Elwood holds his nerve to force a replay in U-21 A final

Turloughmore 0-15

TURLOUGHMORE and Liam Mellows will have to do it all again as a last gasp free from Ronan Elwood was enough to seal a well deserved draw for the city side in an entertaining U-21 A hurling final in Pearse Stadium on Saturday.

Mellows were six points down heading into the final quarter but battled back gallantly to earn a replay, the third time this has happened, with the sides already having gone to replays when they met in the 2013 Minor final, along with their meeting in the U16 decider two years earlier.

It was Mellows who opened the scoring through a Ronan Elwood free, and Stephen Barrett doubled the lead almost immediately after winning the puck out before splitting the posts with a delightful strike from the left wing. Subsequently, Sean Linnane registered Turloughmore’s first score, but that was quickly cancelled out by another Elwood free as the city side settled the quicker.

Turloughmore needed a lift and that came in the form of a super score from left half back Daniel Burke, who brilliantly stopped the menacing run of Barrett with a superb block and without hesitation, the young defender then turned and blasted over a superb score from well inside his own half.

Joe Hession’s side were nearly gifted an early goal when county U21 star Sean Loftus tried his luck with a free from long range. His delivery almost landed in the Mellows net as keeper Jack Forde missed the ball, allowing Padraig Kearney to try but ultimately fail to sweep it into the net.

The game was tight at this stage, both teams struggling to take a foothold in what was an evenly matched contest across the field, although Mellows were relying heavily on the free taking of sharpshooter Ronan Elwood, while Turloughmore had five different scorers in the opening half, rising to eight by the final whistle.

The sides traded scores in a tight ten minute period to leave it level at five points apiece when Turloughmore hit a purple patch which saw them land four points without reply. Frees from Jamie Holland added to the lead secured by points from play through Loftus and Linnane as they went in ahead by 0-9 to 0-6 at the break.

Throughout the final, the midfield exchanges proved the key to the success of any attack as the game saw very few short puck outs. With Richard Doyle and Shane Burke commanding this area, Turloughmore looked to kill off the Mellows challenge with a flurry of scores to put them seven points clear.

Full coverage in this week's Connacht Tribune.