Our u21 hurlers bowed out at the semi-final stage of the county championship at the hands of a strong Doon fifteen in Martinstown last Wednesday night. Our lads struggled early on to deal with the physicality and crisp hurling of our East neighbours, who led from the very first minute through their outstanding midfielder Josh Ryan. However, after a tactical reshuffle, Ahane settled and started getting a foothold in the game in the middle third, which led to a series of well taken scores.

Doon finished the half with 4 consecutive points to lead 0-14 to 0-7. The half time break allowed this youthful Ahane team a chance to refocus and they set about eating in the Doon lead straight from the restart with some excellent scores by Adam Murrihy and William Brennan. The hard working Peter Donohue was then on hand to scramble in a well taken goal after 44 minutes, and the lead was then reduced further to just 2 points with a fine effort from play by Adam Murrihy.

The comeback was short lived however and momentum swung back in Doon’s favour following an opportunist goal and point in quick succession. The lads continued to take the game to Doon in the final minutes but couldn’t get the vital scores that were needed to keep the game alive. The final score was Doon 1-21 Ahane 1-13.

Ahane had some fine performances all around the field, but special mention must go to team captain Mikey Power in goals, Ciaran Barry at centre back and Mark Donnellan in attack, who epitomised the Ahane spirit that has been a feature throughout this championship. While overall this was a very positive championship, the challenge now for this group of players is to continue to compete for honours at minor, junior and senior level for the remainder of the year.

Team: Mikey Power, Tristan O’ Sullivan, Andy Rowesome, Gearoid Harnett, Peter O’ Grady, Ciaran Barry (0-1), Paudie Harnett, Cian Casey, Adam Murrihy (0-6), William Brennan (0-2), Ronan Fox (0-1), Kevin Morrissey (0-1), Peter Donohue (1-0), Andrew Shanahan, Mark Donnellan (0-2) Subs – Aidan Carroll, Conor Morrissey, William O’ Leary

Report: Ollie Moran (manager)