Loughmore's honesty and hard work rewarded in Tipperary county hurling final

Irrepressible Loughmore and Castleiney produced another trademark display to withstand Toomevara’s best in a gripping finale to the county’s top championship. John McGrath’s sealing goal in the 59th minute was a fitting climax to the club’s fifth title - and the first half of another potential dual double.

Elsewhere, the Kings of Cashel are back in the top flight for the first time in a decade. A strong finish against 14-man Swans sealed the deal for the West side in another stirring contest.

It was quintessential Loughmore, a brand which has become their distinctive patent over the years. At its core it exhibits qualities of honesty and hard work, of patience and persistence.

All of the above were needed on Sunday to withstand Toomevara’s brave bid to bridge a sixteen-year gap. The younger breed of “greyhound” has imbibed the traditions of the club and their defiance pushed the favourites hard before ultimately bowing to the superior force.

A cracking contest resulted. The tackling was hard and intense, bodies piling in and space and time at a premium. Everything was hard-earned, with none of the soft-touch looseness we’d seen, for example, in the Sarsfields/Nenagh quarter-final. This was true championship fare.

Toome’ laid down the markers early, showing greater energy and coming stronger to the play. The initial edge was theirs but there were warning signs too when Ed Connolly cut through and brought a useful save from Rory Brislane.

At one level it was becoming a free-taking shootout between John McGrath and Darragh McCarthy, two supreme marksmen. Midway through the half Kevin McCarthy chipped in with a pair of points to put his side two-up but the margin stayed very tight and it was soon back to parity.

A significant flurry before the interval took Loughmore two-up for the break, John McGrath and his cousin Liam with the final two flags. The best goal chances fell to the Mid side, with Ed Connolly having another opportunity, which was again denied by Rory Brislane.

It had been an intriguing half, tight and intense.

Toomevara were peeved with the referee, resulting in Ken Dunne getting a yellow card before the resumption of action. They had a case, though protesting can be counter-productive.

Little changed in the third quarter. Noel McGrath now became more of an orchestrating presence, drifting back to help out in defence and spraying passes in that characteristic way of his. Lorcan Egan was battling gamely to restrain Darragh McCarthy and ditto with Liam Ryan on John McGrath. Both sides had done their homework and backs were mostly on top.

The real drama of the day was confined to the final five minutes or so. Loughmore were managing to retain their two-point edge before a goal-rush suddenly electrified the game. Substitutes were central to the late dramatics.

When Paul McCahey fired home a Loughmore goal in the 56th minute, it seemed at that moment to be the clinching score. They were now five-up, with one hand on Dan Breen’s shoulder.

However, two minutes later Toomevara substitute, Conor O’Meara, somehow flashed home a one-handed volley despite the presence of a host of Loughmore bodies around him. It was game back on now, with just two between them and a cliff-edge finish in prospect.

Crucially, though, Loughmore didn’t go into defence mode. Almost immediately Noel McGrath lofted a long delivery into the Toomevara goal area where the defenders, for once, weren’t commanding and John McGrath took full advantage to slot home a second major.

That was it, though Toome’ to their credit piled forward to win a pair of late frees and keep the pressure on. With John McGrath now back on his own goal line the wall held firm and Liam McGrath was soon on his way up the steps to collect the trophy.

It was a fully deserved win by Loughmore, one crafted from typical resolve. In an even contest they had the few individuals that tipped the balance.

I’m thinking of John McGrath’s input of 1-3 from play, as well as the frees; or Noel McGrath’s growing influence in the second half; or Brian McGrath’s covering and general defending; or Ed Connolly’s contribution.

Their substitutes too can’t be ignored with Paul McCahey, Ciaran McCormack and Ciaran McGrath offering 1-3 between them in the final stages of the game. That’s some injection when bodies are starting to tire.

Toomevara’s disappointment can be lessened by the knowledge that they put in a mighty shift. Their newer generation is shaping well and it will be no surprise if they’re back again in the years ahead. I thought their defence put in a sturdy resistance, ably led by Andrew Ryan and Liam Ryan at the spine of a compact unit.

Looking to the future they’ll rightly figure that they need more forward assistance for Darragh McCarthy. Apart from the frees, his input to general play was very impressive but there were only fleeting contributions from some of the others.

A question they’ll ponder in the wake of this outcome is whether Conor O’Meara should have been introduced earlier. He was only on for the final quarter but scored 1-2. Hindsight, I guess, is great.

Meanwhile, the West division has a new senior formation for next year following Cashel King Cormacs’ strong finish in the premier intermediate final.

It was a feature of the West team in recent games to start slowly and finish strongly and that pattern continued on Sunday, as Swans showed the early form but were ultimately overtaken when it mattered most.

A few significant events seemed to turn the tide of this game in the second half. Swans led by three at the interval and had stretched that out to five when Cashel got a major boost. Eoghan Connolly hit a monster free from just outside his own D, which dropped short into the Carrick goal area and dipped to the net for a fortuitous goal.

It was the spark that ignited Cashel’s drive to victory. Swans were rattled and started conceding unnecessary frees. Cashel levelled through Ross Bonner and then Devon Ryan hit two quality scores.

The second was the point of the game from out near the side line. It brought some off-the-ball reaction and Carrick’s Jack Murphy was red-carded. He’d been fortunate with a yellow card in the semi-final. Discipline matters.

Perhaps Cashel would have won anyway because they now had match-deciding momentum. A Danny O’Hanlon point briefly halted the trend but the King Cormacs were now finding the groove with points from Anthony Walsh, Ronan Connolly and Conor O’Dwyer against Calum Lanigan points from frees for Swans.

Ger Browne was introduced and with his first touch hit a rousing point from the sideline. Moments like that can further fire a team’s effort. As in previous games, Cashel’s sprint to the line came with perfect timing. There was no recovery from Swans.

The South side will have deep regrets after a game where they seemed the better team for three- quarters of the match. They looked the more industrious side in the first half, driving forward and leading the way. Calum Lanigan was their main score source, though Aaron Dunne hit a useful pair also.

Yet much of that strong play was undone by the concession of Cashel’s first goal when James Cummins centered from the sideline (mishit or intended?) to Devon Ryan, who finished smartly to the net. It was somewhat against the run of play and kept Cashel in touch when they might have drifted further behind.

Still, games are won in the final phase and when it mattered Cashel were the masters. After some indifferent form in earlier rounds TJ Connolly’s side found momentum when in mattered, both in individual games and in the championship series. Their elevation is a boost for the West, which will now have a senior championship next year.

SEE ALSO: Carrick Swan Under 21 hurlers face Killenaule in south Tipperary championship