Alan Tynan inspires Roscrea survival as Mullinahone suffer relegation

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Relegation Final

Roscrea 2-18

Mullinahone 0-19

An inspired second-half intervention from Tipperary senior hurler Alan Tynan proved decisive as Roscrea dug themselves out of relegation trouble and condemned Mullinahone to the drop following a tense do-or-die encounter in Templetuohy on Sunday afternoon.

With senior status for 2027 on the line, little separated the sides for much of the opening half, but Roscrea's greater attacking threat eventually told, with their ability to punish Mullinahone mistakes proving particularly important.

The sides were deadlocked at 0-10 apiece after 26 minutes, with Mícheál Dunne providing much of Mullinahone's scoring threat, while Darragh Tynan struck three excellent points and Luke Cashin made good use of the strong breeze with some impressive long-range frees.

The game's first major turning point arrived on the half-hour.

A mistake in the Mullinahone defence allowed Conor Dooley to break through before finding Alan Tynan inside the 21. Tynan spotted Kenny Lee across goal and, despite a difficult first touch, Lee showed tremendous awareness to improvise from his knees and flick the ball over the advancing Brendan Kearney.

A superb long-range Darragh Tynan point followed almost immediately and Roscrea suddenly carried a 1-12 to 0-11 advantage into half-time.

Mullinahone responded positively after the restart, with Enda Keane and Sam Rowan reducing the deficit to two, but Roscrea quickly regained control through Shane Fletcher and Evan Fitzpatrick.

Then came the decisive blow.

Kearney's attempted pass into the Mullinahone half-back line was intercepted by Fletcher, who immediately spotted Tynan breaking alongside him. The Roscrea midfielder took the pass in stride and emphatically dispatched his finish beyond Kearney in the 42nd minute.

At seven points down, Mullinahone were staring relegation in the face, but three Dunne frees kept their challenge alive.

Yet every time they threatened to build momentum, Tynan seemed to intervene.

After good work involving Leigh Loughnane and Fletcher, Tynan fired over before Fletcher added another to leave six between them entering additional time.

Mullinahone weren't finished. Substitute Graham Horan made an impact before Dunne's ninth converted free reduced the deficit to four, but once again Tynan delivered when Roscrea needed him, powering forward and splitting the posts under considerable pressure.

There was one final moment of anxiety when Horan burst through in the 63rd minute and unleashed a booted shot at goal, only to see his effort cannon back off the crossbar.

Roscrea’s luck was in, and that was Mullinahone's last real chance.

Tynan fittingly supplied the final score, completing a hugely influential performance as Roscrea secured their place in the senior championship for 2027, while Mullinahone's long stay in the top flight came to an end.

Scorers: Roscrea: Alan Tynan 1-3, Shane Fletcher (0-4, 0-3f), Luke Cashin 0-4f, Kenny Lee 1-0, Darragh Tynan, Leigh Loughnane 0-3 each, Evan Fitzpatrick 0-1.

Mullinahone: Micheal Dunne (0-11, 0-9f), Sean Curran, Enda Keane 0-2 each, Jack Shelly, Sam Rowan, Graham Horan, Martin Kehoe all 0-1 each.

Roscrea: Daryl Ryan; Conor Booth, Michael Campion, Aidan Booth; Darragh Tynan, Conor Phelan, Conor Sheedy; Aaron O'Donoghue, Alan Tynan; Leigh Loughnane, Evan Fitzpatrick, Luke Cashin; Kenny Lee, Conor Dooley, Shane Fletcher.

Subs used: Owen Tynan for A Booth (53, temp sub); Sam Dooley for K Lee (56); Owen Tynan for O'Donoghue (65); Jack Lee for Cashin (65).

Mullinahone: Brendan Kearney; Colin Shelly, Paul Curran, Eoin Treacy; Darragh Linnane, Eoin Fennelly, Eanna Ryan; Darragh O'Brien, Sean Curran; Martin Kehoe, Jack Shelly, Enda Keane; Micheal Dunne, Sam Rowan, Eoin O'Dwyer.

Subs used: Alan Curran for C Shelly (44, inj); Conor O'Brien for Keane (44); Graham Horan for E O'Dwyer (51).

Referee: Joe Leahy (Moyne Templetuohy)