Our Ladys Templemore fall in Harty Cup after preliminary quarter-final thriller in Fethard

TUS Dr Harty Cup Schools Hurling Preliminary Quarter-Final

John the Baptist Community School  3-21

Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore  3-17

By Michael Heverin

Eleven minutes into the second half of the TUS Dr Harty Cup Schools Hurling Preliminary Quarter Final at Fethard Town Park on Wednesday, Our Lady’s Secondary School, Templemore had hit a purple patch and looked likely winners to overcome John the Baptist Community School, Hospital and advance to the competition quarter finals.

Brilliant hurling from Jamie Ormonde, Sean O’Shea, Michael Cahill, and Philip O’Dwyer had seen them build on a half-time lead of one point to a four points margin, 3-11 to 1-13 in an absorbing encounter with end to end to hurling.

The lead looked set to be extended when county minor star Ormonde made a brilliant catch and headed for the Hospital goal. 

However, the JK Brackens man was heavily fouled and needed attention before getting back to his feet. He dusted himself down and pointed the free for a five-point lead but his influence on the game waned after that as he seemed to carry the effects of the injury.

Templemore failed to get back to their same level of play and were outscored by the County Limerick side by 2-8 to 0-5 over the last twenty minutes. 

They never gave up the battle, with a dogged display of hurling on a crisp November afternoon, and were just a single point behind, and pressing for the equaliser that would have brought the game to extra time, when a long-range Hospital free from the outstanding Owen Meany eluded Our Lady’s backs and goalkeeper Mikey Ryan and went all the way to the net for the clinching score.

The Hospital side had looked the stronger outfit in the opening stages and led 1-2 to 0-2 after twelve minutes, with their goal from corner forward Hugh Murnane, and points from a Meany free and Sean Casey, to Templemore points from an Ormonde free and Shay Gleeson. 

However, the Tipp boys replied to the Limerick goal with one of their own when Sean Stapleton gathered from a Jamie Ormonde free to shoot to the net.

Meany from a 65 restored the visitors’ lead, but Our Lady’s went ahead for the first time midway through the half when an Ormonde free went all the way to the net to make it 2-2 to 1-3. The hugely impressive Diarmaid Hurley, who ended up with six points from play, and one from Sean Cronin, tied the scores again. 

Ormonde from a free and Murnane exchanged points before two in a row for Hospital from a Meany free and Sean Casey put them 1-8 to 2-3 ahead.

In a topsy-turvy clash, a third Templemore goal of the half pushed them ahead again, a brilliant run from Ciaran O’Shea finished to the net in style. 

Continuing the trend, the Limerick side levelled through Hurley, with Hurley and Ciaran O’Shea swopping points, before two in a row for Templemore, both from the brilliant Ormonde and a Hospital reply from Murnane, leaving the Tipperary boys one point ahead the break, 3-6 to 1-11.

The hurling in the early stages of the second half wasn’t as fluent as in the first, with three points over the first seven minutes - Hurley equalising for Hospital, O’Shea restoring the Templemore lead, and a Meany free to reply.

But then Templemore stepped up a gear to put daylight between the sides for the first time. Ormonde restored the lead from play and extended it from a free following a foul on Philip O’Dwyer. 

Then O’Dwyer set up Ormonde for another score and his JK Brackens clubmate Michael Cahill pushed it out to a four-point game, 3-11 to 1-13.

Unfortunately, the momentum faded following the injury to Ormonde. He pointed the free following the foul to extend the lead to five, but after that Hospital began to chip into the lead as they became the dominant side. 

Ciaran O’Shea replied with a brilliant point to an Owen Meany free, but then Hospital hit 1-3 without reply through a Murnane goal and points from Hurley, Hugh Flanagan, and Declan Heavey, for a one-point lead, 2-17 to 3-13, with twenty minutes of the half gone.

Our Lady’s equalised again when Ormonde set up O’Shea, but they never led again. Hospital came back with another flurry of scores, four in a row from Shane Ryan, a Meany free, and two more from Hurley, to make it 2-21 to 3-14 with five minutes left on the clock.

However, Our Lady’s deserve immense credit for their never-say-die attitude that made this contest compulsive watching. 

Despite Ormonde being off target from a free, they remained on the front foot and hit the next three points, with Borrisoleigh’s Eoin Boyle central to all three scores – he started the run of scores with his first, was fouled for the second that Ormonde pointed from a free, and then hit the third with a great pass from Michael Cahill.

A remarkable game was now back to a single score again and the next possession was going to be vital. And it fell to Hospital who won a free in their own half. 

The huge clearance alone from Owen Meany’s free into the Templemore square would probably have been enough to clinch victory with only seconds late but with the ball ending up in the net it meant the cherry on the cake for the Limerick side.

Our Lady’s lost nothing in defeat and could easily have been the team to continue in the competition. However, John the Baptist are enjoying their trips to Fethard and knocking out Tipperary sides, with a stunning comeback to earn a draw putting Carrick CBS out of contention two weeks earlier.

Our Lady’s Templemore: Mikey Ryan (Loughmore Castleiney); Eoin Kennedy (Drom & Inch), Cormac Cahill (Drom & Inch), Tommy Burke (JK Brackens); TJ Kinnane (Drom & Inch), Tom Corcoran (JK Brackens), Shay Gleeson (Moneygall, 0-1); Michael Cahill (JK Brackens, 0-1),  Jamie Ormonde (JK Brackens, 1-9, 0-5f); Jack Marnell (JK Brackens), Ciaran O’Shea (JK Brackens, 1-3), Eoin Boyle (Borris-Ileigh, 0-2); Joey Quinn (Loughmore Castleiney, 0-1), Sean Stapleton (Clonakenny, 1-0), Philip O’Dwyer (Upperchurch Drombane). 

Subs used: Kieran Martin (JK Brackens) for Tommy Burke.

John the Baptist Community School: Lorcan Costello (Hospital Herbertstown); Niall McNamara (Pallasgreen), Declan Heavy (Garryspillane, 0-1), Fionnan Leahy (Knockainey); Griffin McCaffrey (Hospital Herbertstown), Sean Casey (Bruff, 0-2); Shane Treacy (Staker Wallace); Owen Meaney  (Bruff, 1-6, 0-5f, 0-1 65), Charlie Cronin (Bruff, 0-1); Diarmaid Hurley (Hospital Herbertstown, 0-6), Hugh Flanagan (Garryspillane, 0-2), Michael Leo (Knockainey); Shane Ryan (Garryspillane, 0-1), Barry Callinan (Bruff), Hugh Murnane (Caherline, 2-2). 

Subs used: Jack O’Neill (Bruff) for Barry Callinan; Niall Connaughton (Caherline) for Griffin McCaffrey.

Referee: John Bugler (Clare)