Well, Round 1 done and dusted in this year’s Wexford Club Hurling Championships, with Round 2 to look forward this coming weekend.
As the action got under way, many eyes were on defending champions St. Martin’s as they took on St. Anne’s Rathangan in McCauley Park Bellefield last Saturday afternoon. The opening exchanges were close enough but St. Martin’s then really showed their strength in depth as they kicked on and won fairly comfortably on a scoreline of 0-20 to 0-12.
This was despite Rory O’Connor, Jack O’Connor, Barry O’Connor, Joe O’Connor, Paddy O’Connor, Kyle Firman, Ben Maddock and Philip Dempsey all being absent from their starting 15, for various reasons. Jack and Joe did get some game time in the closing stages, but really, the game was already over a contest by then. It’s perhaps an ominous sign for all other teams in the grade, and St. Mogue’s Fethard will face them next as they square up at O’Kennedy Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Rathnure St. Anne’s are another side who attracted much attention last weekend, and they too got off to a winning start – but really had to dig deep for it against Glynn-Barntown after some late late goal drama.
Looking down the grades, it is worth noting that for the first time in ten years, both Ballyfad and Tara Rocks fielded championship teams on their own.
Ballyfad put up an impressive tally of 0-27 as they defeated St. Brigid’s Blackwater by eight points in the Intermediate Championship, while their second string also got off to winning ways with a 1-21 to 0-14 victory over St Patrick’s in the Junior B championship.
Tara Rocks also had a successful return to life on their own as they struck 0-19 on their way to a five-point victory over Blackwater’s second team in the Junior ‘A’ championship.
Finally, there can hardly ever have been a weekend of championship action without at least some controversy over rules or how they were implemented, and last weekend proved no different.
Keeping up with the changes is important mainly for players and referees but also for supporters.
I have seen so many times over the years where a referee has correctly applied the rules only for an ignorant supporter or manager to abuse them for making the wrong call according to their version of the rules, or according to an old version of the rules. I have also seen instances where players have made crucial mistakes in games because they didn’t know the rules.
Similarly, referees too can make mistakes and lack knowledge of certain rules, particularly new rules or recently amended ones, or in this case, ones which apply in intercounty but not in club.
In a lower grade game last weekend, a player was shown a black card and his side subsequently went on to lose their game. It’s worth highlighting in advance of further club hurling action that there is no black card in club hurling, and that the rule applies only to senior, U20 and Minor (i.e. U17) matches at inter-county level only.
– By Peter Mernagh
