FBD Insurance County 19B Hurling Championship Semi Final
Cappawhite Gaels 1.15 (18)
Upperchurch Drombane 0.17 (17)
John O’Shea at Holycross.
Cappawhite Gaels are through to the Final of the FBD Under 19B Hurling championship having secured a dramatic win, five minutes into injury time, at a windy but dry Holycross on Saturday afternoon.
Four minutes into injury time the Cappawhite Sologhead combination were awarded a free out from their own forty-five-meter line, but the free was subsequently cancelled by referee Tadgh Lonergan, when a Cappa mentor introduced a fresh ball. Following the throw in, Daire Duggan gained possession and was hauled down. James Quinlan showed all his coolness and nerve as he put over the resulting free, his twelfth in all, with the second last puck of the game.
Overall, Upperchurch will wonder how the lost this game as they were on top for long periods, but were never able to pull away. The game was probably won and lost in the ten-minute period prior to half time, when they were outscored by 1.3 to 0.1, while aided by the strong wind. A goal from Tristan Stokes on thirty-one minutes giving the West champions a one-point advantage at the break, 1.7 to 0.9.
Throughout this game, the hurling was mediocre enough, with a total of twenty points coming from placed balls. Upperchurch had the better of the close encounters, winning most of the rucks and skirmishes, won the midfield battles but were unable to get past the Cappa full line for a much-needed goal. In the end it was the goal from Tristan Stokes on the stroke of half time that decided the outcome.
Upperchurch attacked the road end from the off with Neil Clancy denying them a goal after ninety seconds. James Quinlan got the scoreboard ticking over thirty seconds later when he hit the first of his twelve points from a placed ball at the far end. James Griffin equalised with a point from out at the railway side and Pat Ryan eased the Church in front for the first time, on four minutes. With play flowing from end to end the sides were level for the third time at 0.3 each, with only seven minutes gone.
Upperchurch upped their game and hit four points without replay in the next four minutes, with two from Pat Ryan and one each from Paddy Phelan and Sean Ryan. Sam Carmody broke the sequence with a well taken point under pressure, but Cappa were unable to follow up, mainly through the tight marking of the Church defence, where Mikey Griffin, James Griffin and Luke Shanahan were particularly impressive.
Cappa bounced back in the closing ten minutes before the break following a Pat Ryan free which gave the Church a deserved four-point lead. Sean Cleary put over from out on the wing before two converted placed balls from Quinlan cut the deficit to the minimum, with two minutes of normal time remaining. Pat Ryan doubled this advantage before Tristan Stokes got in for the only goal of the game, having turned his marker, before crashing to the roof of the Upperchurch net. Half time score; Cappawhite Gaels 1.7, Upperchurch Drombane 0.9.
The combo started the second half with James Quinlan converting three frees in the opening seven minutes as they raced into a three-point advantage. Gradually, the Mid champions came back into the game with points from Pat Ryan and Jim O’Dwyer, with a Pat Ryan free bringing the sides level
for the fourth time in the game by the eighteenth minute. An injury to Tommy Costello resulted in a stoppage of around three and a half minutes. Both sides were finding scores hard to come-by, but points from Jim O’Dwyer and Paddy Phelan eased the Church back in front with three minutes of normal time remaining. Quinlan and Pat Ryan exchanged points as the game entered injury time, with Upperchurch hanging on to a two-point advantage. A late flurry from the combo yielded two points, the first from a Quinlan free and the equaliser from Cian O’Carroll from out under the stand.
With the sides deadlocked deep into injury time, extra time looked on the cards until the late drama unfolded. James Quinlan stood over a free, forty-eight meters from his own goal as the clock headed towards sixty-five minutes. The ace marksman held his composure and nerve to send this long-range effort between the posts thus securing victory and a place in the final where Borrisoleigh will provide the opposition.
Scorers & Teams:
Cappawhite Gaels: Neil Clancy, Tommy Costello, Ben White, Conor Gantley, Michael English, Cian O’Carroll, Daire Duggan (Captain), Stephen Dee (Solohead), James Quinlan, Mikey Carmody, Tommy O’Mahony (Solohead), Sean Cleary, Tristan Stokes (Solohead), Sam Carmody, Mark Treacy.
Sub used: Brian G. Buckley for Mark Treacy (42 mins)
James Quinlan (0.12, frees), Tristan Stokes (1.0), Cian O’Carroll (0.1), Sean Cleary (0.1), Sam Carmody (0.1)
Upperchurch Drombane: Padraig Griffin, Billy Yeats, Mikey Griffin, Joe Bourke, Oisin Treacy, Luke Shanahan, James Griffin, Paddy Phelan, Pat Ryan, Jim O’Dwyer, Tom Purcell (Captain), Sean Shanahan, Sean Ryan, Tom Ryan, Eoin Noonan
Subs used: Dylan Casey for Tom Ryan (28 mins), Jack Meehan for Eoin Noonan (H.T.), David Ryan for Dylan Casey (55 mins)
Pat Ryan (0.10, 8 frees), Paddy Phelan (0.2), Jim O’Dwyer (0.2), Sean Ryan (0.2), James Griffin (0.1)
Referee: Tadgh Lonergan (Kilsheelan Kilcash)
Tom Purcell, Tadgh Lonergan & Daire Duggan (Photo by John O’ Shea).
