2012 county hurling championships

[GalwayBayBoy]

Portumna gone.

Portumna 0-15 Turloughmore 0-17

St Thomas 2-20 Castlegar 0-10


Semi-final draw

Turloughmore v Mullagh or Loughrea

Gort v St Thomas

[Plain of the Herbs]

Report on radio this evening reported Prince Joe scored seven from play and six frees.  Seems Ronan Badger and Franny Forde were Turlough's top men.  Was the latter hurling County U21 in 1993?

That give's Loughgiel a good chance of reaching another Final.  Speaking of which, Clonkill wouldn't be without hope of reaching a Leinster Club Final, given the draw they have.

Portumna out today, Canning fit for this game?

[AZOffaly]

I ventured in as far as Thurles yesterday to have a look at the Intermediate and Senior County Hurling Finals. It was a grand dry, overcast, day, although there was a 'sneaky' wind blowing from the Killinan end. I say sneaky in that it wasn't really noticeable in the stands, yet every flag in the place, including the sideline flags, indicated its presence. The sod, as always, looked perfect.

The intermediate final was up first between two North Tipp sides, Ballina and Silvermines. Silvermines were the favourites, and from an early stage it was apparent they had the more balanced and rounded team. Their forwards were very sharp, and racked up points very easily as they moved into a 0-9 to 0-1 lead after about 15 minutes, against the wind, with some lovely movement and accurate striking. Ballina looked out of their depth to be frank, but maybe it was just nerves, because in the remaining 15 minutes of the half, they took control, aided by that wind. They rattled over 6 in a row to make it 0-9 to -0-7 before the 'Mines tacked on 2 more before the break to leave it 11-7 at the half. The second half turned into a bit of a procession for Silvermines, unfortunately, especially after Stephen O'Brien, the dual All Ireland Minor winner with Tipp, hit the post with a rasper while the game was still somewhat in the balance. A wild pull by the number 9, out of frustration probably, left Ballina with an even more uphill climb given that they were 16 to 8 down at the time, but that really killed the game as a contest. David Keogh, the Silvermines number 15, got a beautiful one handed lob finish after a solo run for the first goal of the game, and after that it was all window dressing. A second goal arrived just before the end, with the ignomy of another Ballina red card to boot, as the desperate defender threw his hurley at the scorer thus earning a second yellow. It finished 2-21 to 0-10 and a well deserved return to the senior ranks for the Silvermines men. An interesting footnote to this game is that both sides will meet again shortly in the North IHC final. The Tipperary system is designed such that the finalists in each of the 4 divisions make up the last 8 in the county championship. As the county was actually run off before the divisional, it now means Ballina will have a chance for revenge in the North final, but how much appetite they have for that remains to be seen.

The senior final promised to be a great clash between the holders, Drom and Inch, and the aristocrats of Thurles Sarsfields. Sars were gunning for their 4th title since the turn of the century, and their third in 4 years after winning in 2009 and 2010. Drom and Inch were appearing in their 5th final since 2005, having broken their duck in 2011 against Clonoulty-Rossmore. The omens were not great for Drom however, as in 2 of their previous 3 near misses it was their Mid Division rivals, Sarsfields that stopped them, in 2005 and 2009. Sarsfields fielded such luminaries as Michael Cahill, Padraic Maher, David Kennedy, Pa Bourke and Lar Corbett, while Drom could call on the likes of Eamonn Buckly, Seamie Callanan and James Woodlock.

The first half saw Thurles with the wind, and one of their lesser known forwards, Tipp U21, Aidan McCormack, was giving the Drom corner back Eddie Costello a torrid time as he was out first to every ball, and Costello just couldn't live with his pace. In fairness to the number 2, he got a bad dunt in the ribs early on as he drove out with a ball, and that seemed to seriously hamper him, such that he was replaced after 25 minutes. At that stage Thurles were in control, but not comfortable on 11 points to 7. Then, just before the short whistle, McCormack struck a dagger blow as a long ball broke to the side and his clever looping run saw him in prime position to pick it up and drive towards goal before he expertly finished past the despairing dive of the Drom keeper. If McCormack was doing wreck for Thurles, Johnny Ryan at midfield, with number 11 on his back, was providing similar inspiration for Drom, and it was his scores that kept the champions interested. A half time lead of 7 points was certainly significant but it was far from unassailable given the breeze that Drom would enjoy in the second half, so after a quick sausage and chips and cup of tea to stave off the cold late afternoon air, we settled in with interest for the second half.

