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U13 Hurlers Progress Further with Capture of Leinster Mini-Feile Title - Mon, 1 Oct 2007

St. Brigids Under 13 hurlers had a fantastic success when they captured the Leinster Mini Féile Division 1 title in Bray last weekend. Four wins out of four against strong opposition is a real morale booster for this promising team.

St. Brigids started out with an assignment against Carlow representatives, Mount Leinster Rangers. Despite having a territorial advantage, Brigids were unable to make their dominance count on the scoreboard in the first half. However, the introduction of Brian O'Malley at half time, sparked his side into life. His contribution of 2-2, along with Aaron Carolan's 1-1 helped the Reds to a 3-7 to 0-1 win.

Next up were Naas, who despite having lost their opening match to the Carlow side, came out with all guns blazing. This was a low scoring affair, but goals from Carolan and Luke Ryan were decisive in Brigids 2-3 to 1-2 win.

Brigids opponents in the semi-final were Westmeath representatives, Castletown-Geoghegan and what a match this proved to be! The Russell Park outfit started well with points from Darragh Henry and O'Malley putting them into an early 3 point lead. But the black and amber lads struck back, with a goal and two unanswered points. Both sides traded points until the half time whistle sounded to leave the boys from the Lake County two points ahead.

Brigids now knew they had a battle on their hands. The second half was a titanic struggle with both sides playing some marvelous hurling. Henry, Paul Winters and Ciaran Gaule chipped in with points but it seemed that the Castle had an answer to everything Brigids threw at them. With two minutes remaining and Brigids still two points in arrears, Carolan collected the ball inside his own half. He set off on a mazy dribble that brought him to the Castle's 20 metre line, where he off-loaded to Mikey McDonnell. His shot was saved by the keeper but Cian Ryan was on hand to blast the rebound to the net.

More drama was to come, however, as the black and amber midfield pair who played superbly all day won possession and drove towards the Brigids goal. Their full forward struck a low shot, which was heading for the bottom corner until Kieran Cahill produced a fantastic save. When Gaule cleared the rebound, the final whistle sounded and Brigids were ecstatic with their last gasp win. Final score: Brigids 1-8 Castletown-Geoghegan 1-7.

Brigids opponents in the final turned out to be the host club and Wicklow county champions, Bray Emmets. The first half was an evenly contested affair, the highlight being a superb strike from Carolan. However, the Brigids backs were conceding too many handy frees to their opponents and the half time score saw the hosts leading by 0-4 to 0-3. But the Reds came out in the second half determined to leave with the title, and what a performance they produced.

Points from Winters and Henry put the Russell Park boys in front, and then Luke Ryan struck the ball to the net to open a decisive advantage. Emmets were shell-shocked and further scores from O'Sullivan and Henry proved a bridge too far for the hosts, as Brigids ran out deserved 1-8 to 0-6 winners. Mentors Paddy Winters and Gerry Greville were delighted with their team's win. "This is a fantastic bunch of lads. They've worked hard for this" said Paddy after the final whistle.

St. Brigids squad: K. Cahill, D. Greville, C. Dolan, S. Somani, L. Hawkes, D. Henry, M. Kavanagh, M. McDonnell, C. Gaule (capt.), A. Carolan, L. Ryan, P. Winters, K. O'Sullivan, A. McDonald, J. O'Reilly, G. O'Meara, B. O'Malley, C. Ryan, C. Timoney, C. Boyle, L. Purtill.

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