Pres Athenry lose their way in second-half of semi-final

Pres Athenry   1-9

Eanna O’Reilly in Tulla

PRESENTATION College, Athenry flattered to deceive against Limerick City school Árd Scoil Rís in the All-Ireland Colleges A hurling quarter-final on Sunday afternoon in Tulla. A poor second-half performance proved the Athenry school’s downfall, with a 20 minute spell after half time proving particularly costly.

Cathal Moore’s charges held a 1-5 to 0-7 lead at the interval and had the aid of the wind in the second half. However, it was the Limerick school which took over after the resumption, as Pres Athenry were outscored by 1-5 to 0-1 in the first 20 minutes of the second period.

A low scoring and scrappy first quarter of the game saw the Athenry school lead by 1-2 to 0-2 after 16 minutes. The Limerick side got off the mark in the opening minute, with an impressive score from Marc O’Brien from the left wing.

Pres equalised two minutes later, with a good score from Orin Burke, after being set up with a pass from Darragh Counihan. A minute later, the Athenry school scored the game’s opening goal.

Darragh Kearney made a strong run from the right wing before his low shot was saved by Árd Scoil ‘keeper Fionn O’Brien. Corner forward Ciarán Leen got a hold of the rebound and finished to the net impressively with an overhead strike.

Árd Scoil responded with a pointed free from Daniel Chaplin at the other end before the Limerick school had a goal chance. They worked the ball through the Pres defence, before Michael Collins had a shot well saved by the advancing Ciarán Wilde. At the other end, Kearney sent over a good score from the right wing to make it 1-2 to 0-2.

The contest remained on an even keel, with O’Brien scoring two points (one free) during the next five minutes for Árd Scoil. Pres were already struggling to get a handle on the full forward. At the other end, Jason Rabbitte sent over a point to make it 1-3 to 0-4.

Pictured: Pres Athenry's Aaron Niland who scored five points in their All-Ireland PPS senior hurling A semi-final defeat to Árd Scoil Rís in Tulla on Sunday.