‘Non goal’ sparks controversy at Croker
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
REVIEW
AIB ALL –IRELAND SENIOR HURLING CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Páirc an Chrócaigh, Referee: Sean Stack
O’Loughlin Gaels 0-17
St Thomas’ 0-18
On the biggest day in the club hurling calendar, O’Loughlin Gaels came out on the wrong side of a 1-point margin as they fell to an injury time wonder score from St Thomas’ Eanna Burke which saw the westerners head home clutching the Tommy Moore Cup for the second time in their history.
Both sides gave plenty over the course of 70-odd minutes of pulsating action in Croke Park in a bruising encounter, plenty of yellow cards, a red, some cracking scores and Owen Walls ‘goal that wasn’t. St Thomas’ were good with fifteen on the pitch and excellent when a man down for the majority of the second half, so hat’s off to them, but one wonders how things might have panned out had the Kilkenny side’s clear goal been given.
The game started at a frantic pace, and Brian Hogan’s outfit got off the mark in the first minute, thanks to a placed ball effort from Mark Bergin, after Conor Heary was fouled. Galway’s St Thomas’ were level in seconds courtesy of a lovely point from James Regan from out the park. Having been fouled for his side’s first score, Conor Heary then became heavily involved in proceedings. Firstly, he set up David Fogarty who strode forward before rifling over from distance. The Loughs wing-forward then lined-up and caught Conor Cooney with a powerful shoulder which seemed to catch the Toms captain in the chest. A skirmish developed and when order was restored, Heary saw yellow for his robust challenge, although some wanted red, while former Galway skipper David Burke received a card of the same colour for his part in the handbags afterwards.
Eanna Burke then struck over a point after Mikey Butler’s control deserted him, which saw the sides level after eight minutes at headquarters. Then came one of the game’s biggest talking points. O’Loughlin’s attack saw the ball moved to Owen Wall, who took aim and struck his shot towards the net. Tom’s full-back Fintan Burke caught the sliotar as he fell back over the line. Much to the amazement of, well most people, the umpires failed to make that important call and the ball was ‘cleared’ from the danger zone. More about that later.
David Burke then profited from a poor defensive clearance from the Loughs and popped the ball over the bar for the first of his 3-point haul in a POTM performance. Paddy Deegan then fired over a trademark score from halfway to restore parity seconds later. Captain Mark Bergin then showed his battling qualities to win possession before rifling over a quality score. James Regan then notched his second of the day after more good work by than man David Burke.
Then came another contentious moment in the decider. Jordon Molloy was bursting forward but got bottled up and referee Sean Stack blew for a free to St Thomas’s. As the Lough wing-back stood up he appeared to move his head and butt David Burke, who hit the ground rather dramatically, but no action was taken, much to the relief of the Kilkenny side. To compound the Tribesmen’s frustration, Molloy then struck over a lovely point. Toms captain Conor Cooney then popped over a placed ball before Sean Bolger edged his side again with a cracking little point. The game was scrappy at times as both sides sought to get the upper hand, hunger, passion and skill, all present in equal doses. Brian Hogan, however, was a picture of calm on the sideline as he watched his charges get about the pitch.
St Thomas’ were forced into a change when corner-back David Sherry appeared to pick up an ankle injury in a race for possession and after a lengthy stoppage he was replaced by Evan Duggan. Loughs full-forward Luke Hogan then set up Jordan Molloy for his second point of the day before Paddy Deegan struck over another booming effort to leave 3 points between the sides in Croker.
Kilkenny star Huw Lawlor then saw his name taken for a trip on Eanna Burke and Conor Cooney duly sent over the resulting placed ball. Luke Hogan then showed some nifty footwork to turn his man before striking over a sweet score from under the Cusack Stand as the Croke Park announcer advised of 7 additional minutes to be added.
There was still time for two further scores in the opening period, a nice point from Mikey Butler who found himself in acres of space and showed great accuracy to register, while Toms captain Conor Cooney latched onto a pass from his goalkeeper to split the Loughs posts. The last piece of action of the opening period saw Eanna Burke cautioned following an off-the-ball clash with Mikey Butler. As the short whistle sounded, Brian Hogan’s men headed for the changing rooms with a 2-point lead, 0-10 to 0-8, having had the benefit of the elements at their backs in the first half.
When the final resumed, it was the westerners that struck first, thanks to a monster score from David Burke from the middle of the park. Then came a huge call from referee Sean Stack. As Jack Nolan attempted to weave his way out of trouble, Toms forward James Regan appeared to catch the Loughs midfielder above the neck with his glancing challenge. The Dublin whistler brandished the colour red, much to the disbelief of Regan. Kenneth Burke’s men were now not only 1-point down, but also a man down for the guts of 30-odd minutes.
Stephen Murphy, a survivor of his side’s last final appearance, stepped up and dispatched the resulting free. If the O’Loughlin’s players and supporters were expecting a wobble from the Galway side, they were very wrong. St Thomas’s pushed on and registered the games next four scores. Captain Conor Cooney struck two of those while Victor Manso and netminder Gerald Kelly notched the others to give their side a deserved 2-point lead. The Noresiders needed a score and with the aid of Hawkeye, they got one via Sean Bolger.
