Kilpeacon U15 Hurlers played their first competitive match on the evening of Wednesday 13th April against Askeaton in Askeaton. Askeaton won out division 2 last year so were always going to be a strong opposition and with the schools , soccer and rugby seasons still in full swing , Kilpeacon travelled with the bare 15 for this game.

From the throw in Kilpeacon started very brightly with a couple of quick points from Cathal O’Neill playing in the half forward position before a great opportunist point from Ciaran Kennedy helped Kilpeacon into a 3 point lead. Askeatons first break up the field led to a goal opportunity which was brilliantly saved by Rory Hannon in goals when the ball looked destined for the top corner. That gave Askeaton belief and soon after they got on the score sheet with a point followed closely with a goal which brought them right back into the game.

The scores were traded between both teams for the remainder of the half with some good play from the kilpeacon back line who were under some pressure from a very mobile Askeaton forward line. Askeaton scored a second goal before the end of the first half but some great free taking by Cathal kept Kilpeacon in the game and only 2 points separated the teams at half time.

Askeaton had the upper hand at the start of the second half and with about 10 mins to go had a solid 6 point lead before some positional changes brought James Conheady more into the game and for a spell Kilpeacon were on top and a well taken goal by Sam Riordan brought Kilpeacon right back into the game. Cathal added a point and with a couple of minutes to go there were just 2 points separating the teams , unfortunately Kilpeacon could not cut that gap and Askeaton tapped over 2 more points to leave the final score Kilpeacon 1 -11 Askeaton 2 – 12 .

Kilpeacon had the chances to win the game and will go into their next game on Wednesday 20th April against Granagh Ballingarry with belief that they can cross the line in the second game.

Team on the night: Rory Hannon, Padraig Byrnes, Jack Dalton, Chris Shanahan, Darragh O Keeffe, Richard Murphy, Brendan Power, James Conheady, Colin Haigney, Cian Enright, Cathal O’Neill (0 – 10)  Sam Riordan (1 – 0), Niall Kahn, Fergal Egan, Ciaran Kennedy(0 – 1)