Longwood’s senior hurlers got their championship campaign off to an excellent start with a comprehensive victory over Blackhall Gaels in Navan on Saturday afternoon. 

The teams had met in the group stages of last year’s championship when Longwood suffered a heavy defeat, so a seventeen point victory on this occasion represented a monumental turnaround on the part of Aaron Ennis’ charges.

Such a margin could scarcely have been anticipated in the early stages, the men from Batterstown and Kilcloon racing into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead with just five minutes on the clock.  Stephen Morris and Luke Jennings were particularly prominent in the opening exchanges and it took Longwood some time to curtail their influence.  But curtail it they eventually did.

Ryan Moore, showing a savage appetite for work, scored the opening point on seven minutes and a couple of long range efforts from Sean Coloe had the sides level.  Blackhall pushed two points ahead again before Damien Healy and Billy Hogan got in on the act to restore parity at the end of the opening quarter.

Soon after, a point from the crafty and experienced Karl Ennis pushed Longwood in front for the first time and it was a lead they would never relinquish.  Another Sean Coloe point, one of eight missiles he would launch over the course of the hour,  was backed up by a fine Kevin Heagney point to push the lead out to three points.  Heagney, a native of the Banner county, was making his championship debut and made a telling contribution with four points from play.  He’ll surely be hoping his county men can secure a similar result next Sunday!

The final six minutes before half-time would prove to be crucial, with the men in white registering 2-4 without reply; the two green flags coming courtesy of an Anthony Healy penalty accurately dispatched to the corner of the net before Karl Ennis showed great composure to slip the ball past the advancing keeper, much to joy of the Longwood crowd.

Despite a somewhat shaky start, Longwood had refused to panic and gradually played their way into the game before exerting total control as the half came to end.   A one point lead in the 24th minute evolved into an eleven point lead at the interval.  And that purple patch was the deciding factor in the game.

Half-time:  Longwood 2-14 Blackhall Gaels 0-9

With such a big lead, it would have been easy for Longwood to retreat into a defensive formation for the second half but an early point from Sean Coloe signalled their intent to continue to push forward.  The captain’s message was clear, “let’s win the second half” and his team mates responded to the challenge.  

While Blackhall did register some good points, they were always fighting a losing battle.  Longwood kept the scoreboard ticking with some excellent points courtesy of Gavin Griffith, Billy Hogan and Kevin Heagney.  By now they were dominating the middle third with debutants Conor Dixon and Brian Stagg displaying great industry and spurring on their more experienced team mates.  

A pointed free from Anthony Healy, as the clock ticked into injury time, proved to be the final score and  brought the curtain down on a most convincing performance.  

Full-time: Longwood 2-28 Blackhall Gaels 0-17

Were Longwood as good as they looked?  Did Blackhall Gaels just have a really bad day at the office?  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  You only have to be slightly off your game and you will be ruthlessly exposed come championship time.

For now, Longwood can and should savour this victory.  Wins should always be celebrated before moving on to the next challenge.  And that challenge is sure to be a formidable one - a battle with parochial neighbours Killyon, who will be buoyed by an equally impressive opening round victory over Na Fianna.

Special mention to Conor Dixon, Brian Stagg, Thomas Dorran, Fionn Hannon and Ben McLoughlin all of whom graduated from juvenile hurling this year and made their senior championship debuts yesterday.  Well done lads!

Longwood: Mark Kennedy, Adam Leacy, Mickey Burke, Ross Kerrigan, Sean Coloe (0-8), Billy Hogan (0-2), Conor Dixon, Ryan Moore (0-3), Gavin Griffith (0-1), Kevin Heagney (0-4), Anthony Healy (1-6), Joey Stenson, Karl Ennis (1-1), Damien Healy (0-3), Brian Stagg.  Subs:  David Coloe for Karl Ennis, Thomas Dorran for Adam Leacy, Fionn Hannon for Brian Stagg, Ben McLoughlin for Kevin Heagney, Kevin Maguire for Gavin Griffith, Enda Dixon

 
A special word for the ground staff in Páirc Tailteann.  The playing surface was immaculate and it made for some excellent hurling.