Congratulations to the Cuala U15 A hurlers who beat the reigning All Ireland Féile champs, Ballyboden St. Endas in a fiercely competitive and sporting division 1 game on Sunday morning last in Thomastown. Cuala deservedly came out on top by a single point in this thriller which had all the passion, commitment and excitement to compliment Dublin hurling at its very best. With a sizeable contingent of Dublin development squad players involved in this game it produced some scintillating hurling right to the very end. The first half was tough, competitive and tight with both sides missing out on some scoring opportunities due to a swirling breeze. Boden led at half time by two points and were first to score immediately after the break. However the Cuala lads dug in with their ‘never give up’ spirit and pulled themselves in front with about 10 minutes remaining. But Boden responded well to the challenge and hit some excellent points to push them back in front with only the dying minutes of the game remaining. Then after some exceptional work by their forwards Cuala were awarded a penalty which was expertly executed to the roof of the net to level the game. However that was not to be the end of the drama. Cuala won the resulting puck out in the middle of the field but Boden were penalised for a foul. From some 60 yards out near to the Cuala sideline and with the swirling breeze to contend with the free was expertly struck right between the posts giving Cuala the narrowest of leads. With the game well into injury time Boden took a quick puck out and attacked the solid Cuala defence producing a 65. The referee signalled that the strike was to be the final action of the game but heartbreak for the Boden goalkeeper’s as his effort sailed narrowly wide.
It would be unfair to single out any particular Cuala player for special mention as it’s fair to say that the performance of every player involved was a top class.
