Clonoulty and Sarsfields labour in vain

Clonoulty-Rossmore 0-17 Thurles Sarsfields 1-14

With 12 minutes to go, the scoreline read 1-9 to 0-11 in favour of Thurles Sarsfields, and it was dire stuff. Consider this; of the 11 Clonoulty-Rossmore points, 10 had been scored by wing-forward Tommy Hammersley, and eight of those were from placed balls. Of the Sars 1-9, free-taker Pa Bourke had 1-6, and again, 1-5 from dead balls.

Passionless, lifeless, bloodless, it appeared as though neither side had any great interest in reaching the county final. There were exceptions of course, on both sides, the likes of Liam and Michael Cahill in the Sars half-back line, Lar Corbett and young Bourke up front, while James and John Heffernan held the middle in the Clonoulty-Rossmore defence, Hammersley hammering away in the forwards, but this was training-field hurling, early season training-field at that — lethargic, desultory.

Finally, however, it began to happen, and the final minutes brought redemption of sorts. Almost a score a minute, good scores, and most of those from play, where heretofore we had been mired in mediocrity.

Clonoulty-Rossmore managed to add six points, against five from Thurles Sarsfields, which means they get to do it all again next weekend, at a time and venue yet to be decided.

Thurles had the first score, a long pointed free from Pa Bourke after three minutes. Hammersley hit an almost instant reply. Midfielder Shane Ryan was next on the board for Sars, Hammersley again with an answer (he scored all Clonoulty’s six first-half points), before Bourke edged Thurles ahead with a fine point from wide left. Then began the sterility — 17 minutes without a score. To a few derisory cheers, Bourke ended that sequence with a free from dead centre, 55m out, in the 23rd minute, to nudge Thurles two points in front, but already this game was gasping for oxygen.

Over the next five minutes Clonoulty managed to score a couple of points, per Hammersley of course, to restore parity, before, in the 30th minute, we had the game’s only major. A free for Sars after a foul on Jim Corbett, was hit with extraordinary venom from about 13m (a long lift/carry) by Bourke, putting Thurles in the driving-seat, 1-4 to 0-4. Clonoulty did come back, two more Hammersley points, to yet another from Bourke leaving them just two behind at the break, 1-5 to 0-6.

The second half started off with another slow procession of points, five for Clonoulty, four for Sars, which brought us to that 1-9 to 0-11 scoreline, 12 minutes left on the clock. Then came that redemption, some real hurling. Started with a fine Clonoulty point from John O’Neill, his second of the game, answered within a minute by Thurles wing-forward Wayne Cully (instantly replaced, for his trouble!), before O’Neill again was on target. 1-10 to 0-13, the game had picked up, the crowd got involved, but when Thurles raced into a three-point lead (sub Richie Ruth with his first touch, Bourke with a brace) with four minutes remaining, it looked curtains for Clonoulty. They didn’t panic, however, and suddenly Hammersley was getting assistance on the scoreboard from a number of sources. A pointed free from himself, then a point from full-forward Aidan Butler, a super effort from wing-back John Devane and it was all square again, 1-13 to 0-16.

When Sars again hit the front in the 60th minute, we had almost come to expect the immediate reply from Clonoulty, this time from giant centre-forward Thomas Butler. Lar Corbett did have two late half-chances for Sars from but both faded wide. Good finish, pity about the rest.

Scorers for Clonoulty-Rossmore: T. Hammersley 0-11 (0-7 frees 0-2 65’s); John O’Neill 0-3; J. Devane, Thomas Butler, A. Butler, 0-1 each.

Thurles Sarsfields: P. Bourke 1-8 (1-6 frees); S. Ryan 0-2; L. Corbett 0-2; W. Cully, R. Ruth, 0-1 each.

CLONOULTY-ROSSMORE: D. O’Dwyer; Joey O’Keeffe, J. Heffernan (c), K. Horan; John O’Keeffe, J. Heffernan (c), J. Devane; C. Ryan, Tom Butler; J. Forrestal, T. Hammersley, Thomas Butler; F. O’Keeffe, A. Butler, J. O’Neill.

Subs: P. White (Forrestal 35); L. Devane (Ryan 55).

THURLES SARS: P. McCormack; M. Collins, P. Maher, K. O’Gorman; T. King, L. Cahill, M. Cahill; S. Lillis (c), S. Ryan; J. Corbett, G. O’Grady, W. Cully; T. Ruth, L. Corbett, P. Bourke. Subs: G. Mernagh (O’Gorman inj. 11); J. Lawlor (King 44); R. Ruth (Cully 50); D. O’Dwyer (Corbett 55); J. Enright (T. Ruth 58).

Referee: J. McDonnell (Roscrea).