Leinster Schoolboys Senior Trophy
Newpark 4(Johnny McCormack 2, Tommy Cullen, John Cummins) Kilkenny College 6(Sean Lamb 3, Eamonn Walsh 2, David McClure)
** Words from Marcus Blake, photos from Herbie Sharman
Kilkenny College gained sweet revenge for their defeat in the All Ireland Qualifiers at the hands of Newpark with a fine 6-4 win over the Blackrock outfit. Kilkenny showed their intentions early on and were ahead within three minutes when Sean Lamb shot past Irish U-18 goalkeeper Stefan Gallagher. 
Newpark responded and a great run from Rory Nolan was met by the stick of Andrew Ramsay but his deflection went shot wide. Ramsay and Nolan linked up well and won their side’s first short corner midway through the first half.
From the set-piece, John Cummins’ original shot was stopped excellently by defender Johnny Atkinson but Tommy Cullen scored the rebound. And the hosts took the lead two minutes later when Johnny McCormack played a neat one-two with Nolan before finishing past Kilkenny keeper Matty Thompson.
Newpark continued their rampage and went 3-1 ahead as Cummins fired home from another short corner. It could’ve been more before half time with Nolan drawing a fantastic save from Thompson from a drag flick.
But after the interval, Kilkenny came out with all guns blazing and cut the gap to just a single goal when Chris Dick played the ball across the endline for Lamb to score his second of the game from a deflection. Moments later, Eamonn Walsh played David McClure in one-on-one with Gallagher but the goalkeeper saved well.
McClure continued to cause havoc for the Newpark defence and won a short corner in the 47th minute. Walsh converted to level up the game. The cats continued to press on and went ahead when a defensive error by Newpark was capitalised on by Walsh and he fired home to put his side 4-3 ahead.
Newpark threw men forward and were level within two minutes when Johnny McCormack fired a reverse shot into the top corner. With the game looking like it was heading for extra time Kilkenny surged forward and a lapse in concentration allowed Sean Lamb to score their fifth and completed his hat-trick while David McClure sealed the win in the final minute with an excellent solo run.
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ↑ | Glenanne | 13 | 29 |
| 2 | ↓ | Monkstown | 12 | 28 |
| 3 | ↓ | Pembroke | 12 | 26 |
| 4 | ↑ | Railway Union | 13 | 23 |
| 5 | ↓ | YMCA | 12 | 22 |
| 6 | • | TRR | 11 | 14 |
| 7 | • | Corinthian | 13 | 12 |
| 8 | ↑ | Fingal | 12 | 8 |
| 9 | ↓ | UCD | 13 | 7 |
| 10 | • | Clontarf | 13 | 5 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | • | Railway Union | 14 | 36 |
| 2 | • | UCD | 14 | 34 |
| 3 | • | Loreto | 14 | 32 |
| 4 | • | Old Alex | 14 | 27 |
| 5 | • | Hermes | 14 | 25 |
| 6 | • | Trinity College | 14 | 17 |
| 7 | • | Glenanne | 14 | 9 |
| 8 | • | Corinthian | 14 | 8 |
| 9 | • | Pembroke | 14 | 8 |
| 10 | • | TRL | 14 | 4 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | • | Avoca | 13 | 28 |
| 2 | • | Suttonians | 14 | 28 |
| 3 | • | Dublin University | 14 | 24 |
| 4 | • | Weston | 13 | 20 |
| 5 | • | Rathgar | 14 | 18 |
| 6 | • | Portrane | 13 | 17 |
| 7 | • | Mullingar | 13 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | • | Loreto II | 15 | 38 |
| 2 | • | Pembroke II | 15 | 35 |
| 3 | • | North Kildare | 14 | 29 |
| 4 | • | Railway Union II | 15 | 24 |
| 5 | • | Old Alex II | 14 | 20 |
| 6 | • | Hermes II | 15 | 20 |
| 7 | • | Newbridge | 14 | 17 |
| 8 | • | UCD II | 14 | 11 |
| 9 | • | Genesis | 15 | 10 |
| 10 | • | Corinthian II | 15 | 2 |
January 25, 2012 8:39 pm
Schools fan says
Where was jeremy duncan? Tough on newpark who play in the league and pay their dues kck have decided to be a cup team only…
January 26, 2012 8:06 am
The gaels says
@schools fan – why do people on this site have to create a excuses such as kck decided to be a cup team? Why can’t you just credit two teams who created a ten goal game which would be great to watch for any spectator.
But if you do want to get into it, credit kck who are a team of players who first picked up a hockey stick in secondary school and have no real club set up for weekend hockey. Unlike their Dublin counterparts.
January 26, 2012 9:58 am
Newpark fan says
Firstly, Credit to Kilkenny for a very good second half performance. They came out and played a very strong second half to recover from 3-1 down to win 6-4 and to be honest were very good value for their win.
From a spectators point of view it was a very entertaining match. Obviously for our lads it was disappointing to go out of the cup especially after being 3-1 up but hopefully we can learn from this and move on.
In response to schools fan yes it was tough on Newpark, but we cant blame anyone but ourselves for the loss. Kilkenny not playing in the league has nothing to do with it.
They are not ‘not playing in the league’ to just be a cup team. It is down to logistical problems in having to travel a much longer distance than any of the Dublin schools for away games as well as probably having to compete with Rugby for availability of players. I also imagine that the fact its a boarding school also creates additional logistical issues for them.
Hopefully in the next few years they will be able to re-enter the league and continue to compete across all competitions.
They were a good team on Tues, deserved their win. best of luck in the next round!
January 26, 2012 10:30 am
Schoolhockey says
Jeremy duncan doesnt play hockey in school anymore, he just plays for Railway and Ireland u18s. He is on the senior rugby team in school