Tipp hurler James Barry was black carded for Upperchurch Drombane this evening
It's been a hard few days for Upperchurch Drombane
JK Brackens 2-11
Upperchurch Drombane 1-10
Three second half goals in fourteen minutes brought this rip roaring FBD Insurance Tipperary senior football quarter final tie to real life at Littleton this evening with JK Brackens grabbing a brace which saw them advance to the next round.
A game which probably just came too soon for Upperchurch Drombane considering they had lost an extra time mid hurling final on Sunday, Brackens had the legs to win the contest, eventhough The Church were in front by a point with nine minutes of normal time to go.
Having Tipperary hurler James Barry black carded in the 19th minute didn't help Upperchurch Drombane's case - he was a man sinned against as much as sinning, but referee Tommy Ryan only took action against the half back and Barry's influence was certainly a big loss to his side who trailed by 0-6 to 0-4 at the break in a tough, uncompromising encounter - the church felt justifiably hard done by in this regard. Dean McEnroe had four of the Brackens scores with Neil Quinlan kicking two excellent points, while Paul Shanahan was the main man with three of Upperchurch Drombane's points, while Keith Ryan had the other.
A Lyndon Fairbrother goal in the 13th minute of the second half put five points between them and Brackens looked to be heading for the finish line. But, Upperchurch Drombane hit back and kicked 1-3 without replay to take the lead - the goal coming from Colm Stapleton in the 15th minute to go along with two points from Shanahan and one from Dean Carew.
Brackens though finished the stronger and were to get four of the last five points, including a Shane Scully goal in the 27th minute, and points from McEnroe, Cathal Scully and Neil Quinlan, while Upperchurch Drombane had just a point from Padraig Greene to their name in this period.
The Church drove hard at Brackens in the last few minutes and two black cards for Cathal Scully and Jack Fogarty indicated how under pressure the eventual victors were. But, Brackens held out for the win despite some exchanges near the end which continued after the final whistle for a short while.
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