Carrigtwohill win Feile 1 hurling title with a five point win over Na Piarsaigh

Carrigtwohill 0-13 

Na Piarsaigh 0-8 

CARRIGTWOHILL were crowned Feile Hurling 1 U15 hurling champions for the first time in the club's history following a hard earned win over Na Piarsaigh before a huge attendance at Cloyne on Monday night.

It was ironic that the final was hosted at the birthplace of Christy Ring and that another Ring would enthral the attendance with a man of the match display.

Enter 14 year-old Sam Ring, who was simply awesome with his balance and striking as he finished the game with a 10-point tally.

When Carrigtwohill needed inspiration Ring came to the fore and looks a talent destined to progress in the coming years.

On a weekend where various venues hosted multiple games the semi-finals came down to Na Piarsaigh against Sarsfields and Carrigtwohill pitted against Eire Og.

Sarsfields were highly fancied to prevail against Na Piarsaigh and although they looked the better-balanced side for long periods they lost by the minimum in extra time.

In the second semi-final Carrigtowhill helped by the artistry of Sam Ring proved too much for the Ovens club who lost out by four points.

It was evident from the throw in that Carrigtwohill were intent on feeding Ring who started in the corner and he drilled over the opening point in the second minute following a free.

When Na Piarsaigh look back on this game they will rue some of the frees they gave away as Ring was simply awesome with his striking from placed balls.

Tom Walsh was another player who excelled for Carrigtwohill and he was on hand to add their second point from play a minute later.

There is little doubt Carrigtwohill were the dominant side and when Ring broke through the Piarsaigh defence his blistering shot was parried over following an excellent save from Kian O’Rourke.

Few can doubt that extra time took its toll on Na Piarsaigh’s youngsters as they looked off the pace but their large band of supporters were relieved to see Luke Hurley drill a super point between the posts in the seventh minute.

Giving soft frees away continued to hurt Na Piarsaigh and with Ring bringing his tally to five points in the ninth minute they needed to be more disciplined as the match referee wasn’t allowing hard contact.

To be fair Na Piarsaigh are doing great work with their underage teams and a few of their players look to have a bright future in the sport.

Craig O’Sullivan had an excellent tournament and he was instrumental in reducing the deficit to four points with three minutes remaining.

Indeed Na Piarsaigh finished well and a late Sean O’Callaghan white flag saw them go in at the break trailing 0-7 to 0-4.

It only took Ring one minute to open the Carrigtwohill second half account and he added a second white flag three minutes later.

To be fair Na Piarsaigh refused to wilt and with Hurley and Craig O’Sullivan driving their team forward they continued to test the Carrigtwohill defence, but it was Ring's and Carrigtwohill's day.

Scorers for Carrigtowhill: S Ring 0-10 (0-8f), T Walsh 0-2, M Foley 0-1.

Na Piarsaigh: C O’Sullivan 0-4 (0-2f), J Cahalane 0-2, L Hurley, S O’Callaghan 0-1 each.

Carrigtwohill: A Lee; B Fitzgerald, R Thornhill, C Cashell; J Flanagan, R O’Keeffe, K Kidney; J Cullimore, C Seymour; C Rooney, T Walsh, M Foley; D Horgan, J O’Connor, S Ring.

Na Piarsaigh: K O’Rourke; J O’Connor, R Quinlan; C O’Sullivan, R Cronin, J Creagan; L Hurley, D O’Leary; Craig O’Sullivan, J Cahalane, S O’Callaghan; J Ring, C Coffey, R Bowen.

Referee: N O’Neill (Midleton).