Fairytale continues with another county title for Tipperary club Clerihan
Clerihan defeat Moyne/Templetuohy in County Hurling League Division 6 final
Just like Dublin buses, you wait ages for one to come along and then two come together. Clerihan had a long wait for their first county title and then wrapped up a second within five days.
The fairytale story for the small South Tipperary club continued at New Inn on Thursday night when an eight-points victory over Moyne/Templetuohy in the FBD Insurance County Hurling League Division 6 Final secured an historic double, following the Division 4 football win the previous Sunday over Rockwell Rovers.
With virtually the same panel – twelve players started both finals, with others joining from the bench – they demonstrated their talents as a dual club.
Off the field, great credit must go to the manager of both teams, Fr Peter Brennan, all the selectors and especially football coach Seamus Delahunty and hurling coach Una Kennedy, for having the players so well prepared for two county finals, in different codes, in the space of five days.
Just like in the football decider, goals proved crucial in the victory over a battling Moyne/Templetuohy side whose second string showed the depth of talent in the Mid Tipp club.
With the sides level at 0-4 each midway through the first half, Ryan O’Sullivan sent Eoin Rice clear to shoot past Moyne goalkeeper Murt Kelly for a lead that the south side took into the half time break, 1-5 to 0-7.
They had extended the margin to five points, 1-11 to 0-9, midway through the second half when another goal decided the destination of the cup, a high ball into the danger area from O’Sullivan again that was flicked to the net by Eoin Power.
There was no way back for Moyne after that and it became more difficult for them when they were reduced to 14 men eight minutes from the end, when referee Brian Tyrrell flashed a straight red card to Tristan Kelly for an incident in a crowded goalmouth.
Clerihan had heroes all over the field, none more so than team captain Leo Curtin at centre back, who was a pillar of strength at the heart of the defence, frustrating the Moyne attack with brilliant intercepts and clearances.
At midfield, Shane Cooney was a towering presence as he drove the side forward. During a five- minute spell early in the second half, he pointed from play, won a free that he pointed himself, and then scored again from play to reflect the spirit that carried Clerihan to victory.
Upfront they took their chances, Power and Rice taking their goals well, with superb assists from O’Sullivan, who also maintained the accuracy from frees that he had shown in the football final.
Moyne/Templetuohy were still very much in contention until the second Clerihan goal, but they were not helped by some wayward shooting when greater composure in front of the posts could have been crucial. Conor Campion pointed three frees, with goalkeeper Murt Kelly converting three placed balls from greater distances, but four points from play over the hour was a poor return.
Conor Campion from a free opened the scoring in the second minute, following a foul on Diarmuid Campion, but that was the only time that the mid side led. Eoin Rice equalised before Ryan O’Sulivan from a free put Clerihan ahead for the first time.
Conor Campion produced some clever stickwork before tying up the score again, and the sides were also level at 0-3 each and 0-4 each – the Clerihan scores from Cooney, after great work from Eoin Power, and then Power scoring himself from an O’Sullivan assist, to Moyne replies with two frees, from Campion and goalkeeper Kelly.
Clerihan then upped the tempo. A flowing move involving O’Sullivan, Conor Parker and Eoin O’Donnell just failed to end with a score but they compensated in the next move, when O’Sullivan put Rice through for the opening goal. When Shane Cooney was then fouled and O’Sullivan converted the free, the gap went to four points.
However, following one of their best spells of the game, Moyne/Templetuohy had it back to a single point by the interval, 1-5 to 0-7, with three points on the bounce – and it should have been at least seven in a row but for four wides.
Two points in the space of two minutes, from Tristan Kelly and Conor Campion frees, energised the Moyne support in the New Inn stand, but the energy sagged over the next five minutes, when Murt Kelly was wide from a free, and Tristan Kelly was wide from three frees. The only score in that time was a well- taken point from captain Diarmuid Leahy.
Yet despite their first half profligacy, Moyne were level thirty seconds into the second half when Diarmuid Fogarty pointed. But instead of spurring them on, it was Clerihan who responded better and four points in a row set them on their way to victory.
Conor Parker hit an immediate reply to the Fogarty point, and Shane Cooney followed up immediately to double the lead. Cooney was now dominating the midfield exchanges and when he was fouled in the next move, he split the uprights from the free. By the 35th minute it was a four points lead, 1-9 to 0-8, when Parker cut through the Moyne defence with a great run before passing to Harry Hickey for the score.
Goalkeeper Kelly pointed another long range free for Moyne, but it was only a brief interruption to the power of the Clerihan juggernaut. Cooney hit back immediately with another superb point, and after Andrew O’Donnell in the Clerihan goal pulled off a great save from Conor Campion, play switched to the other end, with Eoin O’Donnell putting Gavin Sheehan through to score for a 1-11 to 0-9 lead midway through the half.
The game was then decided when Eoin Power was first to a high ball from Ryan O’Sullivan and flicked it to the net for an eight points lead entering the final quarter. It stretched to nine points when Tim Norris was fouled after taking a Conor Horan pass, and O’Sullivan split the posts again.
Two frees for Clerihan, Cooney from halfway, and O’Sullivan again, completed their scoring, with Moyne scores from a Diarmuid Fogarty free and Conor Campion from a free and play, but the cup was already destined to head south by that stage.
Scorers: Clerihan: Shane Cooney 0-5 (2 frees), Eoin Power, Eoin Rice 1-1 each, Ryan O’Sullivan 0-4 frees, Gavin Sheehan, Conor Parker, Harry Hickey 0-1 each.
Moyne/Templetuohy: Conor Campion 0-4 (3 frees), Murt Kelly 0-3 frees, Tristan Kelly 0-2 (1 free), Diarmuid Fogarty 0-2 (1 free), Diarmuid Leahy 0-1.
Clerihan: Andrew O’Donnell; Scott Walsh, Sean Hahessy, Michael O’Connell; Conor Horan, Leo Curtin, Tim Norris; Shane Cooney, Gavin Sheehan; Eoin O’Donnell, Eoin Power, Conor Parker; Ryan O’Sullivan, Eoin Rice, Harry Hickey. Subs: Michael Dempsey for Walsh, Jack O’Rourke for Hickey, James Butler for O’Connell.
Moyne/Templetuohy: Murt Kelly; Jimmy Campion, Joe O’Grady, Adam Jones; Donncha Dunne, Paidí Gleeson, Sean Lyons; Aaron Moore, Diarmuid Leahy; Damien Cantwell, Tristan Kelly, Gavin Ryan; Diarmuid Fogarty, Diarmuid Campion, Conor Campion. Subs: Jack Reddan for Moore, Leo Cleere for Ryan, Niall Russell for Leahy, Jake Bowe for Cantwell.
Referee: Brian Tyrrell (Clonmel Commercials).