It didn't disappoint. Straight after the restart the otherwise quiet enough David Butler, a key man on the Tipp Intermediates that won their All Ireland, was the right man in the right place to scramble home a goal for Drom, and suddenly the fat was in the fire. From there on it was nip and tuck, with James Woodlock and Seamie Callanan trying their best to drive Drom on. Callanan and Mickey Cahill had a right old tussle all throughout, with Cahill definitely putting the clamps on in the first half, but a move into the corner worked out and Callanan was a lot more effective in the second half. Woodlocks driving runs were causing problems, and Johnny Ryan was continuing to purr like a Bentley in midfield. The sides were nip and tuck for the next 15 minutes or so, and after 48 minutes it was 1-16 to 1-12 to the Sarsfields men. Then we had what looked like a decisive series of blows from the champions as first Callanan used his height advantage over Cahill to  bat a high delivery into the Thurles net to leave the minimum seperating the teams, before Woodlock and Callanan again tacked over lovely scores to put them ahead by a point, 2-14 to 1-16, with 10 minutes left. It looked all set for them to kick on, but Thurles made a couple of changes, including the introduction of Redser O'Grady, and it was them that produced the killer burst, despite Pa Bourke and Lar Corbett being almost completely nullified all game. Bourke did get a point from play at this stage, as Thurles surged with 5, while Drom could only respond with a Johnny Ryan 65 after Seamie Callanan had a 21 yard free saved. Drom did come agonisingly close in the dying moments as Callanan broke behind the defence to pull on a loose ball, but he didn't make great contact at all, and his topped shot rolled inches wide of the right post. As it trickled away, so too did Drom's chances and when the whistle blew a couple of moments later, Thurles were champions for the 32nd time, 10 ahead of Toomevara.

For the winners, Michael Cahill did the lockdown job in the first half, before Callanan caused him some problems in the second, while Padraic Maher was solid at centre back, while Aidan McCormack finished with 1-6 from play, and his contribution was the difference between the teams. Watch for him in the future. Maybe a bit of an Aidan Fogarty type, and has an eye for the goal which Tipp were lacking last year.  For Drom, Johnny Ryan didn't deserve to end on the losing team, finishing with 9 points. 6 from play, 2 huge frees and a 65. Seamus Callanan had a good second half, while Woodlock was prominent through most of the game as well. Defensively they had their problems, although Enda Walsh, Eamonn Buckley and Liam Ryan played very well in the half back line, and in general, McCormack apart, the Thurles forwards were well marshalled.

All in all an enjoyable day, and while it did take the Senior final a good 30 minutes to really feel like a championship game, it was a good second half, and while it was a pity to see Drom beaten in a final again, and Johnny Ryan's captains performance going unrewarded, it would have been a travesty for Aidan McCormack to finish on the losing side.

[north aontroim gael]

Anyone have any odds for the title outright?

[cicfada]

10,000 people at the quarter finals in Athenry on Saturday!!! Incredible numbers, more than the Tipp final yesterday! Maybe the co board will see the connection between having matches in Pearse Stadium ( low crowds)  and having them anywhere else ( much bigger crowds), though I won't be holding my breath!! Will be good to see  (potentially) someone new as champions as well! can only be good for the game overall! I would expect the Galway management  to be on the lookout for new players for next years senior co panel! I enjoyed watching the Tipp final as well, some fine players on view!!

[johnneycool]

Oulart through in Wexford. They should be looking to bigger things in Leinster this year.

The Crokes in Dublin through as well.

[waterfordlad]

De La Salle had a handy win over Dungarvan in Waterford SHC final yesterday. 1-21 to 0-11 was final score. There a big home support for Dungarvan at Fraher Field but DLS were too strong.
Congratulations to my own club Butlerstown who won the junior hurling final curtain raiser v Geraldines by 2-11 to 0-5. It's the first county title since 1971 for the club.

[Dag Dog]

Portumna must be in freefall. They were awesome a few years ago.
Have they much coming through at underage?

[Dag Dog]

Can anyone find the odds for the All Ireland club championship?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Portumna must be in freefall. They were awesome a few years ago.
Have they much coming through at underage?

Their great team is getting on a bit now. Lot of milage done. Obviously Joe is still young and will keep them there or thereabouts by himself for a fair while yet but they haven't been doing anything at underage really the past few years. Turloughmore should probably have beaten them by more yesterday.

[johnneycool]

Loughguile ( or Portaferry ! ) will be looking to meet a team from Galway who're new to the AI stages as they'll be going buck mad after winning the championship for a long time, whereas Loughrea and Gort who've won in the recent past will be looking to go further. Loughguile will not be taken lightly by anyone now and as they say its harder to retain it than it is to win it for the first time.

[Minder]

I know there maybe isn't an alternative with a busy calendar but some of these club games could be the best you will see all year but more often than not they are an attritional slog in heavy pitches and shite weather.

[pdiddy]

Can anyone find the odds for the All Ireland club championship?

Loughgiel 10/3favs
Ballyhale 7/2
Thurles 7/1
De la salle 7/1
Oulart 12/1

. 

[Milltown Row2]

Can anyone find the odds for the All Ireland club championship?

Loughgiel 10/3favs
Ballyhale 7/2
Thurles 7/1
De la salle 7/1
Oulart 12/1

.

Only based on the fact that Loughgiel in semi final already (bar a collapse against Portaferry)

The odds will change come the semi pairings, so I'd wait on those odds coming out first

[AZOffaly]

Kilmallock might be dark horses.