Big games from big players key for Thurles
I want people to understand that I’m not criticising Páirc Uí Chaoimh — actually the pitch was in great shape despite all the rain. But if neither team yesterday would agree to toss for home advantage, and I’m told this was the case, then the Munster Council should have chosen a suitable venue that was much more central to both sets of supporters.
I’m sure a lot of people from other clubs in both Tipperary and Waterford would also like to have gone to this game but I know many decided it was too far away, settled for watching it on television instead.
Anyway, that’s my crib, and it’s the only crib I have after this magnificent game. It was the best Munster club hurling final I can remember, good manly hurling, great scores, great contest.
Of course it would have been even better if it had been 15 against 15 for the full hour and I would safely say that everyone in the stadium — including even some of the Thurles Sars players I was speaking to afterwards — felt John Keane’s red card towards the end of the first-half was very harsh. It had a huge impact on De La Salle and hurt them badly especially — towards the end.
I don’t want to be over-critical, Shane Hourigan is a good young referee, but while technically he may have been correct, a yellow card would surely have been punishment enough.
You’d have to say though the better team (even if only marginally so) won on the day. You’d have to say also that Thurles Sarsfields are now worthy Munster champions. They’ve beaten Kilmallock (away) in dog-fight, Cork’s Sarsfields at home in a shootout and now they have ended De La Salle’s proud three-season unbeaten record in Munster.
That they now have to beat the best of Leinster to reach an All-Ireland final while St Thomas of Galway and Loughgiel Shamrocks have such an easy passage to the same stage is wrong.
That Thurles Sars won yesterday is down to the fact that once again they got big games from their big players. Pa Bourke, Padraic Maher in the second half, Lar Corbett with the best game I’ve seen him play for Sars, Michael Cahill doing a fantastic man-marking job on John Mullane... were again very prominent. The backup those fellas got from goalkeeper Patrick McCormack, Stephen and David Maher, Aidan McCormack and above all, my man-of-the-match Denis Maher made the difference. The two subs; Richie Ruth and Redser O’Grady, especially, also did very well.
Kudos also to Seamus Quinn and his management team, they had the players perfectly primed.
To De La Salle, and you had to feel sorry for them. Twice before they’ve won Munster, this was their third final, and I would say it was as good a performance as they’ve put on in any of those three seasons. Down a man for all of the second-half in a fast-paced game in energy-sapping conditions, they still carried the fight to Thurles but tiredness caught them in the end.
Everyone loves a battler and I was delighted to see the Thurles Sars supporters wait out on the pitch and applaud the De La Salle players down the tunnel afterwards.
The game was lost for De La Salle when John Keane, who had been playing very well, went off and there was no doubt about that. But their cause wasn’t helped by the below par performances of a few of their forwards. They were in control in midfield where Eddie Barrett was outstanding and got a plentiful ball supply. Jake Dillon was outstanding, as was Paudie Nevin, but they needed more up front. A few others worthy of mention — Eoin Madigan, Bull Phelan, Stephen Daniels, Dean Twomey; Kevin Moran too played well but I wonder, was he fully fit?
Finally, you had to really appreciate the efforts of two outstanding teams. I gave out about the trip to Cork but I’d say no-one who was there was complaining afterwards. A fitting end to a great Munster championship and worthy champions.
