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.