Senior Hurling: Wexford v Fr. Tom Burke's

Wexford 2-20 Fr. Tom Burke’s 2-10

The senior hurling championship got underway with Fr. Tom’s and Wexford facing off on a cool sunny Sunday afternoon.  Wexford had the edge over their opponents in almost all facets of the game, but especially on the scoring end as several Wexford players contributed to the scoresheet while Tom’s had to rely on the stick of David O’Mahoney for almost all of their scores.

It takes two to tango as Paul Heneghan and
Eoghan Kavanagh tangle.

Wexford held a slight advantage at the end of the first half with a four point lead.  Tom Maloney opened the scoring for the Slaneysiders and Kevin Sheerin added a second before Tom’s got on the scoreboard.  Keogh and Sheerin added two more and Tom’s struck back with a goal from Shane Howley.  Howley booted the ball across the line from close range.  Tom’s took a brief lead when O’Mahoney pointed from a free, but then Wexford kicked it up a gear and took over the latter part of the first half.  Eoghan Kavanagh canceled out Tom’s goal with a three pointer from inside the 21.  Wexford then added points from Sheerin and Kavanagh as the scoring was spread around the forward line.  Tom’s were reliant on the prowess of O’Mahoney at corner forward for their scores, as apart from Howley’s goal all the scores came from the number 12.  At the break Wexford led by four points, 1-10 to 1-6.

Dominic Magill and Cormac Joyce-Power look for the
dropping ball.

Things did not improve for Tom’s in the second period.  Wexford maintained the upper hand and chances were few and far between for the boys of the west.  A free that was moved up 10 yards into a more scoreable position even went amiss for Tom’s as their luck didn’t change.  Wexford widened the gap as the half wore on, Michael Maloney got in on the act with a point following a mis-hit clearance.  With the time running out, hope faded for a turnaround for Tom’s and Wexford kept up the pressure.  A late consolation goal from Ciaran Moore improved the look of the scoreboard, but Tom’s will be hoping for better things to come as the championship moves on.

Wexford:  E. Spruhan, M. Walsh, D. Redmond, B. Dalton, D. Magill, B. O’Connor, T. Maloney, M. Maloney, E. Kavanagh, J. Kehoe, K. Sheerin, S. Maher, P. Kehoe.  Fr. Tom’s:  D. Fox, S. O’Brien, J. Doran, C. Horan, S. Higgins, P. Heneghan, P. McGrath, J. Dooley, S. Howley, C. Joyce-Power, C. Moore, D. Mahoney, B. Dunn

By Rory O'Donnell