Under 14 Hurling

St Sylvesters 2-6, Naomh Olaf 3-9
Our U 14 hurlers had their 3rd win on the trot in Division 2 when they toppled previously unbeaten league leaders St Sylvester’s in their home patch in Malahide. Olaf’s started strongly with two fine points from Eoin Murphy (1 free) but Syl’s battled back to level the game after 10 minutes. David Byrne then netted from a speculative shot from distance which deceived the keeper and boosted the Olaf lads considerably. The marking was tight, the tackling tenacious and the performance of captain Harrison Brewer at midfield was awe-inspiring at times. His work rate was truly magnificent and inspired his teammates to  even greater effort. A tactical switch then saw Harry O’Brien move to full forward in a swop with Gavin Beere and within two minutes Harry had the ball in the Sylvester’s net  twice. Syl’s tried manfully to stem the tide but points from Eoin Murphy and Mark Gallagher ensured ahalf time lead for Olaf’s of 3-4 to 0-4.After the break the Malahide lads tore into the game and bombarded the Olaf’s defence but goalkeeper Daniel Coen was dependable and secure and the full back line of Craig Furlong Adam Blunden and Matthew Norgrove never gave an inch to their opponents. Olaf’s tacked on a couple of points from Murphy and Brewer before Syl’s eventually found the back of the Olaf’s net to set up a storming finale. Points were exchanged  with Eoin Murphy and Harrison Brewer maintaining their accuracy from placed balls to keep Olaf’s comfortably ahead. Syl’s then goaled again to leave 5 points between the teams before Murphy closed the scoring with a fine point from play from the sideline. The final scoreline of 3-9 to 2-6 certainly didn’t do justice to  this magnificent team performance which showed all that is good about this talented bunch of lads. Stephen Mulvany, Conor Leavy and David Byrne were brilliant throughout and their relieving clearances especially in the second half were truly inspiring. Kevin Power Kelly – only back from a nasty injury a fortnight ago played with fire and determination ably assisted by Christy Connors, Cormac Bracken and Ross Bannon. Our next game is at home against St Vincents on Saturday next at 3.30. Why not drop by and support the lads – you won’t be disappointed!
Olaf’s Scorers: Harry O’Brien 2-0; Eoin Murphy 0-6 (3 frees); David Byrne 1-0; Harrison Brewer 0-2 (1 free).