Garryspillane score convincing win over Glenroe in Limerick premier intermediate hurling championship:

By John Redington Limerick Leader Sport

GARRYSPILLANE’S premier intermediate hurlers kept their hopes of regaining their senior status at the first attempt on track as they thumped basement side Glenroe 6-23 to 1-10 in the penultimate Lyons of Limerick premier intermediate championship group stage fixture in Kilfinane on Saturday afternoon

Shipping such a heavy defeat was a chastening experience for Glenroe who are caught in that unenviable valley period when their promising talent coming up still has a bit to go before it can fully replace those coming towards the end of their careers.

However, with victory unlikely to save them from a relegation head-to-head with Na Piarsaigh’s second team and with many of their line-up also involved in Ballylanders’s attempt to retain their senior football status in the upcoming play-off against Ballysteen, their focus was never going to be as concentrated as that of the Bouncers’.

For Garryspillane, it was a different mission entirely. Last season’s relegation was a bitter blow for a club looking as if it was converting underage success into progress at adult level and setbacks against Newcatle West and Granagh-Ballingarry had left them locked in a five-team group battling it out for the three remaining semi-final slots. They needed not just the points against Glenroe, but a commanding performance as well to keep up their recent momentum.

And they got it in spades. Once they soaked up Glenroe’s early efforts, a tenth-minute goal had Garryspillane on their way and they were already moving off into the distance after their second green flag unleashed a burst that all but ended the tie as a contest. Given the space to express themselves, Dylan O’Shea, Hugh Flanagan, Bryan Heavey and Colin Ryan racked up an intimidating 3-20 between them.

Glenroe gave it everything from the throw-in but, despite Darren Frewen and Steven Walsh putting them ahead, they missed a few chances to create some distance before Hugh Flanagan’s opening point got the Bouncers off the mark and this was followed by Dylan O’Shea’s equalising free and Flanagan’s second score of the game.

When Eoin O’Mahony collected the sliotar off Callum Sheehan to drive to the net on the run, it looked as if the floodgates were opening. However, three Frewen pointed frees, the second in reply to O’Mahony’s score and the third answering Flanagan, kept the Ballyorgan club in touch,

However, Glenroe’s task grew again after O’Shea converted a free and when Colin Ryan fed Callum Sheehan to shoot beyond Ian O’Sullivan’s reach.
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Monopolising every ball dropping into the middle third, O’Shea, Ryan, Ciarán Sheehan and O’Shea again stretched the Knocklong club’s advantage to eleven points.

Coming up to the half-time break, Frewen replied with a pair of pointed frees that were met by a brace of points from Bryan Heavey. Glenroe found a degree of consolation when Ciarán Kelly doubled on a ball breaking from a long delivery to the net before O’Shea’s free in reply led the Bouncers into their dressing-room enjoying a 2-13 to 1-7 advantage.

Things only got worse for Glenroe on the restart as points from Ryan and O’Shea were followed by Heavey ghosting in behind the rearguard before flashing the sliotar straight to the net as Ciaran Sheehan found him at the end of a mazy 100-metre solo.

They had the chance of an immediate reply but Adam Sheehan pounced from his line to smother Liam Dennehy’s shot and that missed opportunity was compounded when Heavey had enough time to drive home Ciarán Sheehan’s pass for his second and his team’s fourth goal.

As Glenroe attempts at a response perished on a run of wides, the Bouncers started picking off the points as Flanagan from play and from a free, Mark Quinlan, O’Shea once from a free and twice from play, Ryan and another Flanagan free increased their advantage

Ryan Tobin tapped home Garryspillane’s fifth goal and Ryan grabbed the sixth before Cian Hogan notched Glenroe’s first point from play in 57 minutes with the last puck of the hour.

SCORERS: GARRYSPILLANE: Dylan O’Shea 0-9 (4 frees), Bryan Heavey 2-2, Hugh Flanagan 0-6 (2 frees), Colin Ryan 1-3, Eoin O’Mahony 1-1, Callum Sheehan, Ryan Tobin 1-0 each, Ciarán Sheehan, Mark Quinlan 0-1 each; GLENROE: Darren Frewen 0-8 (7 frees), Ciarán Kelly 1-0, Steven Walsh, Cian Hogan 0-1 each.

GARRYSPILLANE: Adam Sheehan; James O’Sullivan, Robert Sampson, Ciarán Sheehan; Declan Heavey, Mark Quinlan, Jamie Morrissey; Dylan O’Shea, Josh Dineen; Ryan Tobin, Bryan Heavey, Eoin O’Mahony; Callum Sheehan, Colin Ryan, Hugh Flanagan. SUBS: Peter Morrissey for Jamie Morrissey (40 minutes), Jamie McGrath for Callum Sheehan (44 minutes), Shane Ryan for Eoin O’Mahony (46 minutes).

GLENROE: Ian O’Sullivan; Eoin Gallahue, Jordan Sheehy, Oisín Browne; Shaun Moloney, Mark O’Connell, Darren Carroll; Shane O’Donoghue, Liam Dennehy; Darren McCarthy, Stephen Walsh, Darren Frewen; Keelan Riordan, Brian O’Connell, Ciarán Kelly. SUBS: Pa Holian for Eoin Gallahue (35 minutes), Jonathan Tallon for Keelan Riordan (47 minutes), Cian Browne for Darren McCarthy (47 minutes), Cian Hogan for Shane O’Donoghue (56 minutes).

REFEREE: Jonathan Hayes (St Senan’s).