St Mary's on the crest of a wave with another Tipperary hurling title

St Mary’s 4-15 St Patrick’s 5-7

The strength of underage hurling in St Mary’s was further underlined at Fethard Town Park when the club won the FBD Insurance County Minor C Hurling Championship title to add to the South Under 16 A and Minor A titles won in the previous two weeks.

A five-points winning margin over St Patrick’s in the all-south decider doesn’t truly reflect their superiority. They were cruising to victory by the 53rd minute, 3-13 to 2-6, but St Patrick’s hit three late goals, the third with the final puck of the game, to give a more respectable look to the scoreline.

One was particularly soft when St Mary’s goalkeeper Paul Ryan misjudged a high ball from Jack Gleeson that ended up in the net. St Patrick’s ‘keeper Ryan Davies suffered a similar fate when a long range shot from Joseph Garland that appeared to pose no great danger eluded him to nestle in the net.

Emmet Cagney led the way for the Clonmel team with 1-3 from play, as well as converting seven frees. His goal just before half time, finishing brilliantly from a Ben Murphy pass, gave St Mary’s a 1-7 to 0-4 lead.

Murphy, Jack O’Dwyer and Joseph Garland all scored goals as well in a St Mary’s attack that looked really sharp. Shay Scully had a big game at midfield, with Rory Hennessy and Oisín Mannion strong at the back.

On a night when St Patrick’s scored nearly as many goals as points, Donncha Foley bagged two, with one each from James Egan, Daniel Holden and Jack Gleeson.

But those scores looked unlikely in a first half that St Mary’s dominated. They raced into a 0-5 to no score lead after eight minutes, with two points from Ben Murphy, one each from Jack O’Dwyer and Joseph Garland, and an Emmet Cagney free.

St Patrick’s were slow to settle, but Donncha Foley from a free got them off the mark in the 10th minute. Cagney hit back with a St Mary’s free, but the Drangan/Cloneen side hit the next three points to force themselves back into contention.

Jack Gleeson scored the first, James Egan had the second after St Mary’s goalkeeper Paul Ryan had earlier made a great save, and then Turlough Moroney made it 0-6 to 0-4. St Patrick’s had chances to reduce the margin further, before Cagney from a free had the Clonmel side’s first score in ten minutes. Then Cagney’s goal just before the break suggested a comfortable win for St Mary’s with a 1-7 to 0-4 lead.

However, St Patrick’s hadn’t read that script and two goals inside the first minute of the second half drew them level. Donncha Foley scored the first following a great run from Moroney, and in the next move Daniel Holden shot home from close range.

St Marys’ were shaken but responded in fine style. Cagney pointed two frees to settle them, and even though a Foley free reduced the margin to a single point again, the town side hit 1-4 without reply to pull clear, the goal from Jack O’Dwyer in the 49th minute after a sustained bout of pressure, for a 3-13 to 2-5 lead.

In a topsy-turvy final quarter, there were four more goals that never really looked like altering the final outcome.

St Patrick’s replied to the St Mary’s scoring blitz with 1-1 of their own, the goal from Jack Gleeson that deceived ‘keeper Paul Ryan, but the benefit of that to St Patrick’s was immediately cancelled when Garland’s shot had the same result at the other end, to make it 4-13 to 3-6 with five minutes to go.

The goals continued to flow and Foley, with his second of the game, followed by a Moroney point, gave St Patrick’s late hope.

Cagney steadied the ship once more for St Mary’s with two great points from play, and when James Egan shot to the net for St Patrick’s fifth goal in the 63rd minute, it was the last action of a game that St Mary’s deserved to win but never had it all their own way.

Scorers: St Mary’s: Emmet Cagney 1-10 (7f), Ben Murphy 1-2, Jack O’Dwyer, Joseph Garland 1-1 each, Darragh Keane 0-1.

St Patrick’s: Donncha Foley 2-3 (2f), James Egan, Jack Gleeson 1-1 each, Daniel Holden 1-0, Turlough Moroney 0-2.

St Mary’s: Paul Ryan; Conor Corcoran, Seb Hopkins, Shane Hannon; Rory Hennessy, Daniel Tobin, Oisín Mannion; Shay Scully, Ciaran Condon; Emmet Cagney, Ben Murphy, Joseph Garland; Jayden Waters, Jack O’Dwyer, Darragh Keane. Subs: Cillian O’Reilly for Tobin (HT), Ben Tierney for Hannon (37), Aidan Gaffey for Waters (45), Liam Peters for Keane (48), Jude McGarry for O’Dwyer (54).

St Patrick’s: Ryes Davies; Paddy O’Brien, Dane Outram, Eddie Hayden; Bobby Purcell, Tiernan O’Brien, Conor Danagher; Nathan Gleeson, James Egan; Eoin Horan, Turlough Moroney, Daniel Holden; Darragh Fitzgerald, Donncha Foley, Jack Gleeson. Subs: Liam Richardson for Purcell (43), Mickey O’Brien for Holden (47).

Referee: Michael Heffernan (Moycarkey/Borris).