Thurles Sarsfields and Kiladangan go again in Tipperary final replay

GO AGAIN: Thurles Sarsfields and Kiladangan do it all again in the Tipperary SHC final replay. Pic: ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

A third consecutive Tipperary SHC final replay presents two teams with scar tissue to heal.

Thurles Sarsfields and Kiladangan were each involved in one of those drawn finals before losing the second day out; Thurles to Loughmore-Castleiney in 2021 and Kiladangan to Kilruane MacDonaghs this weekend last year.

Having revved themselves up to fever pitch for county-final day, how do they navigate the two-week turnaround into a replay?

Liam O’Kelly was in that position last year as Kilruane manager but with just one week to reassess and without any textbook to reference.

“The challenges were the unknown. It was our first year there in 36 years,” says O’Kelly.

“Fortunately enough, I had breakfast organised in a café in Cloughjordan. They were very good to us all year and win, lose, or draw, we were getting a free breakfast. That brought all the guys together on Monday morning.

“We were very fortunate to have a very good group of senior players who understood what was required in Niall O’Meara, Seamus Hennessy, and Jack Peters.

“I remember buying four or five Examiners, the Independent, threw them on a table, and we all sat down and had breakfast together.” 

They were already tucking into the video analysis behind the scenes. Not reworking their approach but fine-tuning.

Who didn’t get to the pitch of the game? How could they manufacture an improvement? Where were Kiladangan dominant? How could they nullify those areas?

They made one tactical switch, restoring midfielder Conor Austin to the starting team. O’Kelly bumped into him at the club gym that Monday evening and explained his rationale. Austin was outstanding in the replay.

They used a recovery facility in Nenagh while training on Tuesday and Friday was focused on sharpening their touch and reinforcing their mindset.

“We were five points down in the replay at half-time but played our best hurling all year in that second half. Our lads were fresh.

“We were big into the recovery and that’s where these games can be won and lost.

“I don’t think we would have been able to do anything more, the week was perfect for us.” 

Thurles and Kiladangan have had a fortnight to work with but the challenge was doubled for Sars manager Pádraic Maher. The same backroom team looks after their premier intermediate hurlers, who drew with Lorrha-Dorrha the day before the senior final. They lost that replay last Saturday. Eight of the team will populate their bench this weekend.

In the past two years, the side that scored the leveller has won the replay. That omen favours Kiladangan.

But similar logic can be interpreted in different ways. O’Kelly was chatting to Jack Peters this week and while their thought processes were the same, they diverged on which side would benefit more from the two-week break.

“I thought the two-week break would be more of a help to Thurles,” said O’Kelly.

“Kiladangan probably would’ve preferred to get that game on last weekend given where they came from with a replay last year and going back into a replay situation. It all depends on how they handle it.” 

O’Kelly watched the drawn final on a laptop in Paris, where he was attending Ireland’s World Cup games against Scotland and New Zealand. He reaches for a rugby comparison to contextualise Kiladangan’s five finals in eight years.

“That record is extraordinary for a club like Kiladangan. It’s phenomenal really. A little bit like Leinster Rugby, they can get to the top but just can’t get over the winning line. If they don’t win this one, psychologically there’ll be a lot of soul-searching.

“Kiladangan will probably feel a few of their big players just didn’t turn up last week and if they can transform that into a display this Sunday, it might give them the edge but you can take nothing away from Thurles.” 

What the draw did achieve was extending Kilruane’s reign as champions by another fortnight. The team will gather on Saturday evening to celebrate the christening of Niall O’Meara’s son Mikey but have no doubt, the one-year anniversary will be marked and the match replayed all over again.