Ruthless Bandon Grammar bring it home

Bandon Grammar School caused one of the shocks of the schoolboys hockey season so far in recording a resounding 4-0 victory over Ashton at the Cork City school in yesterday’s Munster Minor Schoolboys Cup final.

Having been crowned the country’s best side at this grade by claiming national glory at the John Waring Super Sixes at Lisnagarvey – including a 2-0 win over Bandon – Ashton were obvious favourites going into this encounter. And they began like they meant business as Bandon struggled to get out of their own half, but having broken away to win their first corner, Will Bartley’s charges took a surprise lead in the sixth minute. It was a well-worked set-piece, drawing the runners away from the castle with a shortened push to the left, preceding a long switch right for David Jennings. He calmly controlled and pushed hard and accurate to the far bottom corner. The work-rate of Jennings and his twin brother Matthew was vital to Bandon’s cause in midfield as they won most of the 50-50 tackles thereafter. Ross Welch and Simon Dring in particular were proving to be Ashton’s main dangermen but they were shut down by a series of vital defensive interventions from Bandon’s Luke Kingston and Ben Shanahan. Bar a series of shorts at the tail end of the first half, which didn’t yield a goal, clear-cut chances were at a premium until after the break, when the game exploded into life. Another Bandon corner was switched left then right to Sean Nyhan outside the back post. He squared for David Jennings whose volley dinged the post, but the rebound fell kindly for him and he did well to once again have the composure to place it to the far corner.

And when Ashton failed to clear a couple of minutes later, Bandon’s inspirational captain Ben Kingston – their greatest threat on the ball – picked up a loose ball and flicked to the far top corner from a tight angle. That double blow left Ashton, spurred on from the back byuskipper Harry Whitaker, needing to chase the game. But their sole penalty corner was well cleared by the Bandon defence and other forays into the visitors’ 25 went unrewarded. That left Bandon to put the icing on the cake late on, when David Jennings picked up turnover ball 40 metres out and played in Scott Deane, who was retreating from the previous attack. He waited for the pass to enter the D and coolly swept home first-time. It was Bandon’s first title at this level since 2006, and denied Ashton a fourth crown in five attempts. Both schools have enjoyed periods of dominance at this level – Ashton won eight straight cups in the 1990s while Bandon matched that feat from 1998-2006. To view the full set of pictures from this game, check out the Schools Cups album on the Southern Fried Hockey Facebook page. Munster Minor Schoolboys Cup final Ashton 0 Bandon Grammar 4 (D Jennings 2, B Kingston, S Deane)