Atlanta Clan na nGael, Charleston Hurling Club & Greenville Gaels entered teams in the Greenville Invitational Hurling Tournament on Saturday July, 27th. Led by player/coach Paul Bradley, the Atlanta squad was complemented by Josh Crabtree and Rick Wilson (Carrollton Hurling Club), Brian Spencer & Ann Scheunemann (Raleigh) and Bob Akamine (Hampton Roads). This event provided further evidence of the growth of hurling in the Southeast as the standard of play continues to improve with each tournament this season. The competition was played in a round-robin format with Charleston defeating Greenville in the opening game of the tournament with Atlanta awaiting the losing team.
Atlanta Clan na nGael 3-11 Greenville Gaels 5-5
Atlanta got off to a quick start in this game with a goal from Rick Wilson pushing momentum in our favor. Great attacking wing back play from Brian Spencer provided good ball to the inside line throughout the half. Points from Kevin Quinn, Brian Boland, Bob Akamine and a superb long range effort from the on-form Wilson stretched Atlanta’s lead. Solid defending from Phillip Groover, who continues to improve as a hurler, and Dan Kuemmerle limited Greenville’s scoring however opportunistic goals right on half time allowed our opponents to level the scores at the break.
Atlanta started the second half strongly with great hustle shown by Paddy Lynch to score a goal in a scramble in the box. This was followed by a superb goal from Dan Kuemmerle from 30 yards out following a strong attacking run forward. Josh Crabtree, who was excellent throughout, made some great saves during this game and delivered quality puck outs to the forward line on a consistent basis. Unfortunately Atlanta did not close this game out when the opportunity arose and great hustle and quality hurling was shown by Greenville to score three second half goals to again draw level right at the final whistle. A draw was a fair result for both teams however given the ebb and flow of this game.
Team: Josh Crabtree, David O’Donoghue, Phillip Groover, Dan Kuemmerle 1-0, Brian Spencer, Rick Wilson 1-1, Paddy Lynch 1-0, Brian Boland 0-3, Matt Cowan, Kevin Quinn 0-6. Subs: Paul Bradley, Ronan Cullinane, Robert Lambert, Ann Scheunemann, Bob Akamine 0-1
Atlanta Clan na nGael 1-8 Charleston 6-15
After inflicting a heavy defeat on Greenville Gaels in the tournament opener this game represented a real challenge for the Atlanta squad. With Kevin Quinn playing great hurling to anchor the attack, Atlanta got off to a good start and kept trading points with Charleston for most of the first half. Dan Kuemmerle organized an heroic defensive effort as Charleston mounted attack after attack as the half wore on. Some well taken goals however stretched Charleston’s lead as half time approached and ultimately Atlanta struggled to keep up the pace of their first half play as the heat and humidity took affect.
In the second half, Brian Spencer went into goal in spite of severe cramps allowing Josh Crabtree to join the forward line. With limited possession, Josh Crabtree scored 1-1 with his goal coming from a great bottom corner finish against Charleston goalie Brendan Dagg who to that point had been unbeatable. Ronan Cullinane added a well taken point late in the game with a clever finish from close range. While former Clare under 21 hurler Shane Golden played his part in this victory for Charleston, the real story was their great team work evident from the hours spent on the practice field. All across the Charleston team players have improved enormously since Charleston hosted the Holy City Cup back in May. This is the standard the rest of the clubs in the Southeast need to emulate. Congrats to Charleston for bringing home the cup!
This game marked the end of Kevin Quinn’s career as a player for the club. Kevin has been a tremendous servant to Atlanta GAA as both a player and coach to the women’s camogie team. The club wishes Kevin and his wife Joy the best of the luck as they prepare to move home in Ireland in the coming weeks.
Team: Josh Crabtree 1-1, David O’Donoghue, Phillip Groover, Dan Kuemmerle, Brian Spencer, Rick Wilson, Brian Boland, Paddy Lynch, Bob Akamine, Ann Scheunemann, Kevin Quinn 0-7. Subs: Paul Bradley, Ronan Cullinane 0-1, Robert Lambert, Matt Cowan
Thanks again to our hosts Greenville Gaels and the Irish Pub who provided a great venue for the tournament after-party. We all look forward to visiting Greenville again soon.
More photos of the weekend can be seen here.