COLLEGES SH FINALThurles CBS 1-15 De La Salle Waterford 2-12 Aet (1-10 to 2-7 after 60 mins):THE DESTINATION of the Croke Cup is still unknown as Thurles CBS and De la Salle Waterford couldn't be separated after 80 minutes of All-Ireland Colleges senior A hurling final action in Nowlan Park on Saturday.
Reigning champions De la Salle looked odds-on to make it back-to-back successes after goals from Pauric Mahony and Peter McCarthy, coupled with three Stephen Power points, gave them a six-point lead (2-4 to 0-4) at half-time. However, they didn't reckon on a strong comeback from their Tipperary opponents.
A goal inside the opening minute of the second half from corner forward John O'Neill, who raced away to drill a shot to the far corner of the net, gave Thurles the perfect springboard to launch their revival.
Although backed by the wind, the Tipperary side had to work hard for their scores, especially against a physically bigger De la Salle, but they worked their way back into the game.
Following a duel between free-takers Kieran Morris and Stephen Power - each converted three placed balls in a 13-minute spell - it was Thurles who got the upper hand late on. An excellent point from Patrick O'Brien closed the gap to two with 12 minutes left in the game, before another Morris free left the bare minimum between the sides.
Although both sides gave everything in the closing stages, there was only one more point recorded. Crucially, it was scored by Thurles' John O'Neill, who worked hard to find a scoring angle on 54 minutes, although Waterford may have felt aggrieved when a Stephen Power shot, which went all the way to the net in the dying minutes, was ruled out by referee James McGrath after the in-rushing Niall Clifford was adjudged to have impeded goalkeeper Bill McCormack.
After a tense hour of hurling the 20 minutes of extra-time were just as tight. Three scores from Pauric Mahony, substitute Killian Fitzgerald and Power (free) cancelled out Patrick O'Brien's point, giving the De la Salle a two-point cushion, but late scores from substitute Aidan McCormack and Michael Russell had the CBS on level terms by the break, 2-10 to 1-13.
De la Salle were back in front when Power shot his eighth point of the day on 72 minutes, but goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe came to his side's rescue just a minute later. He made a great instinctive save, brilliantly blocking McCormack's shot from point-blank range to deny Thurles what could have been a match-winning score.
Waterford's Killian Fitzgerald and John O'Neill of Thurles traded points after that, keeping the excitement levels high, before O'Neill sprinted away to point and level the game for the seventh time in the last minute.
The sides will have another chance to take the Croke Cup home when they meet again in the replay at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, on Saturday.
THURLES CBS:B McCormack; S Maher, K O'Gorman, P Ryan; M Doyle, J Barry, R Ryan; D Maher, P O'Brien (0-3); C Shelly (0-1), M Russell (0-1), C Ryan; D Butler (0-1), K Morris (0-5, four frees), J O'Neill (1-3). Subs: A McCormack (0-1) for C Ryan (54 mins), M Greene for Morris (75 mins), P Looby for Russell (78 mins).
WATERFORD DE LA SALLE:S O'Keeffe; R Cunningham, B Coughlan, O Keevers; N Connors, P Mahony (1-2), S Daniels; D Purcell, E Barrett; J Dillon, N Clifford, P McCarthy (1-0); S Power (0-8, seven frees), B O'Sullivan, P Mahony. Subs: P Farrelly for Dillon (38 mins), K Fitzgerald (0-2) for D Purcell (49 mins), D Purcell for Farrelly (72 mins).
Referee:J McGrath (Westmeath).
