Michael Black Memorial Tournament Report with thanks by Peter Flanagan

Michael Black Final Group Robbie McCarthy, Brian Carroll, Eoin Kennedy & Gavin Buggy Michael Gaynor John Leahy Colin Keeling Joe Lynch Eugene O'Reilly

The second annual Michael Black Memorial Tournament was held in Kells this past weekend.  The tournament which was a huge success was won by last year’s runners up, Brian Carroll and Robbie McCarthy. The beaten finalists, Eoin Kennedy and Gavin Buggy, had overcome Ian Griffin and Fergal Collins in the quarter-finals and Carl Browne and Paul Mullins in the semi-final but didn’t have enough on the day to see off the challenge of the Mullingar and Kells pair. Carroll and McCarthy also had a tough route to the final as they saw off Michael Finnegan and Eddie Burke to set up a highly anticipated encounter with Tom Sheridan and Michael Duxie Walsh in the semi-final. While the pair had a slow start against Finnegan and Burke they dominated the court against Sheridan and Walsh and with excellent precision kills they claimed an impressive 21-4, 21-2 scalp over their peers.

Play began in the final just before 2pm on Sunday in front of a packed crowd. Kennedy and Buggy had a strong start and led 8-3 before Carroll and McCarthy found their stride. Buggy’s powerful underarm shots and Kennedy’s pace ensured the side held onto their lead for a while longer, but the opposition gained ground with some excellent retrievals by Carroll. The excitement carried right the way through the first game and soon the younger men, Carroll and McCarthy, took a 15-13 lead. Kennedy, the reigning 60X30 All-Ireland champion, was well able to cope with the pressure however and covering huge ground, his side took a 16-15 lead which they soon extended to 20-16. A superb McCarthy kill from 50ft got the side back in to serve. Carroll earned the side two aces from his serve and then McCarthy was able to take the remaining three aces to clinch the first game 21-20.

The second game saw McCarthy really come into his own. Carroll pushed his serve deep into the court and McCarthy was found underneath every return and executed sublime kill shots time and again. The side took a 6-2 lead which they later extended to 11-4. The crowd were treated to an exhibition of the traditional Irish game with all players in impressive form.  There were several long tense rallies shared with nothing separating the teams. The Dublin and Wexford partnership just seemed to run out of steam in the latter half of the second game though and Carroll and McCarthy pushed on to make up for last year’s shortfall by taking a 21-9 victory  to claim the Michael Black Cup.

Prior to the Open Final was the conclusion of the mixed Masters/Junior division which had been run off up to the final stage during the week. John Leahy and Michael Gaynor emerged victorious over Joe Lynch and Eugene O’Reilly. Lynch and O’Reilly had led the first game 9-3 but Leahy and Gaynor forged ahead to a 15-9 advantage before eventually finishing the game 21-12. They kept their hold on the match in the second game and took a 21-9 victory.

Open Draw Results:

Quarter Finals

Tom Sheridan/Michael Walsh dft Joe McCann/Dessie Keegan (20-21), 21-16, 21-13

Carl Browne/Paul Mullins dft Barry Goff/ Colin Keeling 21-15, 21-14

Eoin Kennedy/Gavin Buggy dft Fergal Collins/Ian Griffin 21-5, 21-10

Brian Carroll/Robbie McCarthy dft Michael Finnegan/Eddie Burke 21-14, 21-12

Semi Finals

Eoin Kennedy/Gavin Buggy dft Carl Browne/Paul Mullins 21-12, 21-12

Brian Carroll/Robbie McCarthy dft Tom Sheridan/ Michael Walsh 21-4, 21-2

Final

Brian Carroll/Robbie McCarthy dft Eoin Kennedy Gavin Buggy 21-20, 21-9