Ireland u20s got their Men’s Small Countries Association Championships off to a winning start with a 3:0 victory over Gibraltar. (25-11, 25-7, 25-22)
Antonio Barros’ lads started confidently with Kilkenny Spartans setter Thomas Comerford serving his team into a three-nil lead. Some powerful hitting by Liam Corcoran and Noah Leamy extended Ireland’s lead and soon it was unassailable. Some nice work at the net by Dungarvan College’s Lachlan Donnelly gave Ireland a diversity in attack with the angles worked by Comerford hard to defend.
Comerford’s serve was on fire in the 2nd and soon Ireland opened up a 10-nil lead and the very young Gibraltar team, which included 4 players aged u16 couldn’t keep up with the strength of the Ireland attack. It was a tough set for the youngsters but they battled tenaciously and fought for every point. Ireland focused more attacks down the middle in the second with Cork’s Pierce McFarlane and Gardians Jan Comendant working well together.
With one-eye on the evening’s showdown with Andorra, wholesale changes were made for the third with Longford Smasher Ruairi Grier stepping well into the libero role. It was a tight third set with the Gibraltarians not taking a backward step. It took some quality for Comendant and Galway’s Stepan Potapov to get Ireland over the line.
So a nice opener for Ireland to get their campaign off the ground and ensure a semi final place. Next up is a game with Andorra before a SF with either Luxembourg or Northern Ireland tomorrow.
