Murphy Brothers Wait Goes On

Written by Antóin Ó Braoin, Rúnaí Contae

The Murphy brothers quest for that elusive All Ireland doubles title goes on following a crushing defeat to Paul Ruane and Niall Leavy, Kildare in the Golden Masters B Doubles final at Arklow this evening.  With Stephen having already secured the singles title by beating both Lilywhite players along the way, hopes were high that conditions were finally right for the battling brothers to make the long sought after breakthrough and win a national title.
This provincial title was to be a stepping stone along the way but instead it turned out to be a chasm they were unable to cross as the Kildare duo played a simple brand of handball to perfection, serving well and holding their shape at all times as they coasted to a 21-11, 21-4 win.  By contrast the Wexfordmen struggled with all aspects of the game as the Paul Ruane lob serve created score after score and the Wexford tactic of positioning Brendan on the left when Stephen was serving from the right created many more problems for themselves that the opposition, as both were often caught out of position and Stephen ended up trying to play both sides.
Kildare dominated the first game to lead 19-3 before a concerted effort by Wexford saw them have their only good spell of the match. Ten aces came their way as they dominated the exchanges to reduce the score to 19-11 before getting themselves out rather cheaply and then conceding two simple points to lose the game 21-11.
Any hopes that the second would be better from a Wexford point of view was swiftly dashed as Ruane and Leavy kept the ball on the wall and took no chances as they built a winning lead. Wexford had only managed scored a solitary point by the time Kildare reached 17 and at the finish it was 21-4 to an impressive Ruane and Leavy who will now fancy their chances of going all the way. On this evidence it will take a good pair to deprive them. For the Castlebridge brothers it was a game they will want to forget as quickly as possible.