Ballyboden St Endas U16 team drew the curtain on their juvenile careers in style on Saturday evening in the delayed final of the Leinster 3G U16 Hurling Tournament held in Bray Emmets reports Joe Roche.

The team had come through their group containing Raparees of Wexford, Carlow Regional Squad and Whitehall Colmcille to meet Kilmacud Crokes in the Final.

Back Row L to R : Ray McKenna, James Roche, Donal Butler, David Neylon, Eamonn Gorman, Conor McHugh, Ben McEntee, Ronan McGee, Chris Lambert, Fionn Maguire, Conor Maher, John Keegan.
Front Row L to R : Conor McKeon, Jonathon O’Driscoll, Evan Flanagan, Eoin McKenna, Niall Keegan, Keith Robinson, Kenneth Wigglesworth, Andrew Hughes, Morgan Ryan, Tommy Doyle, Eugene McGee, Joe Roche.

In cold but calm conditions, referee Dickie Murphy threw in the ball at 6.15 p.m. Crokes had the brighter start and had a brace of points on the board early on.  James Roche goaled for Boden and this was quickly matched by Crokes to leave the score 1-1 to 1-3 to Crokes at the quarter hour. Points were exchanged after that, including a fine score from Fionn Maguire, but sterling defensive work by Conor Maher, Niall Keegan and Ronan McGee kept the Crokes forwards from getting in for goal chances to leave four points between the teams at half time.

Having regrouped at half time and with a focus on keeping the ball moving Boden were out of the traps quickly in the second half. A goal by Eoin McKenna brought the sides level and when Roche shook the net for his second 3-pointer, a huge cheer went up from the travelling support. By the three-quarter hour mark, however, Crokes were back to parity. Further points were added by both sides including a superb 65 by Donal Butler. The sides were level 3-5 to 1-11 at the long whistle.

Organiser John Henderson of Bray Emmets with Boden’s Conor McHugh and  Croke’s Caolan Conway after the first Leinster 3G U16 Hurling Tournament is shared.	Captain Conor McHugh, referee Dickie Murphy and Kilmacud Crokes captain Caolan Conway before the match.

Into extra-time of two 7-minute halves, Kilmacud took the initiative and quickly put a white and green flag up. This was now a real test for Boden with the clock ticking down and limbs getting tired. The men in blue and white showed their character however and were back to two points at the break. With Jonathon O’Driscoll, Ben McEntee, David Neylon and Butler winning great ball in the middle of the park and running tirelessly, Boden finished strongly and brought the sides level in the second half of extra time.

After a quick discussion between the organisers and mentors, five-minutes additional time was set. Both teams were determined not to give up the lead and finally, after 80 minutes of quality hurling the teams shared the title on a scoreline of Boden 3-10 to Crokes 2-13.

John Henderson of Bray Emmets presented the captains, Conor McHugh and Caolan Conway with the trophy and complimented the teams on the quality of their hurling and sportsmanship. Mentor Ronan Conway of Crokes remarked that this was a fitting conclusion to the juvenile careers of these players who have battled on many days and who respect each other and their traditions. Few could disagree.
And so, the team moves on. Thanks and appreciation are due to all who have been involved in this team since the early years of the decade – Ciarán Maguire, Eugene McGee, John Maher, Liam Phelan, Darragh Spain and John Keegan. Particular thanks to Ray McKenna who has led the team with a smile, for his enthusiasm and great work over the years.

A special note of thanks to the U15 players – Kenneth Wigglesworth, Tom Hanafin, Fionn Maguire, Keith Robinson, Eamonn Gorman and Morgan Ryan, without whom the team would have struggled.

Thanks finally to Lester Ryan and John Henderson for organising the Leinster 3G U16 Hurling tournament in a very professional manner. The format and variety of opposition of the competition is very appealing and we would support them in their initiative and wish them success in the future.