Strong finish sees Nenagh survive stern Clonoulty Rossmore test
Last year’s finalists outscore West champions six to one down the stretch to book their place in the county quarter-finals
FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Quarter-Final
Nenagh Éire Óg 2-11
Clonoulty Rossmore 1-12
Beaten finalists last year, Nenagh Éire Óg’s strong finish was enough to see off the challenge of Clonoulty Rossmore in the FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling preliminary quarter-final at Borrisoleigh on Sunday, but the win came with a price.
Nenagh’s captain, county star Jake Morris, limped out of the game at the start of the second half. He picked up what looked like an ankle injury just before the break and was clearly in difficulty.
Surprisingly, he came out for the second half with his leg heavily bandaged, but after two minutes he signalled to the bench that he could not continue and he is a serious doubt for the county quarter-final next weekend.
Morris has been hampered by injury this campaign. He missed their game with Mullinahone but faced up to county colleague Robert Doyle, at full-back for Clonoulty, in this encounter. As a spectacle, it was a match-up that never really developed, the lack of ball going into the Nenagh attack in the first half limiting the impact of both players on proceedings.
There was very little between the sides in a low-scoring, scrappy encounter and losers Clonoulty Rossmore, who now face into the relegation play-offs, will regret some wasted chances from play and frees that could have got them over the line.
Nenagh, too, were guilty in this respect, even more so, but when the chips were down, Nenagh produced the stronger finish, out-pointing their rivals six to one in the closing stages to claim their place in the hat for the quarter-final draw.
Expectations of a classic on a par with the previous evening’s clash between Holycross Ballycahill and Loughmore Castleiney were not realised, the closeness of the scoring redeeming an otherwise mediocre contest, with both sides guilty of handling, passing and shooting errors.
The stakes were high, as was the tension, a couple of flare-ups testing referee Conor Doyle’s patience, but no red cards were shown.
Nenagh could not have asked for a better start, Ben West netting after a great run following a Barry Heffernan delivery in the fourth minute for a 1-1 to 0-1 lead. Ten minutes later, West bagged his second goal for a 2-3 to 0-5 lead, but Clonoulty Rossmore, slow out of the blocks, were growing into the game.
Jack Ryan set up Stephen Ferncombe in the 25th minute for a goal that brought them level, 1-6 to 2-3, and they pushed on for a slender half-time advantage, 1-8 to 2-4. Jack Ryan had a goal chance for them before that, his lobbed effort, with Nenagh goalie Dermot McTiernan off his line, coming back off the woodwork.
A brace of Stephen Ferncombe points at the start of the second half, with Jake Morris now sidelined through injury, suggested the balance of power was with the West champions, but Nenagh knuckled down.
Philip Hickey was denied a goal by a fine save from Clonoulty goalie Jason O’Dwyer, but in a low-scoring game, points by Michael Heffernan (2 frees) and a Sam O’Farrell free brought Nenagh level, 2-8 to 1-11, with five minutes left.
Jake Donnellan-Houlihan then landed a great long-range free for Nenagh from inside his own half to put them ahead and, on the hour, Sam O’Farrell doubled their lead.
Clonoulty threw everything into attack. Stephen Ferncombe pointed a free to make it a one-point game, but Emmett Jones had the last say, a Nenagh point ensuring their place in the quarter-final draw.
Neither side would have been particularly pleased with their performance. Nenagh got the job done, however, but will need to be better if they are to make further progress. Jake Morris’ availability will be foremost in their minds this week, his leadership badly needed in a forward division that scored just 2-6 from play, hardly a title-winning performance in the prevailing conditions.
Barry Heffernan was again exceptional at the heart of their defence. Ben West’s goal-scoring instinct is a huge asset. Despite a couple of lapses, Michael Heffernan’s free-taking contributes the bulk of their scoring. Paddy Murphy, Sam O’Farrell and Mark Carey were others to put their shoulders to the wheel.
Clonoulty Rossmore disappointingly find themselves in the relegation play-offs again. They have little time to regroup, but it is hard to see them going down.
There is a lot of ability in their side, with the likes of Robert Doyle, John O’Keeffe, Jack Ryan, Ronan Heffernan and Stephen Ferncombe providing the necessary leadership for survival. But a much-improved showing, both in quality and intensity, will be required to protect their senior status.
Scorers: Nenagh Éire Óg: Ben West (2-0), Michael Heffernan (0-6, 0-4f), Sam O’Farrell (0-2, 0-1f), Paddy Murphy, Emmett Jones 0-1 each, Jake Donelan Houlihan 0-1f.
Clonoulty Rossmore: Stephen Ferncombe (1-7, 0-6f), Michael Ryan 0-2, Ronan Heffernan, Donncha Quirke, Jack Ryan all 0-1 each.
Nenagh Éire Óg: Dermot McTiernan; Conor Hennessy, Mark Carey, Jake Donnellan-Houlihan; Paddy Murphy, Barry Heffernan, Sam O’Farrell; Conor Ryan, James Mackey; Ben West, Josh Keller, Filip McIntyre; Michael Heffernan, Jake Morris, Philip Hickey.
Subs: Tommy Heffernan for Morris (32); Billy O’Brien for McIntyre (39); Emmett Jones for M Heffernan (52); Sean Phelan for West (57).
Clonoulty Rossmore: Jason O’Dwyer; Danny Slattery, Robert Doyle, James Ryan (C); Ronan Heffernan, John O’Keeffe, Jamie Davern; Donncha Quirke, Jimmy Maher; Cathal Bourke, Stephen Ferncombe, Jack Ryan; Michael Ryan (W), Stephen Quinn, Thomas Butler.
Subs: Sean O’Connor for James Ryan (7); Nathan Slattery for Quirke (45); Philip Kelleher for Butler (55).
Referee: Conor Doyle (Silvermines)