Thurles grind down Abbey CBS

Thurles CBS 0-14 Abbey CBS 0-9: It was not an afternoon for aesthetics as Thurles CBS ground out a five-point win over John Kiely’s Abbey CBS side in greasy conditions to book their place in the last eight of the Dr Harty Cup.

You had to admire the bravery of an Abbey CBS team who led this bruising battle by a point (0-5 to 0-4) with 27 minutes played, but Thurles CBS upped their level of performance considerably thereafter, outscored their opponents seven-one either side of the interval and led by a significant five (0-11 to 0-6) by the 37th minute. Abbey CBS tried valiantly to engineer a route back into this contest, but the Thurles lads had established a significant buffer and were good value for the win.

Riain Doody and Darragh Woods traded early placed balls before Nathan Murphy-Crowe cracked over a superb left-handed point following neat work by Kieran Breen to present Abbey CBS with the lead in the fifth minute. Woods responded with a brace (one free) for Thurles before Doody brought seven scoreless minutes to a close with another free.