Tom shines and inspires Loughcrew/Gaeil Colmcille to u-21 A HC title

All you can ask for from any team is honest endeavour and both Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille and Rathmolyon certainly provided plenty of of hard work and quality hurling, but it was the burgeoning reputation of the north Meath men that grew even more with this convincing victory in the u-21 A HC final at Dunganny on Sunday afternoon.

The combined forces of Kilskyre, Moylagh and Gaeil Colmcille, with a healthy sprinkling of players from football clubs around the region, have become quite the side to be reckoned with in hurling circles of late.

The hard work and solid foundations being laid at underage level is certainly reaping rewards. The combination's minors have contested three of the last four MHC finals and last Sunday they were simply too strong for a brave, battling Rathmolyon side.

Central to most of Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille's success was the outstanding contribution of Tom Shine. The deadly attacker finished with 13 points to his credit, but it was his leadership, strength at the breakdowns and drive when in possession that excelled.

His twin brother Daire at centre-back was also exception, but it was far from a two-man team as Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille had no weaknesses in their team.

Anchored by Daire Shine they were rock solid at the back, first to most balls and powerful when burst from the back.

Through midfield their first touch was near flawless, while in attack Tom Shine excelled and others caused plenty of problems.

A 10-point margin of defeat was harsh on Rathmolyon, but they were still second best throughout. Rathmolyon worked hard and with Ben Morgan and Sean Howley impressing at the back they did well to limit Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille for considerable periods.

Kevin Mulligan was a serios threat when he came out the field, while Cathal Regan and Arthur Doyle also cause Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille a few anxious moments.

Playing with the aid of the early stages of Storm Fergus at their backs Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille opened up a five point lead inside six minutes with Tom Shine (three), Daire Shine and Sean Tunney on target.

Rathmolyon finally got off the mark in the eight minute and it was a perfect boost as Martin Forde played in Doyle who went round the goalkeeper and fired through a forest of defenders leg to make it 1-0 to 0-5.

It was just the response Rathmolyon needed to their slow start, but they couldn't hold tight and a minute later Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille struck for their goal when tom Shine played in Darren Higgins who made no mistake.

Tom Shine added a point from a '65' and Daire Shine pointed brilliantly on the run to extend their side's lead to 1-7 to 1-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Rathmolyon never let the heads dropped and were unlucky to see Forde's pulled effort sail over the bar rather than under it. A brilliant score from Joey Christie and a free from Cathal Regan closed the gap to 1-3 to 1-7 10 minutes before the break.

However Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille settled again and it Tom Shine when ended their eight minute barren spell as they hit five of the last six scores of the half with Tom Shine also adding two more frees and a '65' while Tunney grabbed his second to establish a 1-12 to 1-4 interval advantage. Regan claimed Rathmolyon's score from a free in that spell.

It took Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille and Tiernan Anderson just 15 seconds to stretch their lead and when Tom Shine added another a minute later, which was initially waved wide by the umpire before being awarded, it extended the north Meath side's lead to 10 points and left Rathmolyon with little hope.

Rathmolyon never gave up. Two excellent points from Jamie Doonan sandwiched another Regan free to close the gap to 1-7 to 1-14, but the second goal they needed never arrived as Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille dealt comfortably with the barrage of over-hit long balls that fell into their defence.

The Shine twins added points to make it 1-16 to 1-7 at the three-quarters stage. Regan and Tom Shine traded frees before Oisin Walsh and Forde were both red carded in the 60th minute following an off the ball incident.

After those dismissals Tom Shine pointed either side of a Kevin Mulligan score to close the scoring ensure end of season silverware for Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille.

SCORERS

Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille - Tom Shine 0-13 four frees, two '65s'; Daire Shine 0-3 one '65'; Darren Higgins 1-0; Sean Tunney 0-2; Tiernan Anderson 0-1.

Rathmolyon - Cathal Regan 0-4 frees; Arthur Doyle 1-0; Jamie Doonan 0-2; Martin Forde 0-1; Joey Christie 0-1; Kevin Mulligan 0-1.

TEAMS

Loughcrew Gaels/Gaeil Colmcille - Conall McGovern; Conor Rennicks, Jack Connell, Taidgh Dardis; Paul Hennessy, Daire Shine, Matthew Farrelly; Tiernan Anderson, Eoin Briody; Kit Og Lynch, Oisin McDermott, Darren Higgins; Rian Early, Tom Shine, Sean Tunney. Subs - Louis Finnegan for Early 49m, Oisin Walsh for Farrelly 52m, Cormac O'Reilly for Tunney 55m, Hughie Corcoran for Lynch 57m, Hugh Briody for Rennicks 60m.

Rathmolyon - Val Griffin; Sean Maguire, Ben Morgan, Sean Howley; Sean Mulligan, Robert Ennis, Eoghan Grehan; Jamie Doonan, Robbie Morgan; Cathal Regan, Jim Roche, Martin Forde; Joey Christie, Kevin Mulligan, Arthur Doyle. Subs - Cillian Purcell for Morgan 44m, Tadhg Cotter for Doyle 48m, Dylan Doonan for Maguire 55m.

Referee: Mark Reilly (Kilmessan).