BY CIARÁN REID

Both teams entered the fixture with very little knowledge of either sport and as promised, this was a highly entertaining fixture. Queen’s Hurling fielded a team with a blend of young and experienced players, and in the end it was the relatively inexperienced John Moriarty and Cillian Ward who proved the heroes for the hurlers.

A sodden pitch and wet afternoon certainly did not deter the two eager teams. Queen’s hurlers made a positive start through an early goal, but a quick response from the Lacrosse team soon levelled the tie with a well taken goal from club chairman Jonny Burke. Indeed, Burke’s constant energetic and darting runs were a constant torment to the QUB hurlers throughout.

For Lacrosse, the experience of Siobhan Carroll was vital in attack. The Lacrosse team’s female contingent of Siobhan Carroll, Deirdre Swail, Camilla Thompsell and Ellie Torlot certainly proved that the newly formed club can compete, demonstrating a formidable attacking and vocal force. The first half whistle sounded with Queen’s hurlers taking the narrowest of leads into the break.

As the second half unfolded it look like Queen’s hurlers fought hard to hold their lead until the last five minutes; from nowhere, two goals in quick succession put Lacrosse in front for the first time. The minutes ticked by with a leveling score from the hurlers seeming increasingly unlikely until Cillian Ward stepped up to net a great ground stroke in the last puck of the game.

At full time the first ever lacrosse-hurling game had ended in deadlock and both sides decided to play five minutes of extra time; “The hits then flew”, according to Hurling chairman Ciarán Reid. It took three minutes into extra time for the hurlers to find the net, and a tense two minutes followed, but the hurlers however refused to fold and held on for a historic victory.