Premier 1 MHC: Douglas hold off a late Glen Rovers rally to win by the minimum
Josh Brosnan, Glen Rovers, takes on Oscar Doherty Douglas. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
A clinical display of hurling from Douglas was good enough to see off champions Glen Rovers by the minimum in a highly entertaining Rebel Og Premier 1 MHC at the Glen Field on Wednesday night.
Despite a terrific late Glen Rovers rally, Douglas dominated this game for long periods and an 11-point contribution from Mark O’Brien proved crucial for them. Gavin O’Callaghan registered 2-10 but his side only played in snatches over the hour.
Douglas got the perfect start after only two minutes when the Glen goalkeeper Josh Goulding was blocked down when pucking the ball out as James Naughton placed a perfect shot to the corner of the net.
The Glen looked all at sea in defence and a minute later Oscar Doherty split the posts with a clinical strike.
The same player exposed poor Glen defending in the sixth minute when racing through unchallenged to drill an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net.
Another negative for the Blackpool outfit was their tendency to give away soft frees and with Mark O’Brien registering three consecutive placed balls Douglas commanded a six-point lead in the 11th minute, 2-4 to 0-4.
The home side were relying on placed balls to keep them within striking distance with only one score coming from play after the opening quarter. O’Brien continued to show his class and a slick sideline cut from 40 yards brought his total to six points.
It got worse for the Glen in the 26th minute when they leaked a third goal with another phase of careless defending. James Naughton latched on to a pinpoint pass from Jack O’Brien before soloing and unleashing a cracking shot past the keeper.
The Glen were given a ray of hope in the final minute when O’Callaghan fired a 20-metre free to the corner of the net.
Fittingly, the visitors had the final say of the half when Jack O’Brien struck an incredible point from an acute angle that saw Douglas deservedly go in at the break with a seven-point lead: 3-10 to 1-9.
On the restart, Douglas opened up with a point from Mark O’Brien as the Glen looked under pressure. The Glen did respond with consecutive points but with many of their big players having a bad night at the office, they were struggling to pose the Douglas defence problems.
However, the home team received a huge boost in the 42nd minute when Michael T Brosnan caught a high ball before gliding past his man and placing a neat shot to the roof of the net.
Suddenly, it was a three-point game. However, Douglas responded with four unanswered points to ease the pressure.
In the closing 10 minutes, Douglas were held scoreless as the spirit of the Glen resurfaced and they were rewarded with four consecutive points. In the final play, Gavin O’Callaghan billowed the back of the net that brought the minimum between the teams but time wasn’t on their side.
G O’Callaghan 2-10 (2-4 f, 0-2 65), MT Brosnan 1-1, J Brosnan 0-2, J Goulding 0-2, E McGuckin, D Heffernan 0-1 each.
M O’Brien 0-11 (0-8 f, 0-1 sl), J Naughton 2-1, O Doherty 1-2, J O’Brien 0-2, C Fitzgerald, J Gordon 0-1 each.
J Goulding; R O’Callaghan, E Murphy, K Cronin; C Connolly, J Brosnan, C Cunningham; C Burke, C O’Brien; G O’Callaghan, R Buckley, C Barrett; C Turnbull, M T Brosnan, E McGuckin.
L Woods for K Cronin (inj 15), D Heffernan for D Turnbull (52), S McCarthy for R O’Callaghan (52).
N Duane; T Curtin, J Mouret, D O’Donoghue; O Doherty, L Kelleher, J Gordon; J O’Brien, A Kelly; W Banks, M O’Brien, L O’Callaghan; C Fitzgerald, C Hallahan, J Naughton.
T Murray for L O’Callaghan (46).
Niall Fahy (Brian Dillons).
App?
