DCU Hurling Club Lead the Battle

Senior Hurling Ryan Cup
Athlone IT 0 - 8 DCU 1 - 7

Tom O'Donnell

On a wet and windy afternoon on a muddy pitch in Athlone, the faces of the DCU hurlers shone with relief from behind the caked mud when the referee finally blew for full time. From start to finish each member of the team gave 120%, putting arms, legs and any part of the body handy into places that other men would be afraid to go.

From the throw-in, it was obvious that conditions were going to be a major factor with Athlone electing to play against the wind in the first half. The referee had to stop play over twenty times to dig the ball out of the muck and throw it in. At one stage I thought he was going to call in a JCB to look for the ball.

Colin Herity got the first score for DCU from play followed by an excellent score from Oisín Breathnach. He grabbed the ball in midfield and set off on a run down the line putting the ball over the bar on the sideline from forty yards.

Colin Herity put two more points over the bar from frees before Athlone got off the mark with a good score by Eunan Martin followed by another two points from frees by Colin Herity before halftime.

Facing into a strong wind in the second half, DCU showed great courage to withhold the battering they got from both the elements and from the Athlone forwards. Eunan Martin got two points from frees before Evan Lynam picked up a loose ball and slapped it over the bar. DCU remained in front throughout and Brian O'Donnell goaled after Eunan Martin pointed another free for Athlone.

David Kelly came out to the sideline to collect the sliothar. He turned and delivered a weighted pass to full forward, Willie Doran, who drew the defenders and gave the hand pass. Brian O'Donnell caught the ball and buried it past the hapless Thomas Duffy in the goal.

From then on Athlone struggled to get back into the game and were dependent on frees from Eunan Martin. Colin Herity got one final free for DCU into the wind and on the sideline. The referee blew the whistle as a final free from Eunan Martin whistled over the bar.

To pick a man of the match award would be extremely difficult. Oisín Breathnach led the defence like a man possessed. Shay Deegan let fly with the hurl on anything that moved. Colin Herity was inspiring in his captain's role. Freshers Conor O'Loughlin and Damien Maher grew into men in their baptism of fire. But it was a brilliant team performance that cannot be overshadowed by any one man.

DCU now face stiffer opponents in Carlow IT on Tuesday, 19th February 2002.

Teams & Scorers
Athlone IT
Thomas Duffy, Alan Flaherty, Shane Horan, Cian O'Brien, John Mullins, Declan Qualter, Niall Corcoran, Mark Yates, Kieran O'Reilly, Barry Teehan, Eunan Martin (0-7 Frees: 0-6), Brian Stones, Robert Nolan, Brian Culbert, Even Lynam (0-1)
DCU
Cillian Breathnach, Paul Leonard, Aidan D'Arcy, Brendan Franks, Joey Byrne, Oisín Breathnach (0-1), Damien Maher, Colin Herity (0-6 Frees: 0-5), Shay Deegan, Conor O'Loughlin, James Redmond, Brian O'Donnell (1-0), David Kelly, Fergus McMahon, Aidan Kenny.