Tipperary club's bid to reach Munster Junior hurling final hits the buffers

Russell Rovers 3-13 Moyle Rovers 0-13

Moyle Rovers’ bid to reach their first provincial final in 17 years came unstuck at Clonmult Memorial Park, Midleton on Saturday when they suffered a nine-points defeat at the hands of Russell Rovers in the AIB Munster Club Junior Hurling Championship semi-final.

The Powerstown/Lisronagh team were always competitive and played some fine hurling at times, but ultimately the goals scored by the East Cork side, who are coached by Donal Óg Cusack, proved the difference.  

The first arrived in the 20th minute, shortly after Moyle Rovers had taken the lead for the one and only time, when Josh Beausang created the space to crash a shot to the net (1-4 to 0-5).

The second came nine minutes into the second half, when Beausang picked out Brian Hartnett from a free and he drove a shot past Moyle ‘keeper Brian Gleeson. That put wind-assisted Russell Rovers seven points clear and into a position from where they looked highly unlikely to be overhauled.

And so it proved. The third goal, scored by sharpshooter Hartnett two minutes from the end of normal time, was the final nail in the Moyle Rovers coffin.

The margin of defeat did scant justice to their attempt to reach a first final since 2007, when they beat Barryroe in the decider to become the only Tipperary team to win this championship.  Neither was the scoreline a fair reflection of the sixty minutes-plus hurling, played on an excellent surface. The Tipperary champions had the assistance of the breeze in the opening period but still retired at the break four points in arrears (1-7 to 0-6), although had they converted some of the chances they missed they could have been closer. They had six wides in the first half, while their opponents had just two in the same period.

The accuracy of captain, Dara Ryan, from frees helped keep them in contention for forty or so minutes, although they needed much more than the five points they managed from play. Kevin Grace was prominent at midfield before being switched to attack for the second half, the phase of the game when Killian Butler and Riain Quigley came much more into the picture.

Anthony Phelan had a battle royale with Russell Rovers full back Eoghan O’Sullivan, while Ben Owens, Cathal McKeown and Conor McGrath also stood out on occasions. Dara Ryan, as well as his contribution from frees, was another standout performer.

The sides were level three times in the opening 19 minutes (0-4 each), the Moyle Rovers scores coming from three Dara Ryan frees and a well-taken effort by Luke Delahunty, their first from play.

Another smartly-taken Delahunty point, after Dara Ryan and Dean English had combined, gave them a 20th minute lead (0-5 to 0-4) that unfortunately for them was short-lived. Russell Rovers dominated the last ten minutes of the first half, outscoring their opponents by 1-3 to 0-1, following Beausang’s goal, with Moyle Rovers’ sole reply in that spell coming from Dara Ryan’s free. 

The Tipperary team were in dire trouble once Hartnett scored Russell Rovers’ second goal. However, to their credit, they never threw in the towel, even after a Ruairi Cummins point stretched the gap to eight points near the three-quarter stage.

Moyle Rovers stayed in touch with a fine effort from distance from Killian Butler, two frees from Dara Ryan and the only point from play from the same player. Then Dara Ryan provided the assist for Anthony Phelan’s point. 

Riain Quigley was off target when he could have reduced the deficit to five points. Instead the next two scores came from Russell Rovers’ Josh Beausang and Brian Hartnett. Two converted frees from Dara Ryan brought the difference on the scoreboard back to six points with four minutes remaining but they never looked like reeling their opponents in during the closing stages. 

Brian Hartnett’s second goal, and his team’s third put the icing on the cake for Russell Rovers, who now advance to a Munster final against Waterford’s Kilrossanty on November 30. 

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Moyle Rovers: Brian Gleeson, Cathal McKeown, Luke Boland, Brian McKeown, Rory Collins, Ben Owens, Conor McGrath, Riain Quigley, Kevin Grace, Killian Butler (0-1), Dara Ryan (captain 0-9, 8 frees), Shane Ryan, Dean English, Anthony Phelan (0-1), Luke Delahunty (0-2).

Subs: Daire Luttrell for Shane Ryan (39 minutes), Sean Keating for Kevin Grace (44), Nathan Croke for Conor McGrath (56), Danny Lyne for Dean English (61).

Russell Rovers: Ross Walsh, Kevin O’Brien, Eoghan O’Sullivan, Kevin Tattan, Fintan Murray, James Kennefick, Daniel Moynihan (0-1), Ruairi Cummins (0-1), Kieran Walsh, Brian Hartnett (2-3), Kevin Moynihan (0-2), Luke Duggan Murray (0-1), Josh Beausang (1-5, 0-3 frees), Ciaran Sheehan (captain), Mark O’Dwyer.

Subs: Jack McGrath for Mark O’Dwyer, Paul Lane for Fintan Murray (both 37 minutes), Kevin Ivers for Kevin Moynihan (53), Dan Ruddy for Luke Duggan Murray (56), Shane O’Neill for Brian Hartnett (60).

Referee: Seaghan Walsh (Waterford).