County final success means that Aherlow return to senior football ranks in Tipperary

Aherlow 1-7 Galtee Rovers 1-5

Aherlow are FBD County Intermediate Football champions for the second time in their history, the first being in 1995, following their two-point winning margin over West Tipperary neighbours Galtee Rovers at FBD Semple Stadium on Sunday.

Played as a curtain raiser to the senior final, this game certainly wasn’t a good advertisement for club football within the county and overall was a dour game, especially during the opening 30 minutes.

At the end the difference between the sides on the scoreboard was a converted penalty by Barry Grogan, which came seventeen minutes into the second half.

Galtee Rovers only have themselves to blame, as time after time they failed to transfer possession onto the scoreboard with poor shot choices and wayward shooting. They hit a total of 14 wides throughout the game, including eleven during the opening half.

Their only score from open play was a goal from Darren McGrath two minutes before the interval when he was first to react to a quickly-taken free by Shane Power to steer a low shot past Jack Whelton. Their five points came from placed balls by three different players.

Aherlow, on the other hand, had a total of five wides, with three coming during the second period.

Two second half points from Mark Russell were also a huge boost to their confidence at a crucial time, as was their seventh point from a mark by Barry Grogan from out on the sideline at the Kinane Stand side, as this put two between the sides with three minutes of normal time remaining.

For the final three minutes of normal time plus the added time of four minutes they withstood the continuous pressure of the Galtee attack with a disciplined performance.

At the end they were deserving winners and will now play Stradbally of Waterford in the Munster championship on November 10 at a Waterford venue.

Aherlow defended the Town End for the opening period and full forward Barry Grogan got the scoreboard moving coming up on three minutes when he put over at the Killinan End following a good run by Darragh O’Brien. Galtee were off target twice inside four minutes before Shane Egan equalised from a placed ball.

Aherlow hit back, with Barry Grogan kicking a good point into the wind from all of 46 metres and Ben Carey followed up with another minor, both inside 45 seconds. This gave Aherlow a two-point advantage with nine minutes on the clock.

For the next nineteen minutes the game turned into a dour slog, with neither side advancing their tally. The Bansha side kicked seven wides in succession, including four from placed balls, while the men from the Glen were wide of the mark on two occasions.

With two minutes of normal time remaining before the interval, a quickly-taken free by Shane Power from the edge of the “D” caught the Aherlow defence flat-footed, allowing Darren McGrath to find the net with a low shot past Jack Whelton.

This score was a boost to Galtee as it gave them a one point lead going in at half time, 1-1 to 0-3, having had the benefit of a strong breeze for the opening half.

Aherlow introduced Bernard O’Brien to midfield at the start of the second period and his presence would have an influence on their second half overall performance. Two minutes after the restart, Aherlow’s Cathal Dillon was dismissed on a black card before Robbie McGrath finally found the target from a placed ball, having been off target on two occasions during the opening half.

Galtee were soon down to fourteen players also as Daire Egan received a black card and was sidelined for ten minutes.

Scores were again slow to materialise but Mark Russell kicked a monster of a point from under the Kinane Stand on 38 minutes, reducing the deficit to the minimum. This score was a huge confidence-booster to Aherlow, who had ben under a lot of pressure from the Galtee defence following the restart.

A big Galtee move involving Eoin Halpin and Shane Power ended with Tony Egan being fouled but it came to nothing as Robbie McGrath was again off target from the resulting free.

Galtee were pressing hard on the Aherlow defence, and although having a lot of possession were unable to get on the scoreboard, as nobody seemed to be willing to take on a shot at the target.

Aherlow got a huge break at the beginning of the final quarter, when after pushing back a Galtee attack towards their own 45 metre line, Barry Grogan won a turnover and set up Tadhg Carew. The half back’s speed was enough to break a tackle before being hauled down by a Galtee defender.

Grogan blasted the resulting penalty to the roof of the Galtee net to go two up. One minute later Russell was again on target, this time from the other side of the field, as Aherlow were beginning to come good.

Galtee were right back in contention with seven minutes of normal time remaining, after Eoin Halpin and Shane Power were on target from placed balls to put the minimum between the sides. Barry Grogan kicked his third point from a free to the left of the goal, but again Power replied and brought Galtee to within striking distance with a similar score.

Barry Grogan had the final say on the scoreboard, when after winning a free out on the sideline at the Kinane Stand side, he split the posts for what was the score of the afternoon to put his side two up with 57 minutes on the clock.

For the final three minutes plus four of added time, Galtee attacked in numbers, with all their players in the attacking half of the field, but they were unable to break down a stubborn Aherlow defence, who defended well and were extremely disciplined in their tackling.

In the end Galtee were unable to make inroads as Aherlow held on for a famous victory.

Aherlow are back in the Senior ranks for 2025 having been relegated down to Intermediate at the end of the 2022 season. In the meantime, the Barrett Cup has a good home and will nestle sweetly in the Glen for the next twelve months.

Aherlow: Jack Whelton; Mark Hanley, Raymond Hennessy, Tom O’Donoghue; Tadhg Carew, Laurence Coskeran, Darragh O’Brien; Diarmuid Looby, Mark Russell (0-2); Stephen Carey, Micheál Elligott, Jack O’Halloran; Ben Carey (0-1), Barry Grogan (1-4, 0-3f, 1-0 pen), Cathal Dillon.

Subs used: Thomas Cooper-Fahy for Stephen Carey (27), Bernard O’Brien for Diarmuid Looby (HT), Gary Quirke for Cathal Dillon (42), Liam Carew for Jack O’Halloran (58).

Galtee Rovers: Robbie McGrath (0-1f); Peter Carroll, Ciaran McCarthy, Eric Grogan; Sean Daly, Evan Kennedy, Cian O’Dwyer; Bill Quirke, Daire Egan; Eamon Quirke, Shane Egan (0-1f), Robbie Byron; Eoin Halpin (0-1f), Shane Power (0-2f), Darren McGrath (1-0).

Subs used: Tony Egan for Eamon Quirke (22), Emmet Bonnar for Eoin Halpin (42), Adam McCarthy for Tony Egan (47), Conal Grogan for Shane Egan (50), Joe O’Callaghan for Sean Daly (55).

Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Ardfinnan).

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