Positions decided after more thrills and spills in Tipperary championship

A hectic weekend of club activity produced winners, losers and in-betweeners as the final table positions took shape. Add in controversy amid some incredibly tight margins and the championships had it all. It was spectacular.

What an amazing round-robin sequence! People will always debate the quality of the hurling on offer but there’s no disputing the drama and spectacle that’s produced by such evenly-matched teams. It really was a cliff-edge weekend for so many clubs.

The drama continues as I write on Monday because of a background controversy involving Group 4. The County CCC issued an update showing final table positions, which had JK Brackens and Nenagh Eire Og as the top two – no dispute there – but then Mullinahone in third place and Toomevara in fourth spot and facing a relegation battle.

That ranking, however, is under dispute. It all hinges on the clash between Mullinahone and Brackens, played at Cashel on Sunday. It appears the submitted scoreline shows Mullinahone losing the game by four points but others claim the margin was six. A four-point loss left Mullinahone with a score difference of minus-15, exactly the same as Toomevara with the teams having drawn their head-to-head clash earlier.

In such circumstances the next metric to be followed is scores for the teams. In that case Mullinahone are ahead on 70 points against 59 for Toomevara, which explains the published placings. But will they stand?

A six-point loss for Mullinahone to Brackens would see their score difference drop to minus-17 and send them into relegation, with Toomevara safe in third position in the group. The question now is whether the official score will be adjusted.

It has echoes of a similar controversy between Boherlahan and Knockavilla Kickhams some years ago, but with one crucial difference. This time the game was covered by Clubber so it’s difficult to see how the video evidence can be ignored if the margin was indeed six points instead of four. We await developments.

Whether or not Toomevara escape the relegation trap, it’s still a year of regression for them. Two years ago, they were in a county final and pushed Loughmore close enough. Last year they made the quarter-finals where Loughmore again had their measure – and by the same five-point margin. This time they’ve failed to win a match. Losing at the weekend by nine to neighbours Nenagh was a result which would have been particularly painful.

There was high drama too in Group 2 where Clonoulty/Rossmore lost out narrowly to Loughmore/Castleiney and then lost by a whisker on score difference in a three-way tie with Borris-Ileigh, which sees the West side facing a relegation battle – unless they can win the county.

The West team was blitzed in the opening phase and that ultimately made the difference. After six minutes the scoreboard in Holycross read 2-5 to nil. Clonoulty seemed spooked and were bamboozled in those opening exchanges. From the throw-in they were pulled apart, with Ciaran McCormack at the end of an attacking move. His shot was mishit but the high bounce deceived Jason O’Dwyer and the ball finished in the net.

That was a signal for waves of more Loughmore attacks. John McGrath flashed in a trademark goal after three minutes. In a six-minute period they hit seven scores to go 11-up against stunned opponents.

Ultimately, it would prove too much for Clonoulty, though to their credit the West side stayed spirited and made Loughmore sweat to the end. After the initial onslaught they steadied matters and had the lead back to eight points at the break, with six different scorers getting on the board.

The second half remained engaging as Clonoulty bravely chased the match. Cathal Bourke had an early goal when he turned in a Mikey Ryan delivery and Stephen Ferncombe, as ever, remained a key score-getter.

However, it wasn’t until the final moments that they really threatened Loughmore’s lead when they came with a late push. A goal from substitute Philip Kelleher saw the lead dwindle and Clonoulty came with a surge that fell narrowly short. Jack Ryan was central to it all, as was Ronan Heffernan in defence. But it was the overall defiance of the side that was admirable, epitomised by the work of Michael Ryan (W).

In the end Clonoulty fell tantalisingly short in a three-way tie with Borris-Ileigh and Loughmore. Score difference decided the placings with Borris-Ileigh on plus one, Loughmore on zero and Clonoulty at minus one. Another Clonoulty point at the end would have seen them tie with Loughmore on score difference and ahead of them on the scores-for category. It was that tight.

The other two groups in the senior championship were more clearcut. In Group 1 Thurles Sarsfields continued to show form, topping that section with a nine-point win over Kilruane MacDonaghs. The Blues have climbed from 7/1 hopefuls in the championship to 10/3 second favourites now behind Holycross – and that’s without Ronan Maher.

Sars have really found their mojo as this series of rounds unfolded. Last Saturday at Templederry was further evidence of that progress. Peter Creedon had a first half goal and they led by eight at half time.

Kilruane will have their regrets from that period. Kian O’Kelly flashed a ground shot narrowly wide and when the same player was fouled some minutes later, Niall O’Meara drove the penalty wide of the target. They could ill afford those misses.

Sarsfields remained steady and controlled throughout. Denis Maher was outstanding at full back and the Stakelum contribution to the win was major. Conor hit 0-4 from half back and Darragh had his best display of the year at half forward, scoring 1-6 from play, the goal courtesy of a penetrating run by Euan Murray. Cian Stakelum was also excellent at half back.

Kilruane sent Niall O’Meara into attack late in the game and he did pull a goal back with an excellent finish. Willie Cleary hit 1-12 (1-3 from play), getting a consolation goal late in the hour. Overall, however, Kilruane played second fiddle to a far slicker Sarsfields combination.

Elsewhere, in the Premier Intermediate, Boherlahan/Dualla finished strongly against Ballina to secure their knockout qualification in second place behind Golden/Kilfeacle. Ballina now face a relegation battle.

In truth this was a substandard game, with neither side showing much until Boherlahan got a handle on matters late on. The Mid side led 0-6 to 0-4 at half time, which tells all you need to know about that period. It was dire.

Matters did improve somewhat in the second half when the scoring rate lifted, as did overall excitement levels. Boherlahan introduced Mark Downey at half time and he made a significant impact, scoring 1-2 after his side had fallen behind. Further goals from Seamie Leahy and Paddy Gahan saw the Mid side take command in the final ten minutes. Ballina moved Michael Breen to attack late in the game where he rattled in a goal from a twenty-metre free but it was too little to save the North side.

Boherlahan march on to the knockouts but it will be a short march unless they improve on this form. It should be mentioned that Ballina were a man short from the opening quarter when Patrick O’Donovan was red-carded.

Golden/Kilfeacle have been the best side in this group and they underlined that impression with a victory over Eire Og Annacarty on Sunday. It’s significant progress for a team that’s in its first year at this level.

Anyway, with the group stages now completed, who are the main movers? At senior level you have the resurgence of Sarsfields after a few slack years and the emergence of JK Brackens, Moycarkey/Borris and Cashel KC all topping their groups. There’s a new-look appearance to those table-toppers and it will be intriguing to see if any of them can go the distance.

Holycross/Ballycahill too are relatively new, though the burden of expectation has lain heavy on them for a few seasons now. Otherwise, Kiladangan and Nenagh Eire Og are no strangers to this stage of the championship and Borris-Ileigh are back in the knockouts after several years absence. For all of them there’s a reminder that Loughmore haven’t gone away, you know.

P.S. No great surprise to hear late clarification coming through that the score from the Mullinahone/Brackens match has been amended. It’s disappointing for the South side, who will now face a relegation battle while Toomevara’s status is preserved. And there’s a late update on the preliminary quarter-finals, with Clonoulty set to face Nenagh Eire Og and Loughmore drawing Holycross/Ballycahill – both mouthwatering prospects.