Wicklow Senior Hurling Semi-Final V Glenealy

18 September, 2010

Our Senior Hurlers Played Glenealy In The Wicklow County Semi-Final On Saturday In Arklow. This Was The First Time That This Team Reached The Semi-Final Stage And In Fact The First Time Bray Has Since 1952 When They Went On To Win The Final. However This Was Not To Be Repeated In 2010.  Bray Started Very Strongly In The First Half And Matched Glenealy In All Aspects Of The Game. However, We Suffered Two Major Set-Backs Early In The First Half With Firstly Bill Maher, Our Fullback And Then Liam Kenny, Our Full-Forward Having To Be Replaced Through Injury. Liam Was A Particular Loss As He Had Been Very Effective As A Target-Man For The Attack. In Spite Of These Two Set-Backs Bray Battled Bravely But Were Punished By A Glenealy Goal In The Latter Stages Of The Half. The Game Was Anybodies At Half Time With A Scoreline Of Glenealy 1-8, Bray 0-5.

The Greater Strength And Experience Of Glenealy Began To Tell In The Second Half, Lead By A Great Display By Leighton Glynn At Centrefield. As The Pressure Intensified, Gaps Began To Appear In The Bray Team Which Were Exploited By Glenealy. This Was In Spite Of Brave Efforts By Players Such As M Lee In Goal, P Kiely, R Obrien And E Brazil In Defense And G Omurchu And A Murphy In Attack.

The Final Score Was Glenealy 2-18, Bray 0-8.

While The Scoreline Was A Major Disappointment To Bray, The First Half Display Showed That With More Experience At This Level And Sustained Effort During The Year The Team Has Potential For Greater Achievements. The Team Has Shown Steady Progress Over The Past Few Years In Gaining Promotion To Senior Level, Then Winning The  Billy Byrne Cup And Now Reaching The Semi-Final Stage. The Next Step In Moving Up The Ladder Is The Dessie Murphy Cup, Which Is To Be Played On Saturday 9th October Against Kiltegan In Avondale.

Bray Emmets Lineout: M Lee, E Keating, B Maher, E Brazil, P Walshe, P Kiely, C Maceoin, J Henderson, M Browne, W Keane, P Cunningham, B Cunningham, C Moorehouse, L Kenny And A Murphy.

Substitutes R Obrien For B Maher, G Omurchu (0-2) For L Kenny, T Hamill For C Moorehouse, C Omaolmhuaidh For P Walshe, M Walshe For B Cunningham