A huge upset in the Ragg as 14-man Moyne Templetuohy battle past Upperchurch Drombane

Doran Oil Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship semi-final

Moyne Templetuohy 2-18

Upperchurch Drombane 0-21

Second-half goals from Paul Maher and Diarmuid Fogarty gave Moyne Templetuohy a deserved and brilliant upset victory over Upperchurch Drombane in the semi-final of the Doran Oil Mid Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship on Tuesday evening in The Ragg.

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This was a big upset in the context of where the two teams were coming into the game on the basis of previous years, and there may have been a case for ‘underestimating’ on Upperchurch’s part as they started the game without Paddy Phelan, Aaron Ryan, and Ger Grant who were all sprung in the second half when the game was close.

However, huge credit has to go to Moyne Templetuohy who - despite having a short turnaround after the quarter-final - brought more energy and determination in the final quarter to get a brilliant win and qualify for a final clash with Gortnahoe Glengoole.

Upperchurch had the better of a fairly lacklustre first half where they were the more dominant team and had a 0-12 to 0-7 lead with the end of the half closing in, but Moyne managed late scores from Tossy Hamill and Gearoid O’Connor reduced the half-time deficit to three points.

In the second half, the Paul Maher penalty injected real belief into the Moyne Templetuohy effort, converting after retake when Conor Bowe was hauled down by Keith Ryan after a booming puckout. 

That levelled the game at the three quarter mark but Upperchurch responded well to retake the lead with points from Luke Shanahan (free) and Pat Ryan, but Moyne struck their second goal in the 49th minute with Diarmuid Fogarty finishing beautifully after a good run.

Fogarty’s goal was the big difference in the end, and when Shane Lowe received a red card five minutes from time, Moyne went into defensive mode to hold onto their lead and, late on, with Upperchurch pouring forward, Ben Ryan managed to win a free in the fourth minute of added time to give Gearoid O’Connor the last play and convert the free to confirm victory.

Moyne Templetuohy: Paul Maher (1-0 pen); Shane Lowe, Ciaran Lloyd, Eoin Gorman; Pierce Meade, Éanna Guilfoyle, Danny Moore; Cathal Guilfoyle, Paudie Gleeson; Gearoid O’Connor (0-5, 0-1f), Tom Meade, Cormac Deegan (0-9, 0-8f); Conor Bowe (0-1), Tossy Hamill (0-2), Diarmuid Fogarty (1-1).

Subs used: Sean Hayes; Ben Ryan; Finn Jones; 

Upperchurch Drombane: Paul Ryan; AJ Shanahan, Keith Ryan, Dean Carew; Niall Grant (0-1), Gavin Ryan (0-5, 0-4f), Colm Ryan; Diarmuid Grant, Mikey Lavery; Conor Fahey (0-1), Paudie Greene, Paul Shanahan (0-1); Sean Ryan (0-2), Luke Shanahan (0-8, 0-7f), Pat Ryan (0-3).

Subs used: Paddy Phelan; Ger Grant; Aaron Ryan.

Referee: John Lillis (Drom & Inch)

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