Laois Handball Notes
Laois Handball Notes
Clough Ballacolla One-Wall Tournament
The newly formed Clough Ballacolla Handball Club held the finals of their inaugural one-wall club tournament last weekend with a high standard of handball played across all divisions. The success of this tournament is clear evidence that the game of handball has a bright future in Clough Ballacolla and that their players will be serious contenders in the Laois One-Wall leagues starting in the coming weeks.
The opening final played was in the Men’s Challenger Division where Jimmy Heneberry faced Ollie Byrne. Jimmy started the final in confident fashion winning the opening game 21-7. The second game was a much closer affair with Ollie upping his game considerable and pushing his opponent all the way. However, Jimmy kept his nerve to take the title by winning the second game on a 21-18 scoreline.
The Boy’s U14 Final pitted Evan Hawkes against Padraig Brennan. In a very competitive final it was Evan who prevailed over two games on a scoreline of 21-11 21-9. Both players displayed great skill levels and if they continue to practice and train hard they will undoubtedly have bright futures in the game.
In the penultimate game of the night, Diarmuid Conway faced Cathal Dunne in the Boy’s U16 Final. Diarmuid was to prove too strong for Cathal taking the title on a 21-6 21-14 scoreline. Credit must be given to Cathal as he pushed Diarmuid all the way in the second game and never gave up. Hopefully the two lads will be able to step up in the near future to challenge for honours in the adult grades.
The last final played was in the Men’s Open Division where Kevin Brennan faced Seamus Brennan. In the semi-finals Seamus had defeated Georgie Boyhan while Kevin had overcome the challenge of Willie Dunphy to set up a highly anticipated final between two evenly match competitors.
The first game was to live up to expectations with both players enjoying periods of dominance. A feature of the game was both players’ retrieval skills and ability to kill the ball. After a titanic struggle it was Kevin who edged the first game 21-17. The second proved a more one-sided affair with Kevin taking control of proceedings and finishing out the game on a 21-8 scoreline to take the inaugural Clough Ballacolla Tournament Title.
Clough Ballacolla 2015 One-Wall Tournament Results:
Men’s Challenger-
Semi-finals:
Ollie Byrne defeated JJ Gorman
Kimmy Heneberry w/0 Dermot Quinlan
Final:
Jimmy Heneberry defeated Ollie Byrne
Boy’s U14-
Semi-finals
Evan Hawkes defeated Mark Hennessy
Padraig Brennan defeated Cillian Dunne
Final:
Evan Hawkes defeated Padraig Brennan
Boy’s U16-
Semi-finals:
Diarmuid Conway defeated Chris Rafter
Cathal Dunne defeated Stephen Hally
Final:
Diarmuid Conway defeated Cathal Dunne
Men’s Open-
Semi-finals:
Seamus Brennan defeated Georgie Boyhan
Kevin Brennan defeated Willie Dunphy
Final:
Kevin Brennan defeated Seamus Brennan
Leinster Juvenile handball 40×20 B Finals
The Leinster Juvenile B Finals were played last week with Laois having a number of players in action. These championships provide players with a platform to develop their game in a competitive setting, represent their county and challenge for provincial honours.
In the Girl’s U12 Final Ruby McEvoy defeated Saoirse Hogan of Kildare in a three game thriller. Ruby started brightly winning the opening game 15-4. Saoirse responded to take the next game 10-15. In the deciding game it was Ruby’s strong serving that proved the difference as she deservedly captured the title on a 15-5 scoreline.
There was more success for Laois in the Boy’s U12 Final when Jim O’Connor gave a dominant display to defeat Conor Delaney of Dublin 15-4 15-6. On the basis of this performance Conor has the potential to challenge for further titles in the future.
In the Boy’s U13 Final, Ben Dunphy battled bravely but unfortunately lost out in a tight game 15-10 15-10 to Ciaran Silke of Kildare. Ben matched his opponent all the way and should not feel too disappointed as he played some superb handball.
Pauric Walsh was the last Laois handballer into action and he gave an outstanding performance to defeat Cathal McCabe of Kildare 15-2 15-6 in the Boy’s U14 Final. Pauric has improved hugely as a handballer and this title was due rewards for his great efforts over the last few months.
These championships proved another success for Laois handball and provide further evidence that the work being done at underage level is starting to pay rich dividends. Well done to all our juvenile players who represented Laois so brilliantly last week.