Thurles Wholesale Cash and Carry Mid Tipperary Junior B Hurling Final
Moyne Templetuohy 1-19
Drom/Inch 2-21
By Mark Dunne PRO
A Drom/Inch goal with five minutes remaining saw them defeat Moyne Templetuohy to claim the Mid Tipperary Junior B Hurling Championship in glorious sunshine in Castleiney on Saturday evening last.
Despite an early scare at the back Moyne Templetuohy started the brightest and found themselves two points to no score in front thanks to the stick of Jack Taylor (free) and Damian Cantwell. Drom/Inch didn’t take long to settle, and Seamus Butler found himself in front of the Moyne goal only for Lee Tierney to pull off a wonderful save and force a 65, which was duly converted. Drom/Inch drew themselves level shortly after and then came a sucker punch for Moyne Templetuohy. A rasper shot from Liam Harty hit the crossbar and bounced downwards with the two umpires judging the ball had cross the line. 1-02 to 0-02. Moyne rallied with Jack Taylor scoring the next three frees unanswered to draw the team’s level once again. Both teams traded scores over the next few minutes with the pace of the game ever increasing. Mark Ryan added one from his left, when Damian Cantwell got the score of the half with a beauty over his shoulder to put Moyne Templetuohy a point up. Drom then levelled with a Michael Clohessy score. Moyne then scored the next five points unanswered and appeared to be finally hitting their form with scores from Jack Taylor, Damien Cantwell, Tom Egan and Brian Kelly sending Moyne 5 to the good with half time approaching. Drom however found two scores before the break to put only a goal between the sides at the break. 0-13 to 1-07
Moyne Templetuohy returned to the field looking to kick on. Jack Taylor pointed the first free of the half to extend their lead. Drom hit back however with the next four scores in quick concession. On a warm evening for hurling both defences worked hard with the quick ball at times causing difficulty for both teams. Jack Taylor added another to his account before Kieran Larkin pointed after a superb catch on the Drom 65. 0-16 to 1-11, game very much in the melting pot. Drom scored the next three to find themselves a point to the good before Sean Hayes pointed with a fine effort hugging the sideline. Moyne Templetuohy’s tails appeared to be up and on the next phase of play ran at the Drom defence causing a world of problems. Penalty! Up stepped Jack Taylor who saw his initial shot stooped by Paul Connors, but Joint Captain Tom Egan was first to react and buried the ball in the back of the Drom net. 1-17 to 1-14, 9 mins of normal time remaining. Drom responded themselves with a free of their own before Sean Hayes added another to put three points idir na foirne! Drom added the next two before Denis Kelly who was only on the field 30 seconds pointed. Then disaster, a Drom attack found Cathal Ryan who fired home Droms second goal to put them one point to the good, 1-19 to 2-17, 5 mins remaining. Drom however found their second wind and kicked on to score the next four points and seal Moyne Templetuohy’s faith. Final whistle, 1-19 to 2-21.
Moyne Templetuohy will be disappointed to lose this one. They played some superb hurling in both halves. The second goal for Drom unfortunately knocked us at a crucial stage of the contest. Good displays from Lee Tierney, Shane Lowe, Sean Hayes, Damian Cantwell and Jack Taylor was a positive with games in the Intermediate Championship remaining. Our thanks must go to the management team who left no stone unturned in their preparation for the game.
Team and scorers: Lee Tierney, James Maloney, David Lowe, Shane Lowe, Chris Lawlor, Sean Maloney, Niall Russell, Kieran Larkin (0-01), Sean Hayes (0-02), Mark Ryan (0-01), Jack Taylor (0-08 frees), Tomás Egan (1-01), Brian Kelly (0-01), Damien Cantwell (0-04) and Ben Ryan. Subs used: Dinny Kelly (0-01) for Ben Ryan, Paudie Gleeson for James Maloney, Louis Everard for Sean Maloney and Odhran Lloyd for Tom Egan.
Referee: John Dooley (Thurles Gaels)
