Division 1 HL: Slick Douglas put Killeagh to the sword
Douglas' Mark O'Brien hammers the ball to the Killeagh net despite the efforts of Cathal Fitzgibbon in Killeagh. Picture: David Keane
A polished performance from Douglas as they eased past Killeagh in the opening game of the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League at Killeagh on Sunday morning.
The city side were excellent in this one most notably in the first half where they led by 17 points at the interval.
Although they were aided by a strong wind in that opening 30 minutes, their brand of hurling and understanding was top-notch. Douglas were spearheaded by young gun Mark O’Brien, who finished up with 1-7.
The city outfit were in total control in the second half too, running out 20-point winners. They will know that tougher tests lie ahead.
Killeagh, who were promoted to Division 1 for this campaign, were down a number of players, as they were largely experimenting. They will still be disappointed with how they performed in what was certainly a learning curve.
Douglas had a firm grip on proceedings as early as the fourth minute when goals from O'Brien and Charlie Lucas put them in a wonderful position.
Ken St Leger's team then tacked on six unanswered points with Conor Kingston's long-range effort the pick of the scores.
Killeagh finally got their first score of the game after 13 minutes when Ryan McCarthy pointed a free.
The one-way traffic was showing no signs of letting up. The city side had a 2-11 to 0-6 advantage after 24 minutes in what was a collective team display.
Douglas got their third goal five minutes before the interval when Andy O’Connell had time and space to pick his spot.
McCarthy converted another free for Killeagh before the away side scored 1-1 without reply, Daniel Harte with the point while Lucas got his second goal.
The sides traded white flags before the short whistle as Douglas had a very comfortable 4-13 to 0-8 buffer at half-time.
Despite playing against the wind for the new half, Douglas hit the first three points from a pair of O’Brien efforts, one which was a free, and a neat Joseph Harte effort.
Shane Smiddy did bisect the posts for Killeagh, but they were being overpowered and despite the game being all but over, the home side showed no signs of making any inroads into the deficit.
In what was largely a forgettable second half, Douglas led 4-21 to 0-12 with 15 minutes remaining.
Colm Leahy, McCarthy (free) and a fantastic effort from impressive defender Evan Lane did underline Killeagh’s fight.
Douglas totally dominated the closing stages as they scored five of the last eight points.
The experienced Alan Cadogan converted an awkward 65 during that period. It was his only score of the game, but he stood out in midfield as he played a part in many of his side’s scores.
As first starts go, it couldn’t have gone much better for Douglas and it couldn’t have gone much worse for Killeagh.
R McCarthy 0-5 f, E Lane 0-4, B Delaney 0-3, A Leahy 0-2, C Fitzgibbon, S Smiddy, Colm Leahy, D Buckley 0-1 each.
M O’Brien 1-7 (0-1 f), C Lucas 2-1, A O’Connell 1-1, C Kingston, J Harte 0-4 each, C Baldwin, C O’Donovan, C O’Keeffe 0-2 each, D Harte, A Cadogan (65), M Howell 0-1 each.
F Murphy; K Kelly-Budds, G Wallace-Walsh, B Treacy; E Lane, G Leahy, C Fitzgibbon; R Sinclair, Ciarán Leahy; B Delaney, A Leahy, S Smiddy; Colm Leahy, R McCarthy, D Buckley.
P O’Brien for A Leahy (h-t), M Fitzgearld for R Treacy (53), J Fogarty for R Sinclair (58).
D Maher; D Murphy, B O’Neill, L Kelleher; D Harte, M Howell, C O’Donovan; A Cadogan, C Baldwin; A O’Connell, M O’Brien, C Kingston; C O’Keeffe, J Harte, C Lucas.
E O’Flynn for D Harte (42), B O’Connor for A O’Connell (45), S O’Leary for C Baldwin (51), K McSweeney for L Kelleher (56), K Doyle for B O’Neill (59).
Cathal McAllister (Aghada).
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