Michael Cusacks claim county crown with impressive display

Rahoon-Newcastle 1-12

By Darren Kelly in Duggan Park

Despite recent struggles for their respective adult clubs, Michael Cusacks showed the future is bright for hurling in Kilbeacanty and Beagh on Wednesday night as they were crowned county U-20B hurling champions.

Of course, both clubs could have a major say in this year’s 2025 intermediate championship race, and Beagh are guaranteed their Premier spot next year, but 17 years after coming together, they’ll share a new group ready to improve fortunes from last year’s relegation battles.

Galway minor Cian O’Loughlin top scored for the victors with 1-9, including a stunning goal on 18 minutes that gave Jason Walsh’s charges a buffer they held over the remainder of the game.

Rahoon-Newcastle didn’t buckle, and got back to within two points early in the second period, but despite the best efforts of Robert Keane’s men, they came up short in a second successive decider at this level.

The night sky set the scene and Michael Cusacks entered as strong favourites having beaten their opponents by 23 points in the opening round. They scraped past Fr Joe Walsh’s in Round 2 before their one defeat to Cappataggle at the end of July.

However, the south Galway side gained revenge two weeks ago beating Cappataggle 1-18 to 1-15.

Rahoon-Newcastle recovered from their disappointing start to force a draw with Cappy in Round 2 before a win over Fr Joe Walsh’s got their season on track. Two away trips in the knockout stages didn’t faze the maroon and white and they accounted for Ahascragh-Fohenagh (2-16 to 1-17) and Craughwell (1-16 to 1-13) to reach the final.

The ball was barely thrown in when O’Loughlin showcased his potential by splitting the posts. Daithí Carr led the charge for Rahoon-Newcastle and equalised in the second minute thanks to Luke Carroll’s assist.

But when Calum Prendergast fired over from the right in Cusacks’ next attack, it put them to the front as O’Loughlin and Eoin Fahey made it 0-4 to 0-1 on eight minutes. They were also guilty of squandering other opportunities that could have created a significant distance.

The game swung in the middle third of the first period. Rahoon-Newcastle missed a golden chance after Matthew Murphy blocked down a Ciaran Mullins clearance, but Carroll’s attempt fell wide.

Pictured: Rahoon Newcastle’s Dylan Carr gains possession despite the close marking of Michael Cusacks’ defenders Sean McLoughlin and Darren Hynes.