Atlanta made its competitive debut for the 2014 season by taking on Raleigh/Augusta, winners of the recent Paul Gleeson Cup, in their opening game of the Holy City Cup in Charleston, SC. Atlanta began brightly but struggled to get the scores to reflect their dominance of possession in the opening stages. Despite great organization of the back line by Stuart Kelly, Atlanta conceded crucial goals as the rustiness of a long winter came to the fore. However, in spite of some setbacks, Atlanta continued to show great hustle to make this game competitive right to the end. Brian Canavan, who gave one of the most outstanding midfield displays from an Atlanta hurler in years, dominated every aspect of the field while marking the opposition’s best player. Andrew Kender, showing tremendous stamina going up and down the park, scored two crucial points from play from midfield while Evan Lebois added a goal from play. Credit to Raleigh/Augusta as they tacked on scores during the second half to maintain their lead. The game finished with Raleigh/Augusta winning by a scoreline of 6-7 to 2-7.
In the second game, Atlanta took on a much improved Hampton Roads team. Atlanta got off to a strong start but could not build a substantial lead. In spite of some stellar defending from Brian Laughlin & Ciaran Boland in the full back line, Hampton Roads prevented a lead opening up thanks to some accurate long range point scoring. Andrew Kender & Brian Canavan dominated the middle of the field with Kender scoring a fantastic long range point. The second half saw Kyle Hosmer come into his own in the half back line exerting his physicality to make some driving clearances up the field and inspiring all those around him. Evan Lebois’ searing runs from half forward dominated Atlanta’s offensive effort as he finished with three goals in a fantastic display of individual skill. Hampton Roads however showed great heart to claw back Atlanta’s lead with a well taken goal in injury time earning the draw with both teams level at 3-5 apiece.
Finally, well done to Brian Laughlin, Ciaran Boland, Brian Canavan, Cortez Beato, Kyle Hosmer & Vish Korukonda who made their competitive debuts for Atlanta in this tournament.
Squad: David O’Donoghue, Brian Laughlin, Stuart Kelly, Rick Wilson, Kyle Hosmer, Brian Laughlin, Andrew Kender, Cortez Beato, Evan Lebois, Josh Lyons, Paddy Lynch & Vish Korukonda
Congrats to Charleston Hurling Club who defeated Raleigh/Augusta 4-10 to 2-6 in the final to win their first Holy City Cup. Tommy Snee and Molly Darcy’s Irish Pub hosted a superb after-party for all teams in attendance where the craic continued long into the early hours of the morning. This tournament has become a marquee event on the Southeast calendar which is a credit to Tournament Director Jay McNealy and all the volunteers from the Charleston club who worked to make the day such a success.