HARTY CUP: Goal hungry Nenagh CBS leave no doubt in defeat of Ardscoil Rís in Newport

TUS Dr Harty Cup - Group 1 - Round 2

Nenagh CBS 4-18

Ardscoil Rís 1-19

Nenagh CBS’s goal threat was the deciding factor in Newport on Wednesday afternoon as the 2023 winners downed Ardscoil Rís to give the Tipperary school a vital victory in Group 1 of the TUS Dr Harty Cup.

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Goals from Patrick Ryan and Paul Cahalan in the first half, a well-dispatched Eanna Tucker goal early in the second half, and a clinching fourth from Patrick Ryan again in the 58th minute helped Nenagh maintain a 4-6 advantage throughout to secure a much-needed victory.

The half-time lead of 2-11 to 0-10 for Nenagh CBS was far from flattering for their efforts, as they were by far the more threatening team in the opening half of this highly anticipated clash in Newport. 

The opening seconds were a template for what was to come in the first period with Patrick Ryan hitting an early score, but the early goal threat was apparent from Nenagh when Patrick Hackett fed through Joe O’Dwyer on goal, only for the Burgess man to be denied by a last-ditch block.

The first goal came soon after Jack Cosgrove had scored a first for the Limerick side when a long delivery broke in front of Paul Cahalan, who had the presence of mind to flick the ball along the deck to Patrick Ryan on his right to apply a close-range finish and get the CBS off to a flyer.

Ardscoil were slow to get out of the traps, taking some time to get going, but they did eventually settle with Jack Cosgrove again the main man, hitting his second and third points from play in the next five minutes to have them trail 1-3 to 0-4 after eight minutes.

Still, Nenagh were creating chances with Paul Cahalan picking off two quickfire points after setups from Eanna Tucker and Patrick Hackett respectively, and with Eoughan Doughan picking off a long range first from play, the Tipperary school were motoring nicely.

Ian O’Brien’s first and Jack Cosrove’s third point responded strongly for Ardscoil to that Nenagh flurry, but the goal chances were coming now for Nenagh with Joe O’Dwyer again coming close after a strong run, only to hit the side netting. Nenagh ahead 1-7 to 0-7 after 20 minutes.

The final ten minutes belonged to Nenagh, though as they extended their lead in that time with the inevitable second goal coming in the 21st minute with a slick slight of hand from Hugo Healy, sending Paul Cahalan through on goal; the Burgess man burying a low shot to the far corner despite the best efforts of Marcus Murphy in the Ardscoil goals.

While one Burgess man in Cahalan was having good success, his clubmate Joe O’Dwyer missed a hat-trick of goal chances two minutes later when fed in on goal only to cut across the shot and send it wide, but it did highlight the poverty of Ardscoil’s rearguard.

Nenagh took a 2-11 to 0-10 lead at half-time with three frees from Eoghan Doughan and a lovely long-range score from Emmet Jones, giving them a big boost with the second half to come.

Substitutions were made by both teams at the break, with Billy O’Brien being sprung for Nenagh CBS after making his comeback in the recent senior county final for Nenagh Éire Óg.

However, Ardcoil Rís started the second half strongly with Jack Cosgrove again the big threat to Nenagh’s efforts with the Ahane player hitting three points (1 from play) - along with a brace of frees from John O’Keeffe - in the first eight minutes as the Limerick school cut the gap to 2-12 to 0-15. Game on.

Nenagh had yet to land a blow in the second half, but the perfect tonic came in the 39th minute when Billy O’Brien and Patrick Ryan linked up close to Ardscoil Rís' goal territory as the latter fed Eanna Tucker to his left with the Éire Óg man finishing to the bottom corner.

That concession did little to dispel the Ardscoil resurgence as they responded with class to that Nenagh major to hit the next two points from Conor Conlon-Ryan and the unstoppable Jack Cosgrove, who was having quite a day out.

In the end, though, the final quarter was a case of the experience the players in the Nenagh CBS ranks have built up in recent years, as they just controlled the tempo with Ardscoil trying to lessen the deficit.

A brace of Eoghan Doughan frees, a well taken pair of Paul Cahalan scores and a major from the former from open play from the stand side had Nenagh in a good position with eight minutes to go, leading 3-17 to 0-19.

The final nail in the Ardscoil coffin came in the 58th minute when Patrick Hackett cleverly sent Patrick Ryan through in behind the cover, and with defenders on his back, he managed to tennis strike the ball low to the net and secure victory for Donach O’Donnell’s charges.

Scorers: Nenagh CBS: Eoghan Doughan (0-12, 0-8f, 0-2 65s), Patrick Ryan 2-1, Paul Cahalan 1-4, Eanna Tucker 1-0, Emmet Jones 0-1.

Ardscoil Rís: Jack Cosgrove (0-8, 0-1f, 0-1 65), John O’Keeffe 0-6f, Alex Kearns 1-0, Conor Conlon-Ryan 0-2, Malachy McKenna, Shane Waters, Ian O’Brien all 0-1 each.

Nenagh CBS: Patrick McCormack (Moneygall); Diarmuid Fogarty (Kiladangan), Daniel McKelvey (Silvermines), Cormac Kennedy (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Emmet Jones (Nenagh Éire Og), Dara O’Dwyer (Kiladangan), Shane Cleary (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Hugo Healy (Kilruane MacDonaghs), Austin Duff (Toomevara); Eanna Tucker (Nenagh Éire Og), Eoghan Doughan (Moneygall), Paul Cahalan (Burgess); Patrick Ryan (Borris-Ileigh), Patrick Hackett (Toomevara), Joe O’Dwyer (Burgess).

Subs used: Billy O’Brien (Nenagh Éire Óg) for O’Dwyer (HT); Cillian Healy (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for H Healy (38); Charlie Kennedy (Kilruane MacDonaghs) for Duff (54); Diarmaid O’Donoghue (Burgess) for Cleary (57); Eoin Grace (Silvermines) for Doughan (59).

Ardscoil Rís: Marcus Murphy (Na Piarsaigh); Eoin Hennessy (Patrickswell), Jack O’Halloran (Sixmilebridge), Evan Ryan (South Liberties); Conor Ryan (Adare), Eoin Brosnan (Na Piarsaigh), Adam Fitzsimons (Na Piarsaigh); David O’Keeffe (Na Piarsaigh), Conor Conlon-Ryan (Ahane); John O’Connor (Ahane), Jack Cosgrove (Ahane), Malachy McKenna (Pallasgreen); John O’Keeffe (Murroe Boher), Rian Horgan (Murroe Boher), Ian O’Brien (Cratloe). 

Subs used: Shane Waters (Na Piarsaigh) for Horgan (HT); Aaron Kelly (Cratloe) for O’Keeffe (52); Alex Kearns (Na Piarsaigh) for O’Brien (54); Jamie McMahon (Clonlara) for E Ryan (62).

Referee: Tom McGlinchey (Newport)

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