The second half continued in the same way with the Bridge continuing to dominate and score at will. The inevitable comeback from O’Loughlins materialised mid way through the half scoring a goal but the Bridge players were up to the challenge and  responded with goals and points of their own to run out winners on a scoreline of BB 7-12 to 2-6. This was an excellent performance throughout the team with every player contributing to a great victory and we now look forward to the final versus Graigueballycallan in two weeks time. The team was Harry Murphy, Tom O’Donnell, Danny Coyne, Laurence Mahon , Jamie Harkin, Conor Murphy , Daniel Murphy , Tom Bolger (0-1) , David Blanchfield (1-2) , Barry Lennon (0-1),Ciarán Brennan (2-3), Sean O’Connell (0-1), Gary Anderson, Tim Corkery (1-3) , Mikey Lewis (2-1) Subs – Michael Molloy (1-0) for Gary Anderson, Matthew Treacy for Tom O’Donnell  , Conor Nolan for Daniel Murphy , John Doyle for Sean O’Connell , Ben King for Laurence Mahon.

Minors

The Minors hurlers ended their campaign for 2014 when they went down to a strong Erins Own outfit in the championship first round two weeks ago. The Bridge started very well and went into an early lead some well taken points . The Comer men got themselves in the match with a goal but the Bridge were still in a good position at the break leading 0-8 to 1-3. However, Comer got off to a dream start in the second half when they hit a purple patch scoring 2-1 without reply . This was to prove the decisive period of the game and a blow from which the Bridge never really recovered. Mid way through the half Comer extended their  lead to ten points. The Bridge then showed their character with a spirited comeback and reduced the lead to 4 points with well worked scores as the game neared the end. However, try as they might they could not reduce the deficit further and eventually went down on a scoreline of Comer 3-16 BB 2-12. However, there was no shame in defeat and this team can hold their heads high after the years campaign . They had some great performances during the year finishing 3^rd in their group in the league and with a bit of luck could have qualified for the League final. Thanks to all the panel and management for the effort and work that was put in during the year and the best of luck for the coming years.

Schools Presentation

The Club celebrated one of the big wins of the Summer when the Schools Hurling Team was honoured recently with a presentation to mark their achievement in winning the Roinn B Schools League/Championship. After the heartbreak of narrowly losing the final last year  , this team went from strength to strength during the campaign beating all comers as they progressed to the final. In the final they produced a brilliant display and wowed all present with the standard of skill and team play that they showed in defeating a gallant Freshford NS side. Special guests for the presentation on the night were the Bennettsbridge All-Ireland Minor 2014 winners Jason Cleere , Liam Blanchfield and Sean Morrissey .  Representing the Kilkenny Cumann na mBunscoil , Dick O’Neill complemented the players on their fine year , commencing with winning the Roinn B Schools Football , their great run in the Country Cup where they narrowly missed out and then going on to win the Hurling Championship and praised the great work going on underage in Bennettsbridge.  Reflecting on the year , team manager Vincent Shiel stressed the importance of the team ethic and the importance of hard work pointing out that Liam and Sean were players on the previous Bennettsbridge Schools team who won this competition in 2009 and with hard work and dedication some of the current Schools players could also reach the same heights. He thanked his fellow mentors Anthony Cullen , Murt Coyne and Ger Kelly for their contribution over the previous few years which culminated in this win. He reserved special praise for the panel of players who he said were a pleasure to train and did everything that was asked of then and got the reward they deserved.  Following on from this , the panel of players was each presented with a DVD of the game and a team photo as a memento of the occasion by the special guests Jason , Liam and Sean. This was followed by refreshments for the team and parents alike. The Club would like to extend sincere thanks to the organisers and to all those ladies who baked/ provided the cakes,sandwiches etc and also special thanks to our guests Jason , Liam and Sean for making a special effort to be there on the night  , all of which helped to make it a great occasion for all. Victorious Schools Panel : John Doyle, Conor Nolan, Jamie Harkin , Ben King, Dylan Kenny, Ciarán Brennan, Laurence Mahon, Mike Lewis (capt) , Rachel Kelly, Ivan Kelly, Hannah Kelly, Ciarán Mullen, Sean McBride, Daire Cassin, Myles McGovern, Evan cassin, Jack Forrsital, Charlie Nolan, Gearoid Kent, Daniel Madigan, Eoin Mitchell, Michael Molloy , Matthew Treacy  and Adam Walsh Brennan.