County final day will be an all-Mid affair. Sarsfields chase a unique double facing Loughmore/Castleiney in the senior contest and Moyne/Templetuohy in the intermediate.
We enjoyed – and endured – contrasting semis. Templederry did manage to keep matters reasonably tight in the opening bout but Mullinahone were walloped by Loughmore in the second event.
Templederry were on a maiden voyage in the first of the semis and the lads from the North can be pleased with their efforts. In a championship that was often uninspiring they brought freshness to the scene, which is always welcome.
The North side might have got away to a galloping start when in the opening minute Adrian Ryan plucked one from over Mickey Cahill’s head and raced in only to see his shot well parried by Sarsfields’ goalie, Patrick McCormack. Had the net billowed there it would have been the start that neutrals craved.
Still the underdogs refused to be overawed by their highly rated opponents and were helped by a string of early wides from the ‘Blues’. In fact the game was about six minutes young when Denis Maher opened Sarsfields’ account and there was no immediate pull-away from their spirited opponents despite having a lively wind in their backs.
As the half wore on one sensed that Sarsfields were having the better of it but their problem this year has been at the attacking end where there’s rarely a cohesive threat. Corbett was on the bench and his replacement, ‘Redser’, was struggling so that once again it was left to Aidan McCormack to offer most potential.
By half time Sarsfields had slipped into a four point lead which was a very modest advantage given that wind. When Templederry broke sharply from the traps for the second half and Tom Stapleton landed an instant point the omens looked promising for the outsiders. et for all their gallant effort they simply didn’t have enough to upset the odds. Sarsfields defence has been outstanding this year so Adrian and Gearoid Ryan found it difficult this time to poach openings against the likes of Paudie and Ronan Maher especially.
As the half wore on Sarsfields’ greater class began to tell and eventually they stretched the lead into the comfort, seven-up zone. Yet, once more the ‘Blues’ failed to find a goal and in its absence they could never really ‘bury’ this contest.
Templederry refused to fold tent and were rewarded at the very end when a Gearoid Ryan shot seemed to take a deflection for the game’s only goal. It led to a nervous ending for the ‘Blues’ and the pity was that the score didn’t come earlier. Ultimately the more accomplished side got through by an unflattering four-point gap in a game that was always interesting.
The second contest (flattering term?) was a dismal flop and many of the attendance were on their way home long before the only genuine cheer of the game announced the unexpected return to action of Eddie Connolly. It was heart warming to see the return of a man whose illness struck at the corresponding fixture last year when Loughmore played Borrisoleigh.
Eddie’s arrival back to action came at a time when his club was home and hosed as they say in another sport. A seventeen point drubbing was painful viewing not just because the maths was so one-sided but the game at times had all the intensity of a casual puck-about.
Loughmore played against the wind in the first half but they got away from their opponents early and stayed in control throughout. Alan Walsh made a fine save to deny Liam McGrath early on but he couldn’t keep out a John McGrath effort shortly afterwards and the reigning champions had 1-4 on the board before Kevin Bolger hit an opener for the South champions.
Mullinahone weren’t helped by a string of bad wides in the first half, Eoin Kelly untypically the culprit on several of them. Loughmore were far slicker and more economical so that they were eight-up by the interval, goalie Walsh preventing even further damage by denying Cian Hennessy near half time.
In the second half the game deteriorated even further as Loughmore did as they wished. Evan Sweeney put in their second goal and a superb Noel McGrath pass from distance found Liam Treacy for the third. The Mid side was simply in a different league to Mullinahone who weren’t helped by the absence of one of the stars of the quarter-final, Micheal Dunne, though it was difficult to see anything materially affecting the outcome of this game. The replacement of goalie, Alan Walsh, in the second half left viewers mystified though I assume there was some background reason.
So, champions Loughmore are back in another final though they’ll have learned little from this game. The essential difference between this team and last year’s is the absence of John Meagher who must be one of the unluckiest players of all time. It has forced the recall of David Kennedy to number six after a spell at half forward last season.
Against that Liam Treacy is back after missing much of 2013 and he adds strength to centre forward. Otherwise the attack has a heavy McGrath emphasis with John back from injury and Noel always likely to orchestrate matters if allowed. Impressively they had a wide spread of scorers on Sunday with all six forwards getting in on the act as well as midfielder Tomas McGrath and half back, Aidan McGrath, who will punish any fouling with long-range frees.
From a Sarsfields’ perspective the challenge is to ignite a forward division that thus far has spluttered badly. Lar Corbett had one impressive day but then little influence in either quarter or semi-final. Pa Bourke too has been playing way below known ability though there was some evidence on Sunday of a return to better fare. Undeniably Aidan McCormack has been their most consistent score-getter with Denis Maher grafting hard on Sunday and the others producing just the odd cameo here and there. It’s a sector that has potential but thus far has failed to ignite.
Still Sarsfields will be favourites, as they have been since the beginning of the season. There’s a lot of quality in the side and if that attack can find more traction then they should justify the odds. However, Loughmore is the one club with the temperament to bother Sarsfields. The reigning champions have been unimpressive throughout much of the season but might just be finding their best now with perfect timing.
We need an uplifting final and this pairing might well deliver something memorable. Let’s hope so.
For Sarsfields it will be a special day as their intermediates face Moyne in a bid for a remarkable double. Sarsfields came through the back door in the Mid intermediate championship before having six points on Moyne/Templetuohy in the divisional final. This re-match offers Moyne a chance for revenge not to mention atonement for last year when they let victory slip against Ballina. It should be a lively opener at the Stadium.
Finally congratulations are due to the magnificent seven All Star winners from last weekend, not forgetting Cathal Barrett’s young player award. I’m not sure it offers any real consolation for losing the All Ireland final though these statuettes are still highly prized.
Inevitably the seven-six advantage we took on Kilkenny hasn’t gone down well Noreside with social media awash with griping. It happened in 2012 too, remember, when Galway had more All Stars than the ‘cats’ despite losing to them. Actually I think it sums up an important point about Kilkenny: their collective will to win is often more powerful than the sum of their individual parts – and All Stars are individual awards.
Still some people will continue to snipe. A friend from Cork regularly suggests that Kilkenny are so joyless they don’t even enjoy winning. Harsh surely, though recent comments from Cody and others has him chorusing ‘I told you so’.
By Jonathan Cullen Tue 28th Oct
