Newmarket qualified for the semi final of the junior B hurling league after a well earned victory by 1-11 to 0-12 away to Kilbrin in a quarter final clash played on Sunday evening.

Newmarket got off to a flying start and especially Ian Flanagan who hit over three fine points, two from play within the opening five minutes. Kilbrin got off the mark thanks to an eighth minute point before adding another two minutes later.

Nicky Barrett pointed next for Newmarket as the sides shared the next four points with John Scanlon ensuring Newmarket enjoyed a lead of 0-5 to 0-4 after seventeen minutes.

The crucialscore of the game came a minute later as Michael Kenneally gathered a delivery from Timothy Murphy on the wing he set off on a superb solo run and as he closed in on goal he unleashed an unstoppable shot to the roof of the Kilbrin net for the games solitary goal.

Ian Flanagan twice pointed from frees with Kilbrin replying with points on each occasion. Two further Kilbrin points cut the deficit to two points with Jack Birtley clipping over a fine point late in the half to ensure a lead of 1-8 to 0-8 at the turnover. Newmarket were grateful to goalkeeper Kieran Hayes on several occasions during the half as he done splendidly to keep Kilbrin at bay.

The scoring rate dipped considerably in the second half and Newmarket squandered numerous scoring opportunities as they racked up a worrying tally of wides. The first score of the half came in the eighth minute when once more Michael Kenneally done excellently before knocking the ball over the bar. Kilbrin had the next score but Newmarket, despite some fine performances all over the field struggled to find the target.

Kilbrin cut the arrears to two points after Newmarket failed to take advantage of a penalty after Michael Kenneally was upended. Ian Flanagan gave Newmarket a three point lead with ten minutes to play. Once more Kilbrin came within two points before Jack Birtley increased the lead to three points again. Kilbrin had the final score of the game in the dying moments as the Newmarket defence held firm to close out a well fought win.

The Newmarket team was…

Kieran Hayes
Michael O’Leary		Brendan Stack		Donnacha Fitzpatrick
Timothy Murphy		Robert Stack		David Enright
	Brian Daly		Niall O’Connor
Jack Birtley (0-2)		John Scanlon (0-1)		Donnacha O’Dea
Nicky Barrett (0-1)		Michael Kenneally (1-1)		Ian Flanagan (0-6)
SUBS: David Quinlan, Billy Daly