Blake Murphy and Sean Daly on the goal trail as St Vincent's outgun White's Cross in JAHC

St Vincent’s 4-21 White’s Cross 1-11

St Vincent’s recorded their first win of the AOS Security Seandún Junior A Hurling Championship as they defeated White’s Cross in a one-sided encounter, before a good-sized attendance at Ballinlough.

Following a promising start by White’s Cross, St Vincent’s first goal in an evenly-contested opening half was to prove decisive. The second half was one-way traffic in favour of Vincent’s, where wayward shooting was to prove costly for White’s Cross.

Aided by a slight breeze in the opening half, Daniel Kelleher got the game’s opening point for White’s Cross, before Luke Callanan equalised with a 65.

White’s Cross opened up a two-point gap, courtesy of unanswered points by John McElhinney and Eddie Coughlan. Vincent’s took the lead in the eighth minute when Sean Daly set up Blake Murphy for the game’s opening goal.

White’s Cross began to have St Vincent’s pinned back as Coughlan slotted over two points, including a free. PJ O’Donovan also added a point from play, to leave White’s Cross leading by 0-5 to 1-1.

Entering the second quarter, Vincent’s seized the initiative as persistent fouling was to prove costly for White’s Cross. They added five unanswered points, with Luke Callanan getting three, which included two frees. Stephen O’Leary added a point and Daly converted a free.

Coughlan and Murphy exchanged points from play, before Coughlan converted his second free for White’s Cross. Callanan added two unanswered point, which were cancelled out by a free and a 65 by Coughlan.

Gavin McCarthy added a point from play for Vincent’s to leave his side leading 1-10 to 0-9 at the break.

With the elements in St Vincent’s favour, Murphy added their second goal within seconds of the resumption. Coughlan responded with a 65 before Vincent’s took a grip on proceedings.

They tagged on four unanswered points, before Luke Callanan set up Daly for their fourth goal in the 39th minute.

White’s Cross had their moments, but a combination of wayward shooting and solid defensive work prevented them from putting scores on the board.

Murphy set up Daly for the fourth goal, 12 minutes from time. Vincent’s added a further six unanswered points, before Conor Docherty won possession from a White’s Cross puck-out to score a goal with time almost up.

Scorers for St Vincent’s: S Daly 2-8 (0-1 f), B Murphy 2-1, L Callanan 0-7 (0-2 f, 0-1 65), J O’Donovan, G McCarthy 0-2 each, S O’Leary 0-1.

White’s Cross: E Coughlan 0-7 (0-3f, 0-2 65); C Docherty 1-0; B Quain, PJ O’Donovan, J McElhinney, D Kelleher.

St VINCENT'S R Fielding; C Desmond, J O’Mahony, J Jones; S O’Leary, A Sorensen, A Harte; A Higgins, G McCarthy; Cormac O’Neill, L Callanan, J O’Donovna; B Murphy, S Daly, T Broderick.

Subs: C Dennehy for O’Mahony (17), Cian O’Neill for Cormac O’Neill, A O’Donoghue for Murphy (both 48), D Callanan for Harte (55).

WHITE'S CROSS: S Cahill; B Quain, S Quinlan, C Dunne; R Quain, G Fleming, PJ O’Donovan; D Murnane, R Quinlan; M Goggin, C Buckley, E Coughlan; C Docherty, D Kelleher, J McElhinney.

Subs: A Docherty for Dunne, A O’Neill for R Quain (both h-t), C Quinlan for Murnane (46), C Cambridge for McElhinney (58).

Referee: Cathal Egan (Glen Rovers).