Toome raiders rise to the challenge

Toomevara 2-13 Na Piarsaigh 0-13

It was enough ultimately to see the Tipperary champions through to their fourth final in nine attempts in the past 11 years.

Looking much the sharper outfit, Na Piarsaigh led at the break by four points, 0-11 to 0-7; newcomer Ger Shaw, late replacement for Aisake Ó hAilpin, was the star with a personal haul of seven points.

It was a much different Toomevara side, however, that took the field for the second half, the major difference being in attitude. Where beforehand they had looked leaden-footed, dead, prepared to allow the Cork champions dictate the pace of the game, they began to use their superior size, strength and above all, their experience.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the performance of wing-back Terry Dunne. The aforementioned Shaw had been leading Terry a merry dance in the first half, but the tune changed comprehensively.

An early shoulder challenge (but late, after the ball had been cleared) had Shaw sent over the sideline in the build-up to Toomevara's first second-half score and signalled the change of attitude. From there Terry never looked back. His repeated towering clearances had the Na Piarsaigh inside defence in all sorts of difficulty.

With Eoin Brislane a tower of strength at midfield, Kenny Dunne and Willie Ryan doing the goal-scoring inside, that half-time four-point deficit became a five-point lead within 12 minutes of the restart and was extended to a worthy two-goal win by the end.

The first half gave little indication of what was to follow.

Na Piarsaigh played hurling of the very highest quality. Their half-back line of Séan Og Ó hAilpin - shifted to the right wing to mark Tommy Dunne - David and John Gardiner, were completely on top and midfielders Mark Prendergast and Ronan McGregor supplied quality ball inside. The Toomevara defence was forced to concede a succession of frees, pointed unerringly by Shaw.

For a 10-minute spell midway through the half, Brislane and Padraig Hackett did get on top at midfield for Toomevara, who made it 0-7 apiece in the 23rd minute, but the rest of the half belonged to Na Piarsaigh.

Second half was when the loss of the towering Ó hAilpin brothers began to tell. With Toomevara finally beginning to assert themselves, the smaller and lighter Piarsaigh forwards were being brushed aside, and the powerful Brislane dominated midfield. Two points from Shaw frees was all Na Piarsaigh could manage in the second half.

A sign of Na Piarsaigh's desperation was that in trying to break Toomevara's physical dominance, Séan Óg was shifted on to Brislane at midfield and John Gardiner finished the game at full-forward.

"Eoin Brislane was killing us with his physicality alone, we thought Séan Óg would be able to match him," Piarsaigh coach Joe O'Leary said.

"Looking for where the scores might come from, John played full-forward for us against Bride Rovers in the first round in Cork, scored five points, made a goal, won a few frees.

"We thought we'd give him 10 minutes there, but everything we tried went wrong. Séan Óg got split, Colin O'Sullivan got split (accidentally, in both cases).

"On the day we needed everything to go with us but they didn't, the breaks seemed to be going against us."

The biggest problem for Na Piarsaigh was at the back, where the full-back line failed dismally to deal with the high ball, and it was from two such centres, the first from Brislane in the 33rd minute and the second from Terry Dunne five minutes later, they conceded two decisive goals. A decisive win then for Toomevara and a fine team performance from front to back.

Their defence, anchored by veteran Tony Delaney at full-back and Benny Dunne outside was rock solid. The two Stephen O'Sullivans, heroes in Cork last week, were held to just one point between them.

Brislane was man-of-the-match at midfield, well supported by Hackett, while every one of the six starting forwards scored from play. It should be a good match for Mount Sion, another team on a mission, in the Munster final in two weeks.

Scorers: Toomevara: K Dunne 1-4 (0-4 frees); W Ryan 1-0; Tommy Dunne 0-3 (0-1 free, 0-1 65); M Bevans 0-2; P O'Brien 0-2; E Brislane, F Devanney, 0-1 each. Na Piarsaigh: G Shaw 0-9 (0-7 frees); J Gardiner 0-2; S P O'Sullivan, C Connery, 0-1 each.

TOOMEVARA: J Cottrell; J Boland, T Delaney, P. Shanahan; Terry Dunne, B Dunne, D Young; P Hackett, E Brislane; K Dunne, F Devanney, Tommy Dunne; M Bevans, P O'Brien (c), W Ryan. Subs: J O'Brien (Ryan inj. 38); D Kelly (J O'Brien 60).

NA PIARSAIGH: M O'Sullivan; D Mannix, R O'Byrne, D Murphy; Séan Og Ó hAilpin, D Gardiner, J Gardiner; R McGregor, M Prendergast (c); C O'Sullivan, S R O'Sullivan, G Shaw; S P O'Sullivan,C Connery, C O'Mahony. Subs: R Healy S R O'Sullivan (56); S Guiheen (Connery 59). Blood subs: D Walsh (C O'Sullivan 49/53); S Guiheen (Ó hAilpin 50/58).

Referee: P Moore (Waterford) did a good job.

Att: 4,650.