Thurles weather Dubs’ storm

Thurles CBS 0-12 Dublin Colleges 0-10

The victory sets up a repeat of the Dr Harty Cup final against DLS Waterford and how the Tipperary school will relish the opportunity for another crack at the champions on Saturday, April 12 in Portlaoise.

Thurles can thank their defence for this success. Few gave them a chance when they turned into a near gale force wind with a three-point advantage (0-6 to 0-3). However they defended magnificently in the face of the enormous pressure the Dubliners applied in that thrilling second half and were deserving winners.

It was left to school Principal Martin Quirke to comment on the victory (the team officials refused to be interviewed after the game).

“I’m delighted at the victory, and that we’ve made it to the final, where we get another chance against DLS. The Harty defeat was very difficult to take, not because we lost, but because we didn’t perform on the day. We have a good team and today they redeemed themselves.

“It wasn’t looking good for us at half time with just a three-point lead and having to face into the wind, but I’m delighted with our second-half performance. Our defence was superb in the face of the enormous pressure Dublin applied. From one to seven, they were magnificent.

“The forwards also deserve credit: there was a very limited supply of ball going in, in the second half, but they made every chance count.

“Our backs have been great all season but today our forwards really dug in when the need was greatest.”

Dublin Colleges won the toss but opted to play against the wind. It looked the correct decision as both defences gave nothing away and at the end of the opening quarter, Thurles could only manage a 0-3 to 0-0 lead.

Daire Ó Maoleidigh, Rory O’Carroll and Dean Curran held the upper hand against the Thurles full-forward line and with Niall McMorrow and substitute Liam Rushe posing a lot of problems up front, an 0-6 to 0-3 half-time lead didn’t look to be good enough for the Tipperary boys.

Dublin mentor Vincent Teehan refused to accept that his side took the wrong option in playing against the elements in the first half.

“We’ve always played that way when we won the toss, and weren’t going to change it on this occasion We felt our defence was good enough to hold their forwards while playing against the wind and in fairness, we were only three points behind at the break and that was not insurmountable.

“Clearly, Thurles had learned a lot from their Harty Cup defeat. They pulled a man back in the second half, which crowded midfield and that didn’t allow us to pick off long-range points, something we are very good at.

“It’s very disappointing to get this far and lose. We’ve put in a huge effort but on the day the better team won and we can have no complaints.”

Thurles brought full forward Kieran Morris out as a third midfielder for the second half and the ploy worked well. However Dublin introduced Conor Clinton and Kevin O’Loughlin to great effect also. With his first and second touches Clinton landed two points and it begged the question why he wasn’t on from the start? Only superb defending by Stephen Maher, James Barry and Kevin O’Gorman kept the Thurles goal intact as the Dubs came forward in waves.

O’Loughlin showed his class when he cut a line ball over the bar only to be ordered to take it again — he repeated the feat to throw the issue wide open.

However Thurles made their odd attacks count and only a wonderful save by their ‘keeper Finn McGarry at the expense of a point denied Ciaran Shelley a goal.

Back came the Dubs and as the tension mounted, they rifled over three points in a row, to leave the minimum between the sides with five minutes of normal time left.

Credit to the Thurles defence, they held firm, to set up a mouthwatering final against the champions DLS Waterford.

Scorers for Thurles CBS: D. Butler 0-5 (0-2 frees); R. Ryan, C. Shelley 0-2 each; J. O’Neill, C,. Ryan, M. Russell, 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dublin Colleges: N. McMorrow 0-5 (0-1 free); K. O’Loughlin (0-1 line cut), C. Clinton 0-2 each; L. Rushe 0-1.

THURLES CBS: B. McCormack; S. Maher, K. O’Gorman, P. Ryan; M. Doyle, J. Barry, D. Maher; R. Ryan, P. O’Brien; C. Ryan, M. Russell, C. Shelley; D. Butler, K. Morris, J. O’Neill.

Sub: P. Looby for C. Ryan.

DUBLIN COLLEGES: F. McGarry; D. O Maoleidigh, R. O’Carroll, D. Curran; R. O’Loughlin, C. O’Farrell, M. Quilty; R. Walsh, J. O’Callaghan; N. O Muineachain, P. Buckeridge, D. Treacy; C. Gough, A. McEnerney, N. McMorrow.

Subs: L. Rushe for O’Callaghan; C. Clinton for McEnerney; D. Plunkett for O Muinechain; K. O’Loughlin for Buckeridge.

Referee: J. Owens (Wexford).