Saturday, 25th April
Venue: St Finbarrs
Glenville were bitterly unlucky not to progress to the final round of the annual John Kerins tournament in the Barrs at the weekend. Playing in the top tier of the competition we came up against Na Piarsaig, Kinsale and the hosts St Finbarrs.
Glenville had a slow start against Na Piarsaig. We seemed to be on top, with our full back line and halfback line dominating. Eoghan Knapp and Michael O'Driscoll were a large presence from the word go, with Patrick Ryan working very well to keep the Na Piarsaig danger man at bay. However chances up front were hard to come by. Efforts by Colm O'Regan, Ciaran O'Leary and Ben Flanagan were wide of the mark and it looked as if Glenville would rue their missed chances as Na Piarsaig went in 4pts to 0 up. In the second half however Glenville dominated and drew level thanks to a fine goal by Ciaran O'Leary. It looked certain we would push on for a victory, however a final effort for a winning point, kicked by Sam Dennehy, came agonisingly off the post and wide.
Kinsale were up next and Glenville continued the momentum they had built up from the last game. Darragh Casey was the star man in this game with a brace of goals, and Eanna Desmond contributed to the scoreline also. Knowing that score difference would be a big factor, Glenville powered on in the second half. Fine performances by Donal Sheehan, Brendan Lehane and Liam Foley in particular helped Glenville to a 5:5 to 1:1 win.
Glenville needed a strong performance in the last game against a very strong Barrs team. A 100 strong crowd had gathered to watch the final game of the day. The game started well with points from Colm O'Regan and Ben Flanagan. However the Barrs had four goal opportunities, and despite the efforts of Jospeh O'Riordan, who was very reliable in goals all day, they took each of them to give them a 4:2 to 1:2 half time lead. At half time the heavens opened, and the crowd instantly disappeared into the dressing rooms and clubhouse for cover, leaving just the players, the mentors and the referee on the field. The few spectators who could still see were treated to a Glenville onslaught of the Barrs defence. Time after time attacks were made by Brendan Lehane, Daniel Cronin, and man of the match Sam Dennehy, but unfortunately, other than a fine Colm O'Regan penalty, the elusive scores that Glenville needed could not be found.
In the end 2 points was all that Glenville were short to go through to the next round. Although the players will be disappointed, and they've a lot to work on, they can be very proud of their performance, and a great year of football is in store of the year.
Panel: Joseph O'Riordan, Patrick Ryan, Michael O'Driscol, Eoghan Knapp, Brendan Lehane, Donal Sheehan, Eanna Fitzgerald, Liam Foley, Darragh Casey, Sam Dennehy, Daniel Cronin, Ciaran O'Leary, Colm O'Regan, Ben Flanagan.