For the first time in well over a decade, Longwood fielded a second adult team in championship hurling when they hosted Kilmessan on Thursday evening.
The club owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Jim Dorran and Karl Ennis, two fantastic club stalwarts who not only look after our minor hurlers but also took responsibility for our Junior B team.
The game drew a sizeable crowd, with home fans excited to see some of our younger hurlers combine with many familiar faces who have starred for Longwood down the years.
Family was to the fore in the Longwood panel. Firstly, we had the Gill brothers, Paul and Noel, togging out and both featured amongst the scorers. We also had the Maguire brothers in action with Kevin and Adrian Maguire taking to the field. But even more special was the sight of father and son, Tom Dorran Snr and Tom Dorran Jnr, donning the Longwood jersey. A special moment for the Dorran family.
With club legends Karl Ennis, Eoin Lynch, Johnny Furey and Enda Dixon showing all the class that enabled them to shine in GAA grounds around the county (and beyond) over the years, the younger players only had to follow their lead.
And follow they did. The midfield partnership of Conor M Dixon and Henrick Peciulis exuded energy and work rate throughout the hour, while James Cully, Sean Kelly, Rian Duffy and Noel Gill all shone at various stages of the game.
A brace of goals from Karl Ennis and some beautiful points from Eoin Lynch established a sizeable lead and drew great cheers from the home crowd in the opening half. Class is permanent!
Longwood were the better side for most of the contest, save for a blue surge before half-time that saw Kilmessan register six points without reply. But the home team never looked in serious danger.
The pace of the game and the scoring rate dropped a little in the second half but that was to be expected on such a balmy evening.
A red card for Kilmessan was not in keeping with what was a sporting contest.
Credit to both teams for serving up such and entertaining game.
Longwood: Ross Healy, Sean Kelly, Enda Dixon, Adam Peacock, Sam King, Ross Kerrigan, Johnny Furey, Conor M Dixon (0-3), Henrick Peciulis (0-1), Paul Gill (0-3), Eoin Lynch (0-3), James Cully (0-2), Thomas Dorran (0-2), Rian Duffy, Karl Ennis (2-2), Chris Cusack, Kevin Maguire, Luke Brady, Noel Gill (0-1), John Cully, Kieran Murtagh, Darragh Maguire, Liam Greene, Tom Dorran, Adrian Maguire
Next up for our Junior B hurlers is a trip to Drumree on August 27th.
