Ulster U16 9’s Hurling Tournament

Patrick Sarsfields and O’Donovan Rossa hosted the inaugural Ulster U16 9’s Hurling Tournament on Saturday 18th June.  The competition was made up of teams from eight different counties in the province along with guests, Cuala, from county Dublin.  Division 1 was hosted by Sarsfields with two groups of four playing off on a round robin basis giving each team three matches before the winners of each group played off in the final with the second, third and fourth teams in each group playing off for a final fourth game each.  Up on the Shaws Road, O’Donovan Rossa hosted Division 2 which was played off on a round robin basis also giving Woodford Gaels (Cavan), Ballygalget (Down), Rossa B (Antrim), Lisbellaw (Fermanagh) and Lámh Dhearg (Antrim) four matches each.

Division 2 got underway with Woodford Gaels facing Lisbellaw and the Fermanagh men came out on top with a 1.2 to 0.1 score-line.  Ballygalget’s first game was against Lámh Dhéarg and it was the team from Hannahstown who came out on top by 2.3 to 1.3 before hosts Rossa recorded a convincing win over Woodford Gaels by 4.5 to 1.3.  Lisbellaw continued to hurl well as they overcame Lámh Dhéarg by 3.3 to 2.0 before Rossa overran Ballygalget on a 5.4 to 0.5 score-line.

The third round of games began with a great win for Woodford Gaels as they beat Lámh Dhéarg by 5 points to 3 while Lisbellaw held on to win by 3.3 to 3.1 in a cracking game against Ballygalget.  However, the men from the Ards responded by defeating Woodford Gaels in their final game by 1.3 to 0.3 before Rossa ran out easy winners by 7.1 to 2.1 in a Belfast derby game against Lámh Dhéarg.  This set up a final between the hosts and Lisbellaw as the two undefeated teams in Division 2.  Rossa’s ability to score goals proved to be the difference once again as the racked up a further five to win out by 5.1 to 1.3.

In group A of Division 1, O’Donovan Rossa A proved to be much more clinical in front of goal as they got off to a flying start against Cuala from Dublin winning by 2.9 to 1.3.  Derry representatives Erin’s Own, Lavey were also convincing winners in their opening game scoring 3.7 to Cúchulainns (Armagh) 1.3.  There was no let up for Cúchulainns as they came up against a rampant Rossa outfit, shipping in 7.3 to 0.4 in their second round game.  The final score of Cuala 7.9, Lavey 3.5 didn’t reflect the close nature of the first half as the Dublin men only led by two points at half time before racing clear after the break.  They continued their good form in their final group game as they disposed of Cúchulainns 5.10 to 1.4.  However, it was Rossa A who came out as group A winners after they beat Erin’s Own, Lavey by 6.10 to 2.4.

The opening game of group B saw Killeavy (Armagh) grind out a narrow 1.3 to 1.1 victory over Buncrana (Donegal).  Portaferry (Down) opened their account with a win against Strabane (Tyrone) by 4.2 to 2.2 before they went on to secure victory against Killeavy after coming from a point down in the second half to win 2.3 to 1.3.  Buncrana recorded their first win against Strabane by 3.2 to 1.1 before Portaferry secured the top spot in the group by beating the Donegal men 2.5 to 1.1.  Strabane then gave their best performance of the day as they overturned Killeavy in their final group game with an exciting 2.3 to 2.2 win

As the fourth placed teams in each group played out their final match, it was Cúchulainns who finally pushed on during the second half to record a 3.7 to 2.4 win.  Lavey then edged out Buncrana in the third placed final on a 2.3 to 1.3 score-line.  Cuala went on to record their third win on the spin as they won the battle of the second placed teams with a 4.3 to 1.2 victory over Killeavy.  The final match between the top two teams in each group – O’Donovan Rossa A and Portaferry – was probably the match of the day.  The game was in the balance with just four minutes to go as a goal for the Ards men put them one point in front.  However, Rossa eventually broke their resistance with two goals near the end to record a 4.3 to 2.4 win in a thrilling final.

Ulster GAA would like to thank both Patrick Sarsfields and O’Donovan Rossa for the use of their facilities on the day and also for laying on refreshments for the visiting teams.  Special thanks to the three referees on the day – Barry Milligan, Liam Quinn and Seamus Reid – and also to James Darragh (St John’s) and Paul Barr (Sarsfields) who gave up their Saturday to ensure a smooth running of events.