Durlas Óg stage miraculous comeback to best rivals in epic Minor A Hurlin decider

County U17A Hurling Championship Final

Durlas Óg 2-18

Holycross Ballycahill 2-17

By Michael Dundon

For the third time in this year’s U17A Hurling Championship, Durlas Óg and Holycross Ballycahill delivered a classic as the Thurles boys staged a dramatic recovery from a disastrous start to win the county title by the slenderest margin at Templederry on Saturday.

Durlas Óg had defeated Holycross Ballycahill in the round-robin section of the championship and again emerged victorious when the sides met in the Mid final, each closely-fought and quality encounter, but Saturday’s county final left both in the shade as Durlas Óg came from eleven points down after 15 minutes to hit the front late in the second half, and then hold on as Holycross tried to salvage a draw in a nail-biting finish.

It was edge-of-seat stuff all the way and while one had to feel sympathy for Holycross losing in such dramatic fashion, hats off to the Durlas Og boys who stuck to their task when all seemed lost and were duly rewarded with the county crown.

Holycross were on fire from the start and with a goal from Eoghan Hickey after just four minutes were 1-6 clear after nine  minutes and looking as though they were going to give their rivals a real drubbing. Sean Ryan hit 3 of those early Holycross points.

Durlas Óg reshuffled their team, allocated a roving role to minor star Euan Murray who was isolated at full forward, and finally opened their account through Eoin Webb but then Tadhg Nally had a second Holycross goal to leave the Abbeysiders sitting pretty.

To their credit, Durlas Óg did not panic and in the minutes before half-time hauled themselves right back into the game. Cillian Minogue netted after 25 minutes and Eoin Webb followed with another to which Euan Murray, Keith Rossiter and Alex Coppinger added points to bring them within 3 points of their rivals at the break 2-10 to 2-7. 

Scores were harder to come by on the change-over. Holycross suffered what was to be a major blow when Zach O’Keeffe had “a goal” disallowed a minute after resuming for an infringement of the square, a huge decision in the overall context of the game. 

Durlas Óg eventually levelled with 3 points from Eoin Webb and Aaron Darmody was denied a goal by a top-drawer save by Holycross custodian Harry Bourke.

The Thurles boys were in the ascendancy and pulled three points clear but Holycross didn’t flinch and two Sean Ryan points had them just 1 behind as the game moved into extra time. Holycross had a last chance from a free but Cathal Ryan’s well-struck effort from distance drifted off course and Durlas Óg were celebrating another county title.

Given how the game had developed, this was a memorable win for this Durlas Og group who won national Feile honours a few years back. 

They have shown all through the campaign that they have quality but on this occasion they showed they had “the bottle” to complement it, refusing to collapse when all seemed lost. They lined out without the injured Kyle O Dowd. Leelan O’Donoghue, Alex Coppinger, Darragh O’Dwyer, Eoin Webb, Cillian Minogue and Euan Murray were their key men.

It was tough on Holycross after such a bright start and they could well have earned a second chance had they made better use of a few chances. They did themselves and their club proud and no doubt, they will have their day. Tony Maher, Cathal O’Reilly, Sean Ryan, Tiernan Ryan, Daire Ryan Zach O’Keeffe, and Eoghan Hickey did most to further their cause.

Durlas Óg: Jamie Stapleton; James Lloyd, Rory O Dwyer, Andy Rossiter; Bill Fogarty, Kieran Rossiter (0-1), Evan Nolan; Leelan Donoghue (0-2), Keelan Dunne (0-1); Darragh O’Dwyer (0-2), Alex Coppinger (0-3), Aaron Darmody; Eoin Webb (1-5, 0-4f), Euan Murray (0-3, 0-2f), Cillian Minogue (1-1).

Holycross Ballycahill: Harry Bourke; Tadhg Ryan, Daire Ryan,  Cathal Ryan; Tadhg Burke, Cathal O’Reilly, Tony Maher (0-3f); Tiernan Ryan (0-2), Jake Galvin (0-2); Liam Costello, Sean Ryan (0-7, 0-5f), Sam Doyle; Zach O’Keeffe (0-2), Tadhg Nally (1-0), Eoghan Hickey (1-1).

Subs used: Alex Maher for Costello (42).

Referee: Fergal Horgan (Knockvilla Kickhams)