Naomh Mearnóg suffer defeat to Bray Emmets in Leinster Intermediate Hurling Semi Final

Naomh Mearnóg’s hopes of advancing to the final of the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship were dashed in Aughrim on Saturday afternoon as they succumbed to Bray Emmets by 1-16 to 0-15.

Having made a bright start to the second-half, hopes were high that the Portmarnock side could reach the decider but the concession of a goal in the 41^st minute proved too much of a body blow to their ambitions.

There was a slow start to proceedings as Christy Moorehouse opened the scoring for Bray through a ‘65’ with Diarmuid Masterson also on target as Emmets opened up a two-point lead.

Naomh Mearnóg opened their own account through Shane Nangle in the 9^th minute and parity was restored two minutes later thanks to Liam Mullins from play.

Moorehouse added a free soon after to restore Bray’s lead with a Tom Cosgrove score at the opposite end leaving his side trailing by 0-4 to 0-3 by the end of the first quarter.

A ‘65’ by Mullins left the teams deadlocked once again but three frees on the bounce by Moorehouse left Bray well placed at the interval, leading by 0-8 to 0-5.

Mearnóg resumed in a determined and impressive fashion with three points on the bounce from Josh Phillips, Mullins (free) and wing-forward Seán Hawkshaw seeing the teams on level terms by the 37^th minute.

That momentum was maintained as a Mullins free and Hawkshaw’s second score pushed the Portmarnock outfit two points clear but the tide turned against them in the 41^st minute as Eoin McCormack scored the contest’s solitary goal.

The game descended into a free-taking competition from that juncture as Mullins kept Mearnóg in the hunt with frees at regular intervals with his ten-point personal tally also including a fine score from play in the 51^st minute.

However, Moorehouse was similarly efficient for Emmets with his four frees in the final quarter proving sufficient to see his team over the line.