1999 County U21A Hurling Final
Watch the 1999 County U21A Hurling Final
PREVIEW – EXTRACT FROM CULBAIRES COLUMN
West v. South in promising under-21 final
The hurlers are welcome back. Sundays have been pretty shapeless without them, leaving us looking at the sky rather than the green grass of home venues. The under-21’s of Cappwhite and Burgess restarted things in brisk fashion at The Ragg. The eventual result, seven up to ‘Cappa,’ would not have been the general forecast at the interval when the West boys five points hardly looked secure considering the breeze to the road goals had favoured them. But they turned things about in emphatic style with a gem of a goal by O’ Neill the heaviest blow of the hour.
Next Sunday we move to HQ at the stadium for a final that holds strong prospects of a hard contest with Mullinahone.
Deciders in this grade between West and South clubs haven’t been too frequent. Indeed, I was surprised to find that there had been as many as three. And, coincidentally enough, both Cappawhite and Mullinahone have a county title on their ‘CV’. Cappa won in 1965 against Carrick – oddly enough the book doesn’t mention either Swans or Davins, thought it was hardly a union of that pair – while Mullinahone, in John Leahy’s youth, won out over Clonoulty – Rossmore – Declan Ryan and company – in 1989. The one in between was in 1972 with the Swans defeating Clonoulty-Rossmore whose luck has been uniformly poor at that stage of the championship.
It is not easy to name a definite favourite for next Sunday. The South team showed plenty of drive and stern hurling in those matches with Drom-Inch at Littleton. Paul Curran at centre-back and the two Kellys have been leading lights and Carey has been lively too. They’ve been waiting a long time but so were Cappawhite before their semi-final and will have timed re-entry into serious training after the Christmas New Year lull. The West lads’ stamina is not in question after the way they finished in that last quarter at The Ragg.
So, we’re in for a right good one and will be glad of the shelter if the weather turns sour. One wonders which chairman will have the cup-presenting function, new officer Con Hogan or the holder of the technically relevant year, Paul O’ Neill! Will it go according to whose division wins? The victorious captain will happily take it from either. Cappawhite now have the incentive of gaining a second under-21 title to add to the biggest one of all, the senior of 1987.
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1999 County U21A Hurling Final
Played on 06/02/2000
CAPPAWHITE SURVIVE GREAT MULLINAHONE RALLY
Cappawhite 2-12
Mullinahone 2-11
By Michael Dundon
After all the delay, it was worth waiting for. Cappawhite and Mullinahone defied the wind and rain to produce a smashing Tipperary under-21 A hurling final (1999) at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Sunday last which for excitement, honest endeavour and a nail-biting finish would be hard to beat.
Admittedly, there wasn’t quality hurling but who would expect it on this blustery, showery day. However, with both sides giving everything in a very sporting encounter, and a marvellous Mullinahone comeback falling just short of its target, none of the fair-sized attendance could go home saying they did not get value for money.
In the final analysis, Cappawhite got the breaks when it mattered. Their first goal, in injury time, was crucial, as it opened a 1-11 to 0-4 lead for them and certainly set them up for the second half. It also prompted them to switch Eugene O’ Neill from attack to act as a sweeper behind the halfbacks in the second half and he gave great relief to his hard-pressed defensive colleagues in that role.
They also got their second goal at the right time. Seven minutes into the second half a Eugene O’ Neill free fell short of the Mullinahone goal but Finbar O’ Neill whipped the ball to the net to give his side a 2-11 to 0-5 advantage.
Against such odds Mullinahone’s chances were slim indeed but this side, inspired by Paul and Eoin Kelly, rose magnificently to the challenge snd for the remainder of the game threw caution to the wind as they set about redeeming their impossible situation. Three points in three minutes (7th and 10th) initiated the rally with Paul Kelly, Eoin Kelly and Eddie Kelly the scorers. Paul Kelly added another in the 13th minute and three minutes later Eoin Kelly lashed a thirty-yard free to the net.
