By Frances O'Neill

U16 Hurling League

Sean Treacys 5-4 Kilburn Gaels 0-2

Whatever the sickness our players suffer when they venture south of the river it is high time we found a cure.

With only two competitive victories in Mitcham in the last six years at any age group the situation is starting to become desperate. We have endured years of below par performances and countless defeats at the home of Sean Treacys HC and Wednesday night was no exception.

To be fair to the South Londoners they were the far better outfit and a win for Kilburn was never really on the cards; more disappointing than the loss was the manner in which the team collapsed to this 5-4 to 0-2 defeat.

Regardless of who you are playing any team would expect to register more than two scores in an hour's hurling, but after 60 minutes on the field in Mitcham, that was all we had to show for our efforts. The Treacys' powerhouse of Sean Hickey, Michael Morning, Noel Maher and Thomas Smith outclassed anything our U16 team had to offer and quickly put the game to rest with their combination of good passing and excellent defending to break down any hope of Kilburn even leaving with their heads held high.

There were rare glimmers of hope - the scores from Conor Lyons and good performances from the younger players, Jack Gartlan, Mark Hill and Martin Scanlon - but aside from the odd sight of promise there was little else to write home about.

A long session back at the drawing board following this game might help to overcome some of the difficulties but with over six weeks until they meet Granuaille in their next league game and ten of the panel about to take leave from training to complete exams the U16 league may be a bridge too far for Kilburn this year.