Our U11s travelled on Saturday to Blarney Gaa in Cork for the Kevin Kelliher Tournament. A well organised tournament the club has been delighted to be involved in over the last few years and look forward to comong back again next year. Well done to Blarney Gaa for their great work facilitating the visiting teams and organising a well run tournament.
Having won the competition last year in 2023, hopes were high within the Sixmilebridge camp and indeed they didn't disappoint with the effort across 8 matches for our two teams.
Captains for the day were Oisin Collins and Tommy Sullivan, both chosen based on their effort over the last number of weeks and workrate that they bring to each training session and match they take part in, a trait the coaches are trying to instill in all players.
The day started off with a Piper leading all the teams out into the field. The tournament saw each club bring 2 teams, one team partaking in Group 1 and the other in Group 2. Both the Sixmilebridge teams were blended ability.
The opening matches saw both Sixmilebridge teams take on Ballybacon Grange the home of former Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins. Both Bridge teams had good wins in this fixture. Next up in Game 2 for both teams was local rivals Na Piarsigh. Two great battles in these games, with one team managing a draw and the other narrowly losing out. The final group games saw the Bridge take on the hosts Blarney. One of our teams managed a win whilst the other team narrowly lost out. With all the group games concluded it was now time to wait and see if the combined cores across all games was enough to make the Cup Final. And indeed it was! Sixmilebridge were through to the Cup Final against Na Piarsigh of Limerick.
Both Finals games were played on the main pitch, side by side and at the same time. Combined scores across the two games was to decide the winner. Coaches from both teams were anxiously checking out both games to see where we were overall as the games progressed! One of our teams managed a narrow win whilst the other lost out unfortunately and the combined score meant Na Piarsigh were the Cup winners for 2024.
Scorers across all games included Rhys Tuohy, Senan Chaplin, Liam Kearney, Fionn O' Brien, Michael Gilligan, Finn Twomey, Joe Madden, Loughlin Downes, Matthew Purcell and Aaron Fitzpatrick.
Finalists in the competition was a great achievement and the coaches soon cheered up any disappointed players. This wonderful tournament is held in memory of Kevin Kelleher who did trojan work in the club and his legacy is to be seen across the club grounds and the way the club welcomed everyone in a truly wonderful hurling spirit. Medals were awarded to all the boys as well as a party pizza with all the teams to celebrate a fantastic day of hurling. Thanks to Blarney Gaa for the wonderful organization and Blarney Woolen Mills for the wonderful spread of food.
