Tullogher & Thomastown claim titles in Croker!
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
REVIEW
Kilkenny clubs secured two thirds of the National titles available at Croke Park last Saturday when Tullogher Rosbercon & Thomastown claimed the junior and intermediate titles respectively. Scenes of joyous celebration followed each teams victory as players and supporters headed back to Noreside with silverware and huge smiles on their faces. O’Loughlin Gaels will hope to make it a hat-trick this weekend.
Tullogher Rosbercon 2-21
St Catherine’s 1-13
First up at the iconic Jones’ Road venue was Michael Doyle’s Tullogher Rosbercon who put in a sensational opening half performance to dismantle any hopes that their opponents, St Catherines of Cork might have had pre-match. After just nine minutes of action, the Kilkenny and Leinster champions were seven points clear thanks to some well taken points and a well worked move that allowed Marty Murphy to bat the ball to the back of the net in the 3rd minute.
A survivor of Tullogher’s last final outing at headquarters then cemented his side’s authority on affairs in the 15th minute. Walter Walsh took a trademark catch before sprinting clear of all around him before striking an unstoppable shot past Eoin Davis in the St Catherines goal. Placed ball specialist Cian O’Donoghue struck a stunning eight points in the opening period as the Kilkenny side went into the break with an 11-point lead.
Predictably, Tullogher eased up a little in the second half and as a result their opponents were a little more competitive in the second period, but the Noresiders more powerful and skillful attributes saw them maintain their interval lead when the long whistle sounded.
Final score, Tullogher Rosbercon 2-21, St Catherine’s 1-13.
Tullogher Rosbercon: Davy Walsh; Richard Gill, Donncha O’Connor, Sean Murray; Lar Murphy, Pat Hartley, Cathal Mooney; Jamie Lyng, Colman O’Sullivan (0-01); Marty Murphy (1-01), Walter Walsh (1-03), Jason Shiely (0-01); Danny Glennon (0-01), Conor Hennessy (0-04), Cian O’Donoghue (0-10, 0-05fs, 0-01 65, 0-01 s/l).
Subs: Michael Handrick for Shiely (42), Stephen Lawlor for Mooney (57), Niall O’Shea for Gill (59), Tony Conway for Murray (60), Brian Walsh for Murphy (62).
St Catherine’s: Eoin Davis (0-04, 0-04fs); Liam O’Connor, Eoghan O’Riordan, Fionn O’Connell; Kieran Neville, Oisin Fitzgerald (0-01), Kian O’Donoghue (0-01); Kyle Wallace (0-01), Shane Cotter; Sean O’Donoghue (0-03, 0-03fs), Rory Galvin (1-01), William Leamy; Brian Mulcahy (0-01), Eoin Condon, Matthew Mulcahy.
Subs: Conor Hegarty (0-01) for Neville (ht), Eoin Wallace for O’Connor (ht), Gearoid O’Brien for Leamy (ht), Kevin Barry for Matthew Mulcahy (46), Nathan Sheehan for Brian Mulcahy (52).
Referee: Colm McDonald (Antrim)
Thomastown 2-23
Castlelyons 0-13
As Noel Doherty’s charges ran out onto the hallowed turf of Croke Park, they did so to a cheering Tullogher Rosbercon, who had stayed on the pitch to welcome their fellow Marble City men to the arena. Thomastown had blitzed all before them in securing both the Kilkenny and Leinster titles, and they showed little mercy in dispatching Cork’s Castlelyons, running out 16-point winners.
Captain fantastic Stephen Donnelly led the way for the boys in blue notching a cracking 2-3, something that will stay with him forever. Stephen was in good company and not the only Donnelly doing damage, Robbie excelled as per usual, finishing with a tally of 0-9, while Cats star John struck four lovely points.
The Cork side were clearly worried about Thomastown cutting loose and employed a sweeper from the first whistle. While it may worked to a degree, The Kilkenny side had five points on the board courtesy of Donnelly’s John and Robbie, before St Castlelyons got the scoreboard moving in the 14th minute.
Some wayward shooting by the Noresiders in the opening period, where they registered seven wides allowed Noel Furlong’s side to come back into the game to trail by just two points at one stage, but a flurry of scores before the short whistle saw Thomastown take five-point lead into the interval.
Stephen Donnelly’s first major arrived after the restart, and it was a well-worked effort. John Donnelly went on a typical powerful run before giving a perfect pass to his captain who rifled to the net, much to the delight of the Thomastown faithful.
The Kilkenny side’s conditioning was clear for all to see, and they struck six unanswered points by the 47th minute and truth be told, they were never in real danger at headquarters. The skipper’s second major came a few minutes from full-time as he reacted quickest after Robbie’s effort was blocked. The only surprise was possibly Tucker not getting on the scoresheet, but the cup was won and many years of hurt, put to bed with a fitting end to a fantastic season. Senior sides beware – Thomastown are coming.
Thomastown: Diarmuid Galway; Peter Connellan, Jay Burke, Ned Kirwan; Brian Staunton, Eddie Donnelly (0-01), Zach Bay Hammond; Peter McDonald (0-01), Jonjo Farrell (0-02); Robbie Donnelly (0-09, 0-05f, 0-02 65), Luke Connellan (0-02), John Donnelly (0-04); Thomas O’Hanrahan, Jack Holden (0-01), Stephen Donnelly (2-03).
Subs: Dylan Waugh for Holden 52, David Prendergast for O’Hanrahan 59, Richard O’Hara for Kirwan 59, Alex Cass for Luke Connellan 61, Brian O’Hanrahan for Bay Hammond 61.
Castlelyons: Jack Barry; Jamie O’Leary, Colm Barry, Dara Spillane; Niall O’Leary (0-02), Colm Spillane (0-02), Leo Sexton; Alan Fenton (0-07, 0-02 65, 0-04f), James Kearney; Barry Murphy (0-01), Keith O’Leary, Leon Doocey; David Morrison, Anthony Spillane, Oscar Hallihan (0-01).
Subs: Colm McCarthy for Doocey 12, Shane Moroney for J O’Leary 49, Brian O’Donovan for Hallihan 53, Ronan Fenton for Morrison 53, Rob Feeney for K O’Leary 57.
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
