South Tipp SH Championship
Killenaule reach the Final
Killenaule 2-19 Carrick Swan 1-18
The large crowd which was still around in Monroe on Sat. evening after the second of the two third round “round robin” games was ample testimony of how the public felt at the end of what had been a good week for Tipperary hurling. The two games in Monroe were virtual South Tipp semi finals. The end results gave us a South final for 2016 of Mullinahone C J Kickhams v Killenaule. Both games were won narrowly. Mullinahone edged out Ballingarry by two points while Killenaule had four points to spare over Carrick Swan. The large crowd had come along anxious to see a number of Tipperary’s current heroes who were on view. Our minor team was represented by Eoin Barry (K), Killian O’Dwyer (K) and Dylan Walsh (B). The under 21s were represented by Jack Shelly (M) while the county seniors on view were Killenaule’s Kieran Bergin and John O’Dwyer and Mullinahone’s Sean Curran. However Sat. evening was not about county hurlers but rather about what clubs would produce a pairing for the 2016 South Tipp SH final. Perhaps Mullinahone and Killenaule were the favourites before play started and in the end they both justified their rating but only just.
The second game in Monroe saw Killenaule burst out of the traps like good greyhounds. Billy Barrett found the net inside a minute. Kieran Bergin pointed before another minute had passed. In the third minute Eric O’Halloran pointed for Swan and in six minutes Kieran Bergin added a point to put Killenaule four points clear. Then the tempo stilled for a while. Danny O’Hanlon (CS) and Thomas Keaveney (K) exchanged points. Gavin O’Halloran pointed for Swan before “Bubbles” O’Dwyer blasted a close in free to the Swan net in 13 minutes. This was a major setback to Swan, but they hit back with two points in the 14th and 17th minutes. Killenaule responded with three points in a row in the 17th, 18th and 19th minutes from Keaveney (one) and Niall O’Dwyer (two). Stephen Hahessy and “Bubbles” exchanged points. Swan hung in with points from Stephen Hahessy and Danny O’Hanlon cutting the gap to five points. The next five minutes were scoreless, but in the run in to half time Killenaule pointed three times while Swan replied twice. Half time score Killenaule 2-10, Carrick Swan 0-10. All during the second quarter, their two goals had kept Killenaule about six points clear as they matched Swan’s comeback attempts point for point.
The third quarter followed much the same pattern as Swan upped the tempo somewhat and Killenaule responded. After 15 minutes the score stood Killenaule 2-16 Swan 0-17. Killenaule’s points had been shared out between Eoin Barry, Bubbles O’Dwyer, Michael Doyle and Daniel Guinan while Danny O’Hanlon frees especially were the principal scores for Swan. Others to chip in were Aaron Dunne and Colin Loughman. O’Hanlon’s point in 45 minutes came from a 65. Swan now began to gain some control of the game. In 16 minutes Aaron Dunne pointed to give us a four point game, but two Killenaule points in the 18th and 20th minutes increased the gap to six.
In the 21st minute Swan won a free when a forward going through was brought down. The culprit was lucky to stay on the field, but the free was moved forward for dissent. Danny O’Hanlon emulated “Bubbles” and goaled to bring the margin back to three points. This was a game that Swan had to win to reach the final. They pressed forward, but couldn’t notch another score in spite of near misses. In that last ten minutes nearly all of the attacking was done by Swan and three or four good clearances out of Killenaule’s defence came from a roving John O’Dwyer. On 25 minutes O’Dwyer popped up to point yet another free and give Killenaule a safer four point lead. This lead remained until referee Keith Delahunty brought the game to an end with Killenaule just about containing the final onslaught by Swan.
Had Swan upped the tempo of the game earlier in the second half, the final result could have been different. This was a more open game than the previous one. For Killenaule in addition to their county players Tony Doyle, Thomas Keaveney and Niall O’Dwyer played well while Swan’s best were Danny O’Hanlon, Stephen Hahessy, Colin Loughman and Aaron Dunne. Final score Killenaule 2-19, Carrick Swan 1-18.
Killenaule Jonathan Gleeson, Eoin O’Connell, Declan Fanning, Killian O’Dwyer, Stephen Hannigan, Tony Doyle, Joe O’Dwyer, Thomas Keaveney, Kieran Bergin, Billy Barrett, Niall O’Dwyer, John O’Dwyer, Michael Doyle, Daniel Guinan, Eoin Barry.
Carrick Swan: Tom Kennedy, Gerry Walsh, Alan O’Sulllivan, Darren Fahey, Gavin O’Halloran, Colin Loughman, Dale O’Hanlon, Stephen Hahessy, Martin Russell, Eric O’Halloran, Danny O’Hanlon, Dean Waters, Damian McCarthy, Lee Wall, Aaron Dunne
Referee: Keith Delahunty (Moyle Rovers)
Report supplied by Ricky Sheehan
