Goals and goodwill flow as Hurling for Cancer draws crowd

It didn't really matter what happened on the pitch in Carlow. The important aspect was that the main stand was full, with plenty more on the far terrace

Davy Russell's Best started with a full-forward line featuring Patrick Horgan and Shane Kingston. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Hurling for Cancer charity match: Davy Russell's Best 9-38 Jim Bolger's Stars 9-20 

About seven minutes into the Hurling for Cancer Research charity game in Carlow, stadium commentator Michael Duignan dropped a wisecrack.

"I think we've just seen the first tackle," announced Duignan. He was right, and there wasn't a whole pile more after that either.

Six goals had already flown in by the time of that first exchange. The goal count came in at 26 for a finish up, despite what the official scoreboard suggested.

Duignan's son, Offaly forward Brian, scored three of them. After his first, his dad Michael confirmed on the loudspeaker that 'he was in bed early last night', preparing for the encounter.

It was that kind of an evening at the Carlow town venue with more smiles and one-liners doled out than meaty hits or surging runs.

Shane Kingston and Patrick Horgan started in the full-forward line for Davy Russell's Best and filled their boots. So did Declan Dalton, wearing number 11.

"I think Cork are going to have a good forward line next year," suggested Anthony Daly, grabbing the microphone off Duignan.

Horgan arrowed a stick pass to James Doyle for his team's eighth goal late in the first half. Damien Fitzhenry was between the sticks for Jim Bolger's Stars and pulled off a few great stops but he didn't get near this one.

Truth be told, it didn't matter a jot what happened on the pitch. The important aspect was that the main stand was full, with plenty more on the far terrace, all converting to valuable ticket sales and vital funding for a fight against a common enemy.

Tipperary's Noel McGrath pulled through a cancer battle midway through his Tipperary senior career and was a late addition in attack, next to Kingston and Horgan.

A loose challenge game was always going to play to his high skillset and the Loughmore Castleiney man crashed in the second goal for Davy Russell's selection.

That helped them to reach the turnaround with a narrow lead, 8-8 to 8-6.

The real intrigue was what exactly would happen when the goal tallies moved into double figures - the scoreboard couldn't accommodate them.

Simple, they just added on three points for each goal scored!

Former Kildare football star Willie McCreery was among the umpires. Miriam O'Callaghan appeared to be some sort of fourth official. Rugby men Sean O'Brien and Shane Byrne were apparently water carriers.

It all made for a fun evening with a few vital takeaways. Firstly, what top inter-county players are capable of doing with a hurl and a ball when afforded the opportunity to truly express themselves, with no consequences for mistakes, is outrageous. Exhibit A, Shane O'Brien. He had 1-2 tallied within the first 15 minutes, all dispatched without needing to feel the weight of the sliotar in his hand.

On a more serious note, the drought conditions that have affected Carlow across the last month or so have left the pitch in a particularly bad way. The sliotar bounced like a tennis ball off the rock solid surface. Greater agronomy minds than ours will know what the long-term impact, if any, is of it all.

The most significant takeaway, of course, was just how much of a collective goodwill there is towards the fight against cancer. Two groups of more than 40 players turned out on the evening, from various codes and provinces. For the record, Davy Russell's crew took off in the second half, local hero Doyle, Horgan, Kingston and Kildare's Muiris Curtin among the goalscorers.