Fethard win game full of twists and turns in South Tipperary Under 21 B hurling final

Fethard 1-24 Knockmealdown Gaels 2-19 (after extra-time)

The clock had ticked past 10 o’clock at night, and the temperature was down to freezing, when Fethard finally clinched the South Tipperary Under 21 B Hurling Championship title with a thrilling extra-time win over Knockmealdown Gaels at Fethard Town Park on Saturday.

But neither the time nor the weather worried The Blues, as they won a Titanic battle with twists and turns throughout. Pointed frees from Danny Barry – his 12th of the game – and Jack Quinlan proved decisive in the second period of extra-time.

Barry also hit one point from play in a match-winning display, but spare a thought for Knockmealdown Gaels’ Daire English, an All-Ireland medal winner with Tipperary minors last year and the Under 20s this year, who ended up on the losing team despite scoring 1-13. His brother, Cathal, hit three points from play but they weren’t enough to get the combination of Fr Sheehys and Ballylooby/Castlegrace over the line.

A minute’s silence was held before the game in memory of former Fethard footballer and hurler Davy Morrissey, and the side went on to give a performance that he certainly would have been proud of.

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They led by 0-11 to 0-8 at half-time, having been the better team in the first half, and were still three ahead midway through the second half, 0-15 to 0-12, when a Gaels goal really brought the game to life, Ben Carey sending in a high ball that Daire English gathered and shot to the net past Conor Treacy.

In a high-scoring and topsy-turvy final quarter, with the lead changing hands, Knockmealdown looked like they had won it when they led by two, 1-18 to 0-19, entering added time. Then in the first minute of injury time, Danny Barry reduced the deficit to one from a free, and as they continued to press forward, Darragh Spillane was fouled – a decision that the Gaels players and officials believed to be harsh – and Barry tied up the scores.

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A goal each in the first five minutes of extra-time added to the tension – Noah O’Flynn finding a gap in the Gaels’ defence to shoot home in the first minute for Fethard, and Ben Carey replying with a Gaels goal.

A Conor Neville point gave Fethard the lead entering half-time in extra-time, and they added to that in the second half, the pointed frees from Barry and Quinlan, to a Carey response from Gaels, leaving Fethard two clear after 80 minutes of committed hurling on a bitterly cold night.

Fethard had led 0-6 to 0-4 midway through the first half, thanks to four points from Barry, three from frees, with Conor Neville and Matt Coen also on the scoreboard, with all the Knockmealdown scores coming from Daire English frees.

Two more English points, one a free and the other a superb score from play from a tight angle, levelled the game, before Fethard hit four without reply, from three Barry frees and Coen’s second of the game after brushing off despairing tackles.

Another English free, and then an assist for brother Cathal for a point, when a goal might have been on, brought it back to two points, before a Liam Kiely point for Fethard made it 0-11 to 0-8 at the interval.

As the intensity increased, the score went to 0-15 to 1-12 in the third quarter, following two Barry frees and two excellent points from Conor Neville, with Daire English hitting 1-4 for Knockmealdown, the goal tying up the scores.

And that was still the margin at full time, each side hitting six further points – the hugely impressive Charlie Walsh hit two in a row for The Blues and then a Barry free extended the lead to three. Gaels responded with five on the bounce, from Dan Burke, three from Daire English, two from frees, and one from Cathal English, for a two-point lead.

Noah O’Flynn brought it back to one, before another Cathal English score made it two again entering injury time. And just as the Gaels saw the finishing line in sight, Fethard came back with the two late points from Barry frees to force extra-time.

That appeared to give Fethard that extra drive in extra time to edge through after a pulsating final twenty minutes of an absorbing encounter.

Danny Barry may get the headlines on the scoring chart but he also had a fine game throughout. Darragh Spillane and Jack Quinlan were immense in the pivotal defensive positions, while Charlie Walsh was always on hand to clear up in defence and get the attack moving.

Conor Neville’s contribution was huge, scoring four points from play as well as being involved in many of the best moves, with Matt Coen and Liam Kiely also dangerous in attack, and Noah O’Flynn popping up from defence to hit 1-1.

The English brothers, Daire and Cathal, accounted for 1-16 of Gaels’ total, Cathal with three points from play, Daire with 1-2 from play and 0-11 from placed balls, and their commitment to the cause was immense. Ben Carey chipped in with 1-1 and Dan Burke with 0-1, but they were the only players on the scoreboard.

At the back, team captain Paul Murphy was steady in goal and was probably unsighted for Noah O’Flynn’s goal, which went through a body of players; with Chris O’Donnell, Jack Owens and Greg Nugent all playing well.

Fethard: Conor Treacy, Rory O’Mahoney, Darragh Spillane, Michael Phelan, Noah O’Flynn 1-1; Jack Quinlan 0-1 Charlie Walsh 0-2; Gavin Neville, Jack Davey, John Lacey, Conor Neville 0-4; Liam Kiely 0-1; Mark Neville, Matt Coen 0-2; Danny Barry 0-13, 12f.
Subs: Luke Lacey for John Lacey, John Lacey for Gavin Neville.

Knockmealdown Gaels: Paul Murphy, Shane O’Brien, John English, Gearoid Hurley, Cian O’Brien, Chris O’Donnell, Jack Owens, Greg Nugent, Filip Miklaszewski, Joseph O’Brien, Daire English 1-13, 12f; Dylan Morrissey, Dan Burke 0-1; Cathal English 0-3; Ben Carey 1-2.
Subs: Padraig Hickey for Joseph O’Brien, Jack Morrissey for Cian O’Brien, Donnacha Reidy for John English.

Referee: Adam Kealy (Ballingarry).