Cathal Burke then was set up nicely by David Burke and the Toms number 7 slotted a fine point to restore the Connacht sides two-point lead midway through the second period. Brian Hogan then sent on Conor Kelly in place of the largely ineffective Eoin O’Shea to try and freshen things up a little. Conor Heary, whose game was clearly stifled by the early booking, then latched onto a long ball and calmly split the posts to leave just the bare minimum between the sides. Victor Manso then sent over his second and final point of the game, before being replaced by Bernard Burke with about ten minutes remaining.
Owen Wall then went on a lovely, angled run but his hand-pass was just a little too high for Paddy Deegan, but referee Stack was playing an advantage, so play was called back, and Mark Bergin popped over the free to keep the loughs faithful believing. Jamie Ryan then entered the fray in place of Cian Loy but the next score came from Eanna Burke, cutting in along the endline and striking over on the angle.
More cards were brandished as things continued to get a little tetchy, Shane Cooney and Paddy Deegan, the latest recipients. St Tomas’ captain, Conor Cooney then popped over another placed ball to leave the gap at three points with about two minutes of regulation time remaining. Loughs captain, Mark Bergin then fired over a sweet point from play as the match entered 4 minutes of additional time. As they had done in so many games this club season, O’Loughlin’s were going to have to dig very deep to try and turn things round and they set about doing just that in injury time. Owen Wall set up sub Conor Kelly for a score to reduce the deficit to just one point and with just one minute of added time left, David Fogarty unleashed a mighty effort from halfway to deadlock matters.
Everyone was set for extra time, well everyone except Eanna Burke. From the restart, St Thomas’s drove the ball deep inside the Loughs defence. No one appeared to want to claim possession, it was almost like pinball. Somehow St Thomas’ Damien McGlynn emerged from the crowd with the sliotar almost under his arm and was being ushered toward the sideline. The ball hit the ground, but McGlynn had the presence of mind to toe poke it towards the supporting Eanna Burke. Burke flicked the sliotar up on hurl, flicked it over his head and struck a shot off his left side under the Hogan Stand sideline. As time stood still, the sliotar somehow defied the elements, the science, probability and dissected the O’Loughlin’s posts. St Thomas’s 1 point up, time all but up.
Brian Hogan’s charges went in search of another equalising score, and they were given a chance when Sean Bolger was pulled back, close to the Cusack stand sideline on halfway. One last chance at forcing extra time. Captain Mark Bergin stood over the placed ball. He struck his effort, but it drifted agonisingly wide, to the left of the St Thomas’ posts. There was to be no happy ending this time. St Thomas’ All-Ireland Champions 2024. Full time at Croker, O’Loughlin Gaels 0-17, St Thomas’ 0-18.
O’Loughlin Gaels: Stephen Murphy (0-01, 0-01f); Mikey Butler (0-01), Huw Lawlor, Tony Forristal; David Fogarty (0-02), Paddy Deegan (0-03), Jordan Molloy (0-01); Jack Nolan, Cian Loy; Conor Heary (0-01), Eoin O’Shea, Mark Bergin (0-04, 0-02f); Owen Wall, Luke Hogan (0-01), Sean Bolger (0-02).
Subs: Conor Kelly (0-01) for O’Shea (47 mins), Jamie Ryan for Nolan (50 mins), Paddy Butler for Loy (58 mins).
St Thomas’: Gerald Kelly (0-01, 0-01f); David Sherry, Fintan Burke, Cian Mahony; Shane Cooney, Cathal Burke (0-01), John Headd; Damien Finnerty, David Burke (0-03); Victor Manso (0-02), Conor Cooney (0-06, 0-04f), Darragh Burke; James Regan (0-02), Oisin Flannery, Eanna Burke (0-03).
Subs: Evan Duggan for Sherry (20 mins), Bernard Burke for Manso (50 mins), Damien McGlynn for Flannery (15 mins).
Referee: Seán Stack (Dublin).
SHERRY SAYS…
Congratulations to St Thomas’s. An incredible performance in Croke Park last weekend to claim their second ever Tommy Moore Cup. Despite being down to 14 men for the majority of the second half, Kenneth Burke’s found a way to grind out the win in difficult conditions. Eanna Burke’s injury time winner was simply stunning.
Brian Hogan was bitterly disappointed in the aftermath of his side’s final defeat and will know that his side didn’t probably hurl to their potential when it mattered most. The Loughs may have fallen short in the national decider, but it still has been a good season for the St Johns Park side.
Owen Wall’s ‘ghost goal’ will be a bitter pill to swallow for all concerned with the Kilkenny club over the next few months and should give the incoming GAA President Jarlath Burns something to add to his list for his term ahead.
This campaign has shown that there are plenty of good hurlers on Noreside, and in David Fogarty, there’s a real gem growing there.
The Loughs can regroup and approach next season with the aim of retaining their county title to start with. For Messrs. Deegan, Butler, Lawlor, Heary and perhaps one of two others, the black and amber will consume their focus.
Talking of county matters, Derek Lyng’s Cats came up short against Wexford in Callan last Saturday in the semi-final of the Walsh Cup. Yet again, the management team ran their eye over some players hoping to stake a claim for Allianz League places. All eyes will now turn to the upcoming league campaign which begins the first weekend in February, ironically with Wexford visiting again, this time in UPMC Nowlan Park.
