Ballyboden U16 hurlers travelled to Carlow Town Hurling Club on Saturday 26th June for an all-Ireland invitational blitz, which had over forty teams participating reports Joe Roche.

The team had been drawn in Group 2 of the ‘A’ draw with clubs from Tipperary, Limerick, Cork & Galway so the quality of the competition was clear from the start.

In beautiful, sunny conditions, Boden began with a good win over Holycross/Ballycahill from Tipperary. In a blitz format such as this, a good start is vital and with James Roche netting at the start of both halves, Boden ran out winners on a scoreline of 2-3 to 0-6. Some key interceptions by Eoin McKenna halted strong Holycross pressure and a key moment towards the end of the game was a magnificent shoulder by Andrew Hughes who knocked the influential Holycross midfielder off his stride as he took aim at the goal. A point was scored and Ballyboden had weathered a strong Holycross fightback.

The next match saw Boden face Loughrea. In a low-scoring, tactical match, the sides were tied 0-3 to 0-3 at the long whistle. A feature of this match was the strong running of Ben McEntee & Conor McHugh and some great turnover ball won by captain Conor McKeon.

In the third match, Boden faced Mungret from Limerick. All teams were used to the format at this stage and Boden’s ability to work and take scoring chances made the difference. Alan McGrath’s defending was a feature in this match as well as great blocking & hooking by a number of players including Ronan McGee.
Prior to the final group match against Douglas, Boden felt that a draw might be enough to see them through but went all out for the win in any case. Leading at half time despite facing a strong breeze meant the signs were good. A feature of this half was supreme defending by Niall Keegan from the full back position who denied the Douglas forwards on a number of occasions. David Neylon caught a number of puckouts and a point from Evan Flanagan (who had come off with a foot injury in the first match) were both notable. Two 65’s from McKeon allied to a trademark 60m point by Donal Butler meant Boden won on a scoreline of 0-6 to 0-2 and topped the group – a great achievement.

The four group winners played in the semi-finals where Boden were joined by Mallow & Blackrock of Cork and Sixmilebridge from the Banner County.

Boden played Blackrock (who had survived a 65 shoot-out to qualify from their group). The teams were well-matched in the first half with Blackrock leading by 0-4 to 0-2 at the short whistle. Two nice points from Chris Lambert had Boden in contention. However, a couple of goals from Blackrock (the only goals of the day conceded by Keith Robinson) meant they were in the driving seat and try as they might, Boden could not make the breakthrough. The match finished on a scoreline of 2-5 to -0-3 to Blackrock.

After initial disappointment, the team could reflect on a great day’s hurling that saw them top their group and play some terrific hurling along the way. This was an ideal return to the game for many after the exam break and the quick-fire nature of the blitz meant that concentration and score-taking needed to be sharp and the team certainly rose to the challenge. Well done to Ray, John & Eugene for preparing the team and to the many parents and friends who travelled in support.

Great credit and thanks to Dan Harnedy (Chairman) and Martin Walsh (Secretary) of Carlow Town Hurling Club for an excellent competition that was very well managed. This is a profile competition and Boden certainly enjoyed the day and got a lot from the competition. We wish the club success with this tournament in the years to come.