Intriguing battle on the way in Tipperary county senior hurling final

Even at the quarter final stage of the Tipperary Water county senior hurling championship, just a few weeks ago, the odds being offered by the bookies would have been very generous had you put a fiver on a Nenagh Eire Og vs Clonoulty Rossmore decider.
And, it is because of this that Sunday's final in Semple Stadium is as open a county final as we have had for a number of years.
Throw-in at 3:30pm is likely to attract a great attendance and the fact that three of the four divisions will be represented on County Final Day will ensure that interested spectators will come from all over. There is a renewed interest in Premier hurling fortunes at the present time and the attendances at the games have been well up in the divisions and on the county scene – perhaps the early exit of Tipperary from the Munster and All-Ireland series left supporters hungry for hurling and therefore mad for road.
Nenagh Eire Og and Clonoulty Rossmore clashed in the second round of their group games, with the result going in favour of the north men. But, the result was the other way around in the county league – neither side will care too much about those games now as they ready themselves for the county final battle. Sunday's game is the one that counts, the game which leave one club licking their wounds, and the other drinking from the famed Dan Breen Cup which has been in Thurles' hands for the last four years.
Sunday's participants have had different paths to the final, and yet their story is quite similar. They have both featured on county final day in recent times; both struggled in their divisional championships over the years; and yet both fought their way to the county's showcase in the Field of Legends. Clonoulty Rossmore won the west final, but with only two teams in it, that was not as taxing as Nenagh Eire Og's challenge in the north where there are thirteen senior teams. The Nenagh Eire Og lads fell to Kiladangan after a replay in the north semi-final, but then Clonoulty Rossmore defeated Kiladangan in the county quarter final. Not that this will mean one whit on Sunday when the ball is thrown in, but at the same time it does give some kind of indication as to how the season has run so far.

Timmy Hammersley - one of the aces in the Clonoulty Rossmore pack.

Clonoulty Rossmore are underdogs for the final, but within their camp there is a quiet confidence, which is very well founded. They successfully tied up a potent Toomevara attack in the semi-final and know that they will have to suffocate the Nenagh Eire Og forward division also on Sunday, if they are to have any chance. The westerners rearguard has been mean all season long and marshalled by the impressive presence of captain John O'Keeffe and the likes of Ciaran Quirke, Enda Heffernan and James Ryan, there is a quite a bit of breaking down of their unit, if progress is to be made.
At midfield Conor Hammersley enjoys the expanses of Semple Stadium with Ronan Heffernan adding to his efforts the last day out. But, they will have to overcome the challenge of Pearse Morris and Killian Gleeson in the Nenagh Eire Og engine room in this all important sector of the pitch. Get on top in this third and it could just tip the balance in favour of one or the other.
With Clonoulty Rossmore utilising Hammersley as a scoring threat, Nenagh Eire Og will have to be cognisant of his surging runs forward and will have to map his journeys. But, they will see the potential too of exposing the gaps created, if this were to emerge as a trend in the game.
Attacking wise, five of the six Clonoulty Rossmore forwards scored in the semi-final – the hard working Fiachra O'Keeffe being the odd man out. But, the Nenagh Eire Og defence managed to put the shackles on the normally free flowing Sarsfields forwards, with the result that only ten points from play were added to their total of just 17 scores – only three forwards scored on the day. The Nenagh Eire Og defence will have a massive say in the destination of the Dan Breen Cup and backboned by brothers Noel and Hugh Maloney, Barry Heffernan and Daire Quinn, they can be the launchpad for a second title for the Ormond town.
And launchpad is all they need to be, because going on the semi-final form, when they bagged 2-15 from play, the Nenagh Eire Og forwards will do the rest, once they get the right ball. The distribution from defence and midfield was top class, aided no doubt, by Sarsfields insistence on playing only two inside forwards. But, the forwards must be on their game too to ensure that they have adequate movement and are showing for deliveries – no problem on that account with the likes of the ultra impressive Michael Heffernan, Jake Morris, Paddy Murphy and Tommy Heffernan skipping about.
Both goalkeepers played key roles in their teams victories in the semi-final – Declan O'Dwyer making a super save from Mark McCarthy early on the the clash with Toomevara, and Shane Hennessy making that crucial save from Conor Stakelum with eight minutes to go in their clash with Sarsfields. Had either efforts rattled the net, the pairings for Sunday's final could well have been very different. Their distribution too is a key component with O'Dwyer having a high percentage success rate from his nineteen restarts in the game, while Hennessy helped his side to a similar advantage with his 24 restarts. O'Dwyer definitely has the edge in terms of goalkeepering experience, with Shane Hennessy in his debut season before the sticks having endured a torrid time with cruciate knee injuries as a forward – what resilience he has displayed to continue playing the game he loves, albeit in an entirely new position for him.
Perhaps the almost hair splitting differences between the goalkeepers, illustrates the closeness of these two sides and the potential for Sunday's final to be a really cracking game. The result will come down to a number of factors – Who can settle the faster and get into stride? Who can impose their game on the opposition the better? And, which forward division can make most inroads against very good defences. It will be an intriguing battle, and given the number of draws in this years champioship so far, another might not be too far off either.