Nenagh Éire Óg breeze into final four with demolition of Cashel King Cormacs

FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final

Nenagh Éire Óg 3-29

Cashel King Cormacs 0-21

No one saw this coming. A Cashel side with lofty aspirations were routed by a rampant Nenagh Éire Óg in an FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling quarter-final that fell well below expectations at Semple Stadium on Sunday, the prize for the winners a clash with Thurles Sarsfields in the semi-final.

Expectations were high for a classic between two sides known for the quality of their play, but on the day only one team turned up. Nenagh, after a modest enough start, dominated to an incredible extent, and by half-time, at which stage they led 1-17 to 0-9, their place in the semi-final draw was secure.

Beaten finalists last year, Nenagh look equipped to go one better this time. They lined out without county star Jake Morris, sidelined with a tendon injury, but his absence was never felt as they turned in a performance that will have many tipping them to lift the Dan Breen Cup for the second time in their history.

Cashel’s “big guns” did not fire on the day, which was in marked contrast to Nenagh, where the leadership of Sam O’Farrell, Barry and Mikey Heffernan, and Josh Keller inspired those around them. A lively opening eight minutes saw Cashel lead 0-4 to 0-3, but then Nenagh began to turn the screw. Four points without reply from Mikey Heffernan, Sam O’Farrell, Josh Keller and Philip Hickey moved them 0-7 to 0-4 clear after twelve minutes.

Cashel were struggling to match the slickness of their rivals and a further four-point run by Nenagh, three from Mikey Heffernan and another from Josh Keller, had them six clear (0-11 to 0-5) after twenty minutes. The game was being played on Nenagh’s terms and drifting steadily away from Cashel. Nenagh’s work-rate in closing down the opposition and in counter-attacking in waves was most impressive as they established a 0-17 to 0-9 lead coming to half-time.

They then struck a really decisive blow in injury time, Philip Hickey setting up Sam O’Farrell for a goal and a lead that put the game beyond Cashel’s reach with another thirty minutes facing them on the turn-over.

Trailing 1-17 to 0-9, early points from Ger Browne and Ross Bonnar suggested Cashel were going to make a fight of it, but five minutes into the half, Ronan Connolly lost his footing and possession, allowing Sam O’Farrell to sprint through for his and Nenagh’s second goal. Definitely no way back for Cashel now. With a 2-18 to 0-12 double-scores advantage, Nenagh sauntered through the remainder of the game, management availing of the opportunity to give game time to players on the bench.

Tommy Heffernan came on to take full advantage, hitting three points and then Nenagh’s third goal in injury time, to end a day Cashel will quickly want to forget.

So Nenagh are through to the last four and another meeting with Sarsfields, against whom they have enjoyed a lot of success in recent times. They were very impressive in this game but will need to factor in the poor quality of the Cashel challenge when debriefing. Cashel are far better than this performance, but when things started to go against them and they needed a steadying influence, it was not there. Their year has ended disappointingly after the promise shown when winning county league honours earlier.

Nenagh have much to look forward to and will be hoping Jake Morris will be able to line out next day. Sam O’Farrell was the star of the show for them, with Mikey Heffernan once more showing all his considerable class. Barry Heffernan, Josh Keller, Mark Carey and Paddy Murphy were others to shine, while Tommy Heffernan’s contribution late on was also worthy of note.

Cashel did not do themselves justice. They are capable of far better than this, but they looked a bit overawed by the occasion. Their second-quarter drubbing was demoralising and paved the way for what was to follow. On a day they will want to quickly forget, Conor O’Dwyer worked hard at midfield. Devon Ryan did his utmost in attack. Eoghan Connolly chipped in with some trademark long-range pointed frees and Davy McGrath too contributed well with three points. To add to their woes, they had Ross Bonnar red-carded near the finish, a rash tackle reflecting the frustration he and his colleagues were experiencing on a day when so many things went wrong for them.

Scorers: Nenagh Éire Óg: Mikey Heffernan (0-12, 0-8f), Sam O’Farrell 2-3, Tommy Heffernan 1-3, Josh Keller 0-3, Ben West, Philip Hickey 0-2 each, Paddy Murphy, Filip McIntyre, Billy O’Brien, Adam Grattan 0-1 each.

Cashel King Cormacs: Devon Ryan (0-6, 0-4f), Eoghan Connolly 0-4f, Davy McGrath 0-3, Conor O’Dwyer, Denis O’Callaghan 0-2 each, Ger Browne, Daniel Moloney, Ross Bonnar, Oisin O’Donoghue all 0-1 each.

Nenagh Éire Óg: Dermot McTiernan; Conor Hennessy, Mark Carey, Jake Donelan Houlihan; Paddy Murphy, Barry Heffernan, Sam O’Farrell; Conor Ryan, James Mackey; Ben West, Josh Keller, Filip McIntyre; Mikey Heffernan, Emmett Jones, Philip Hickey.

Subs used: Billy O’Brien for Donnellan-Houlihan (4); Sean Phelan for Mackey (35); Tommy Heffernan for West (43); Jamie Cottrell for McIntyre (50); Adam Grattan for Murphy (54).

Cashel King Cormacs: Aaron Browne; Conn Bonnar, Nathan Ryan, Kiernan O’Dwyer; James Cummins, Eoghan Connolly, Ronan Connolly; Conor O’Dwyer, Oisin O’Donoghue; Ross Bonnar, Ger Browne, Shane Neville; Davy McGrath, Cathal Quinn, Devon Ryan.

Subs used: Denis O’Callaghan for Neville (half-time); Daniel Moloney for Nathan Ryan (40); Ross Whelan for Ross Bonnar (43); Anthony Walsh for Ronan Connolly (52).

Referee: Kevin Jordan (Thurles Gaels)