Epic finale sees last-gasp O'Brien point send Sarsfields and Lorrha into replay

FBD Insurance Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Final

Lorrha 2-15

Thurles Sarsfields 1-18

Lorrha and Thurles Sarsfields will have to do battle again after an incredible late point from second-half substitute Mikey O’Brien rescued the men in blue in the final seconds of a brilliant and exciting FBD Insurance Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Final in MacDonagh Park, Nenagh on Saturday afternoon.

O’Brien’s introduction on 36 minutes was pivotal for Sarsfields as Lorrha had managed to keep a narrow two to three-point lead for most of the game, even going into the final minutes of added time; O’Brien scoring 1-2 in his short time on the pitch.

But in reality, Lorrha were their own worst enemies as they hit no fewer than ten second-half wides, with a cluster of that total coming in the final ten minutes when they were looking to beef out their lead which would surely have seen them over the line.

Huge credit has to go to Sarsfields despite that fact, as they never threw in the towel and, as they have so often in tight games this year, found a way to get out of trouble and give themselves a second bite of the cherry next weekend. 

There was a bitter wind present in Nenagh but the conditions couldn’t have been much better for the time of year as the two teams eased into the game from the throw-in.

Operating with spare players in the form of Michael Cahill and Michael Dolan, it was all about the middle-third battle, to win the ball and set up the pinpoint deliveries for the dangerous inside forwards at either end of the pitch.

Lorrha got the scoring up and running through a Colm Fogarty free in the second minute but Thurles were well up for this game, and two fine scores from play followed that as young Robbie Stapleton got an early confidence score before Mossie McCormack found the target on the run after good build-up play.

The deliveries from out the field were perfect for the forwards in the early stages as they all got early change, Lorrha finding space in the following two minutes to re-take the lead as Darragh Guinan - operating at wing forward - hit a fine score with the talismanic Patrick Maher getting his first of the day to give Lorrha the lead once again.

But it was score for score for much of the opening quarter as Jack Lanigan pointed a pair of frees on either side of Liam McCormack’s clever score in the 10th minute. But Lorrha were answering every Sarsfields score as Niall McIntyre hit a beauty from the dugout sideline and by the 16th minute further scores from Darragh Guinan and Colm Fogarty for Lorrha and the now obligatory long-range monster from Aidan Ryan of Sarsfields, had the teams tied at 0-6 apiece.

Lorrha though, began to get on top of the 50/50 exchanges going into the final ten minutes, and after Michael Dolan had fired them on front from a 65 a minute later, they found a crucial goal thereafter as Christopher Fogarty turned his man out by the left-wing forward position and with space in front of him, he pinned back the ears to bare down on goal and despite a brilliant hook by Jack O’Mara, Fogarty whipped on the dropping ball to hit the far bottom corner of the net.

That was the main difference between the two teams in the first half and to be fair to Lorrha they could very easily have had a penalty in the 22nd minute when Christopher Fogarty was manhandled under a dropping ball, but referee Joe Leahy wasn’t moved.

Despite that, Lorrha did finish the half that bit stronger and were the team in the ascendancy with two further Fogarty frees and a magnificent sideline cut from Alan O’Meara on the stand sideline sent the north Tipp club into the half-time break in good shape and just 30 minutes away from senior hurling.

It’s more than fair to say that the first half ended up being played on Lorrha’s terms as the men in white finished the half much stronger, while Sarsfields were slightly stand-off-ish in their play and they badly needed to get stuck in for the second half.

It didn’t start out in that fashion initially though and after the resumption, Darragh Guinan found another excellent score with Jack Lanigan responding to that swiftly after 37 minutes, but Lorrha were finding way more space and sights of goal and hit three early wides in that period.

Eventually, Sarsfields were punished for the slow start at the back and when Colm Fogarty broke through the half-back line, he had Eoin McIntyre moving off the shoulder like a train and despite not finding a clean strike on goal the rebound off Kevin Bracken was pounced on by Christopher Fogarty to flick home for a big score so early in the half.

The Sarsfields management had seen enough and sprung the experienced Mikey O’Brien from the bench in the 36th minute and it didn’t take long for that move to pay dividends as the lethal attacker responded for his team with a brilliant finished goal, slipping past his marker and burying a low shot from an acute angle to the back of the net. Game back on.

It was a huge score for Sarsfields and it definitely reverberated confidence across the board for them, by the 45-minute mark they had the game down to just two points at 2-11 to 1-12 after yet another Jack Lanigan score; Lorrha now taking on water.

Lorrha needed a score to steady the ship now as Thurles were starting to make big hit and turn the tide of the game and it came through two of their most experienced player with Cian Hogan finally making a telling contribution with a big score in the 47th minute before Patrick Maher added to that two minutes later with a class score on the run, and that brace of scores settled the ship in a big way for the north champions. Lorrha now leading 2-13 to 1-12 with ten minutes left.

To Sarsfield's credit, they never stopped plugging away as Lorrha always managed to keep their noses in front throughout the game but some very poor wides from Ken Hogan’s men was keeping Sarsfields honest and with Mikey O’Brien pointing a beauty on 50 minutes, followed by a Jack Lanigan free five minutes later it was a final that was going to go down to the wire.

In the midst of the barrage of Lorrha wides Cian Hogan found the target for his second and third scores of the game respectively in the final five minutes, the second score was met by a massive cheer from the Lorrha supporters who felt that might be the score to send them into the senior ranks as they were just ahead 2-15 to 1-16 with time ticking away for Thurles.

But the Mikey O’Brien factor was what Sarsfields hanged their hat on and with Lorrha now dropping back to hang on, they invited pressure and Robbie Stapleton won a free late on for Lanigan to convert, and then with the last puck of the game with 65 minutes elapsed, O’Brien found possession from midfield and flung over an outrageous point to send the game to a replay. 

Scorers: Lorrha: Christopher Fogarty 2-0; Colm Fogarty (0-4, 0-3f); Darragh Guinan 0-3; Cian Hogan 0-3; Patrick Maher 0-2; Niall McIntyre 0-1, Michael Dolan 0-1 65; Alan O’Meara 0-1 sl-cut.

Thurles Sarsfields: Jack Lanigan 0-11f; Mikey O’Brien 1-2; Liam McCormack 0-1, Mossie McCormack 0-1, Robbie Stapleton 0-1, Aidan Ryan 0-1, Kieran Moloney 0-1.

Lorrha: Michael Kennedy; Tom Duggan, Daniel O’Donoghue, Denis O’Meara; Conor Hogan, Michael Dolan, Ciaran Haugh; Alan O’Meara, Niall McIntyre; Darragh Guinan; Cian Hogan, Eoin McIntyre; Colm Fogarty, Patrick Maher, Christopher Fogarty.

Subs used: Brian Hogan for D O’Meara (50); Oisin Guinan for A O’Meara (60, in). 

Thurles Sarsfields: Kevin Bracken; Jack O’Mara, David Maher, Aidan Ryan; Henry Fogarty, Michael Cahill, Kieran Moloney; Kieran Costello, Harry Fitzgibbon; Liam McCormack, Rory Purcell, Mossie McCormack; Tommy Maher, Jack Lanigan, Robbie Stapleton.

Subs used:  Mikey O’Brien for Fitzgibbon (36); Michael Russell for R Purcell (52); Jock Fogarty for Stapleton (62).

Referee: Joe Leahy (Moyne Templetuohy)