrell’s men stand an hour or so away from claiming the big prize in Junior club hurling. But before you earn the right to hurl in Croker for silverware, you must take care of business in your county, then your province, and that is exactly what this Freshford team has done. There are plenty of banana skins on Noreside and a few teams would have had designs on county glory at the start of the season at Junior level.
First up for the Freshford men was a JJ Kavanagh and Sons Premier Junior Hurling Championship Quarter Final clash with Galmoy in Johnstown in early October. Former county man James Maher was in sparkling form notching 4-3 in his sides impressive total of 4-14 as he won his shootout with young Billy Drennan. UPMC Nowlan Park was the venue for the semi-final encounter with James Stephens and it took a step up in gear during the second half for Lachtain’s to secure a 10-point victory, having gone in level at the short whistle. The managers halftime team talk clearly worked as they struck 17 points after the interval. Cathal O’Leary top scored for Steven Farrell’s charges, notching 0-9 in an eye-catching display, while James Maher hit five lovely scores from play.
The win over The Village saw St Lachtain’s secure a place in the county decider, where they would face-off against Windgap. This was always going to be a no-quarter given kind of game and it proved to be the toughest test in the Kilkenny championship for the men in black and amber. The crowd in attendance in UPMC Nowlan Park were treated to a real ding dong battle and as the old adage goes, goals win games and this proved correct as two second half majors from Paddy Killeen and top scorer, Cathal O’Leary saw Freshford claim a first title at the junior grade since 1993.
Having bagged the county title, it was onto provincial matters next for St Lachtain’s. The visitors to UPMC Nowlan Park were Drumcullen of Offaly and they caused plenty of problems for the Kilkenny champions who repeated their Village 2nd half performance to quash the challenge of the Faithful County team. Majors from Shane Donnelly and Darragh Maher appeared to set Farrell’s men on their way, but they allowed the visitors to get back into the game before one of their subs, Liam Hickey provided a cameo of his ability with a crucial 3-point haul to help see the Noresiders over the line by six points.
The reward for victory over Drumcullen was a quarter final tie against Dublin side Crumlin in Parnell Park. This game proved to be one of Freshford’s easier assignments in their quest for Leinster glory. A massive 25 points separated the teams at the long whistle, but somehow the men from the Capital were ahead midway through the opening period! A brace of green flags raised by Darragh Maher in the first half saw St Lachtain’s take a commanding fifteen-point lead into the second half. The Kilkenny side showed their thirst for goals on the resumption of play with further majors added from Paddy Killeen, Alan Rafter and Cian Dawson, the latter two from players sprung from the bench, a trait of the depth of this outfit.
Bray Emmets ground was the setting for the semi-final match up against Wicklow champions Avondale. Conditions as usual, not ideal, with the wind playing its part in proceedings. The Garden County side relied heavily on their placed ball specialist and dual star Zach Cullen for keeping the scoreboard ticking over, and the young teacher did just that in the first half, helping his side to a 2-point interval lead. However, with the breeze at their backs, St Lachtain’s delivered another second half masterclass, blitzing their opponents with an impressive 3-13 after the short whistle which saw them reach the provincial decider with 19 points to spare.
The Leinster decider would see Freshford take on Castletown Liam Mellows in SETU Carlow and this clash lived up to its billing with a real edge of your seat feel to it. A hat trick of goals inside the first five minutes of action set the tone for the provincial final, and at no stage could you confidently predict the winner. Again, James Maher and Shane Donnelly found the net for the Marble City side, but Wexford’s champions wouldn’t go away and went onto to take control of the game, leading by the bare minimum at the interval, thanks largely to Eoin Cullen’s dead ball accuracy and a cracking goal from Jack Higgins.
Liam Hickey stepped up and delivered some lovely points, but it would be Cian Dawson’s instant impact from the bench that proved vital in securing the silverware for Steven Farrell’s charges. Dawson’s goal, eight minutes from times saw St Lachtain’s re take the lead and they held on for dear life to claim provincial bragging rights, but more importantly, an All-Ireland semi-final berth.
Duggan Park, Ballinasloe was the venue for the last four contest with Sligo’s Easkey. One of the key traits of this Freshford team, has been their desire and ability to strike for majors and this tremendous quality proved fruitful in qualifying for Sunday’s final. Early strikes from Cathal O’Leary and Darragh Maher gave the Noresiders the platform to secure a deserved victory way out west. A third major, courtesy of Shane Donnelly, coupled with a fantastic shooting display from the very talented Liam Hickey saw St Lachtain’s home by 11-points at full time. Croke Park, here they come!
