The young hurlers faced south Belfast side Carryduff on Thursday night at St Marks. Having been beaten heavily by a physically stronger and bigger side last week from Liatroim, the young blues were out to salvage some pride in their club. From the start Carryduff seemed to lay siege to the Warrenpoint goals but could not break down the defensive unit of Sean Greenan and Mikey Keohane, but when they did they found Ronan McShane in goals extremely hard to beat. In fact, it was a man of the match performance from Ronan that exemplified the spirit this young and inexperienced side showed. Playing in a rolling defensive mode Conaire McMahon gave an exhibition in tackling, hooking and harrying his markers. With Sean Crawford & Oisín Gambold switching defense for attack this week they too had an overall positive impact on the team.
Playing the game over three 20 minutes’ periods, a different format this year, meant there were lots of opportunities for the team to change attack and defensive roles. Once again it was Ruarí McIntyre and Oran Murney who got the scored for Warrenpoint along with an excellent point from distance from young Ronan. Although the blues lost out in the end, it was a much-improved performance from the home side. Next week sees the home side host St Pat’s, in the hope that a result will lift the team further.
Team: Ronan McShane, Sean Greenan, Mikey Keohane, Jay Stewart, Conaire McMahon, Oran Murney, Ruairí McIntyre, Jarlath Donnelly, Oisín Gambold, Tiernan Traynor, Sean Crawford, Oisín McGivern
