Sciath na Scol Final - Ballyheada vs Blarney by Rian Mangan

It was a great day for Ballyheada as they won their first hurling Sciath na scol title since 2012. Ms. Healy won the camogie final in 2013 and her experience was crucial in getting over the line.

Leading up to the game the players were very relaxed but excited. Training went very well and we were all set for Páirc Uí Chaoimh. When we arrived in Pairc Uí Chaoimh we watched some of the Premier 1 final before getting changed and heading into the warm up area. We then went onto the pitch and got to wave out to the crowd. This was a really cool experience. 

Before we knew it the whistle was blown and the game started. Blarney made a good start and led 2 points to nil. Tadgh Mullaney thundered into the game and caused the Blarney defence lots of problems with his pace. Himself and Cian O Sullivan started to pull us back into the game with a few scores. Nick Rice, our goalkeeper, was fantastic on puckouts and was finding lots of space on the restarts. The Ballyheada defence of Sean O Sullivan, Cian Holland, Conor Coleman and captain Liam Aherne were rock solid at the back. A big moment in the game came when Conor Coleman burst out with the ball and gave a great pass to Tadgh. Tadgh ran through and rattled the back of the Blarney net with a great strike. Ballyheada’s midfield pairing of Finn O’ Toole and Dan Salter were working hard in midfield, with both players getting two fabulous points before half time. Oisin O Sullivan and Odhran O’ Brien were linking up well in the forwards and making lots of tackles. Ballyheada went in at half time 5 points up but had to play against a strong wind in the second half. 

Blarney came out strong and got a great goal. They managed to tie the game and changed the momentum. However, we got a few scores to settle the game. Aidan Dennehy, Cian O Sullivan and Tadgh Mullaney all scored brilliant goals to put us on track to get over the line. It was a tight but exciting game, with some brilliant skills on show from both teams.

We would especially like to thank Mr. Keohane, Ms. Healy, Ms. McEvoy and Mr. O Sullivan for their coaching all year. We would also like to thank the 6th class parents for organising the classy jumpers that we got to wear on the day. And finally we would like to thank the supporters for driving us on in all the games. Thanks for listening. Ballyheada Abu!!