Now there was only five points in it, with fourteen minutes to play and the game had taken a different complexion entirely. Paul Kelly pointed a 65 and Mullinahone were in full flight, but Cappa showed their mettle as they responded with a heroic rearguard action that kept their rivals scoreless for the next seven minutes. They got relief as Eugene O’ Neill pointed a free in the 25th minute but the Mullinahone was relentless.
Cappa stood their ground. Paul Kelly pointed in the 30th minute to leave four points in it and a minute into injury time, Eoin Kelly burst across the goal from the left to fire home a goal.
It was nerve-wrecking stuff for Cappa who saw Eddie Carey send in a worthy effort which tailed wide at the last minute. That was Mullinahone’s chance and Cappawhite were champions, bringing the trophy back to the village for the third time.
Cappawhite will point to the closing ten minutes of the first half as the period which won this title for them. They hit a purple patchthen, turning an uncertain opening spell during which they shared eight points with Mullinahone, into a substantial ten-point lead.
Eugene O’ Neill was the architect of their victory, his accuracy from play and frees being the deciding factor in their favour. He also made a huge contribution in the second half when operating as an extra defender against the breeze.
But this was no one-man show from Cappawhite. They had many heroes. Fullback Shane McDermott was a tower of strength while Thomas Costello closed off the middle. Richard Barry was always alert in goal and made a few vital stops. Further upfield, Sean Ryan turned in another very solid performance at midfield and Paddy Julian can also be pleased with his day’s work. John Ryan notched two valuable scores and always looked dangerous.
It was an important win for Cappawhite which augers better days ahead for them at senior level as they set to break the grip of Knockavilla Kickhams and Clonoulty Rossmore in West Tipperary.
One had to admire the courage of Mullinahone. Lesser teams would have bowed out gracefully as the day went against them but the South champions never capitulated and one felt if they had a little more time, they would have forced a replay. They suffered by being inactive since before Christmas, where Cappa had a replay with Burgess a week before the final to sharpen them.
That said, Mullinahone had the chances to notch additional scores but one could not be too critical of marksmen in the very difficult conditions that prevailed.
Mullinahone’s Eoin Kelly had a capital game in attack for the South champions while his brother Paul, operating much further outfield than expected was also a key figure for them. His long deliveries from halfback and midfield in the second half kept the pressure on Cappawhite. Frank O’ Meara, Niall Curran, Eddie Carey, James Maher and Paul Cahill were others to shine for Mullinahone, whose future in senior ranks also seems very bright for years to come.
Cappawhite:
R. Barry, W. O’Neill, S. McDermott, G. Furlong, P. Fahey, T. Costello, S. Grisewood, S. Ryan 0-1, N. Riall, E. O’ Neill 0-9, J. McCarthy, J.P Bourke, J. Ryan (P) 0-2, P. Julian, J. Coyle 1-0.
Subs:
F. O’ Neill 1-0 for Bourke, R. Fitzgerald for Coyle.
Mullinahone:
E. O’ Meara, F. O’ Meara, N. Curran, D. Hackett, P. Cahill, P. Curran, E. O’ Brien, J. Maher 0-1, E. Carey 0-1, E. Kelly 2-5, M. Luttrell, V. Doheny, J. Luttrell, D. Maher, P. Kelly 0-4.
Subs: G. Collins for J. Luttrell.
Referee: D. Curtis (Kickhams-Raheally).
Newly elected chairman of Co.Tipperary GAA Board, Con Hogan, presents Corn Ui Dubháin to Thomas Costello, captain of the Cappawhite panel that won the county under-21 ‘A’ hurling title by defeating Mullinahone by the narrowest of margins at Semple Stadium.
Cappawhite’s Paddy Julian (left) watches anxiously as Paul Kelly (Mullinahone) gets the better of Eugene O’ Neill (Cappawhite) during the county under-21 ‘A’ hurling final between the sides at Semple Stadium.
