The New York hurlers got an early start to the season as they took on the visiting St. Kevin’s team from Dublin at Gaelic Park on Friday evening. This was a highly entertaining game, plus there was plenty of excitement in a high scoring second half. The few training sessions for the Big Apple squad under mentors Eddie Gowran and Eugene Kyne seemed to have the desired effect as New York went on the offensive from the throw-in.
However like a boxer suffering from ring rust the early scoring attempts missed their mark, leaving Liam Cahill to open the scoring for St. Kevin’s after five minutes. Incidentally Cahill was a veteran of the New York hurling scene as he had previously won four championships with Tipperary.
Meanwhile New York got on the score sheet when Pat Egan belted the ball to the net after a prolonged scramble in the goalmouth as St. Kevin’s dithered about clearing their lines. However they were soon ahead as the Cahill brothers hit for three consecutive points. New York soon drew level with a great individual effort from Robbie Jackson as he burst through from midfield to land an invigorating and inspirational score. Unfortunately this skillful speedster was soon forced to retire as he sustained a rather nasty looking facial injury.
Over the next ten minutes the exchanges were fairly even as Paul Loughnane and Richie Hartnett hit for the locals while James Tracey and John Whelan replied for the visitors. On twenty minutes New York surged ahead as Loughnane set up Hartnett for their second goal. New York were now enjoying territorial superiority as defenders Butler and Donoghue consistently cleared their lines and consequently set up chances. However the Dublin squad was more frugal as they maximized their chances from limited possession with the Cahills hitting a brace. Both sides landed a late brace, Hartnett and Donie Broderick for New York and Conor McGovern and Liam Cahill for the Dubs. to leave the score 2-6 to 0-10 at the break.
New York availed of their large panel to substitute freely in the second half while a second referee took charge of the proceedings. James Tracey, a sixteen year old and a very promising looking athlete, had the opening score of a high scoring second half, but New York replied with a superb goal from Dermot Hehir as he capitalized on a great pass from Broderick. Indeed this duo along with the driving force of Loughnane created plenty of problems for the Dublin boys. Meanwhile The Cahills continued to be the most effective and most productive for the visitors as Sean landed two fine efforts, but Broderick and Hehir were on a merry dance as they combined for three. Though Brian Flannery got one back, it looked as if the New Yorkers were going to cruise to the finish line after Pa Ryan struck a major and Hehir another minor. Midway in the period young Tracey landed a superb point and veteran Liam Cahill added a goal to restore a more competitive edge to the intensity of the clashes. Points were exchanged by Ryan and Cahill before Iarlaith Nolan won a penalty with just a goal between the sides, but Liam Cahill’s penalty was expertly saved by the youngest Big Apple player Eddie Hogan, who faced down the rasper with the confidence and composure of a battle tested veteran. New York increased their advantage as they struck for four unanswered points from Broderick, Hehir and Loughnane. However St. Kevin’s were not about to fold as they produced their most productive spell hitting 2-2 in a five minute spell, Ronan Devery and Martin Kenny had the goals while Andrew Gratton and Aaron McManus had the points to leave the sides level with five minutes left. New York weathered the late Dublin surge as Hehir and Broderick combined for four to seal the victory for the Big Apple hurlers and complete a very competitive and sporting game on a crisp March evening.
New York: Brian McNaughton, Matt Cashman, Gary Donoghue, Alan Sherlock, Conor Costigan, Liam Butler, Aaron Farrell, Robbie Jackson, John Power, Sean Brennan, Paul Loughnane, Eddie Hogan, Paudie Kyne, Pat Egan, Jason Daly. Subs. Richie Hartnett, Donie Broderick, Dermot Hehir, Pa Ryan, Eoghan Kyne, Liam Walsh, Kieran O’Keeffe, Eoghan Hogan, Liam Walsh
St Kevin’s: Mike Conlon, Ronan Devery, Andrew Gratton, Graham Dunphy, Aaron McManus, Brian Flannery, Martin Kenny, Steve Harrington, Liam Cahill. James Tracey, Conor McGovern, John Flannery, John Whelan, Iarlaith Nolan, Sean Cahill. Sub. Eamon Cahill.
Competition Structure
It was a busy weekend for the football divisions of the New York Board as they met to determine the competitive structure for their respective division. Over the past few years the consensus was that the championship season was too long, especially for those teams still involved in the later stages. Invariably this was due to the involvement of the summer players as many were returning to Ireland to continue their education in September. Hence teams attempting to field their strongest team in the semifinals and finals felt obligated to bring them back, thus incurring considerable expense on the club. This year it has been agreed that the championship will be completed two weeks earlier. However for this particular year the GAA will be confronted with perhaps conflicting objectives, namely a shorter season plus their goal of generating revenue from the bar and catering facilities, as they are now the lease holders. Well it appears that the GAA may succeed in reconciling interests that appear antagonistic to each other and perhaps also an unintended positive outcome. The template is a three pronged competitive structure, namely the knockout, the championship and the league. The knockout will be played early in the season while the championship will be run off in the summer and finishing in early September.
Naturally the championship will be the premier competition while it is envisaged that the league will run currently with it but it will extend well into October. Thus the league, though a secondary competition, will ensure that the catering and bar facilities will be in operation, thus generating badly needed revenue. Summer players have always been a contentious issue, and especially for those whose stature has changed from starter to benchwarmer though the commitment to training may have been exemplary. However ardent advocates for the Summer players claim that they improve the level of competition and increase attendance. However the new structure will not solve the issue of the Summer players, it will ensure that the home based players will be afforded a great number of games, especially early in the competition but more importantly later in the season. Being on the team rather than the bench later in the season may lessen the sting of being bumped earlier in the Summer. The ultimate vindication for the aggrieved player would be, “ ah we won without the Summer fellas”.
