ALL-IRELAND CLUB HURLING SEMI-FINAL De La Salle 1-21 Ruairí Óg, Cushendall 1-19 (AET – 1-13 to 1-13 after normal time):DAYS LIKE these are at the heart of it. The big guns were rattling elsewhere. Ruairí Óg's of Cushendall were coming off a long run of losing All-Ireland club semi-finals, De La Salle of Waterford were on their first ever adventure outside the county borders.
Either way there was going to be some romance and a twist of heartbreak. That we got a great game of hurling at Parnell Park yesterday was a bonus.
Afterwards John Mullane, perhaps his club’s best-known star stood on the field and reflected that “for a club like us to reach Croke Park on the 125th anniversary year, it is some honour”.
Mullane had certified his side’s ticket to the big dance with a point in the 81st minute which ended this epic game.
De la Salle had brought a train-load of supporters to Donnycarney, persuading Iarnród Éireann to open the lines as far as Killester so that the faithful had just a short walk at the end of their pilgrimage.
When Dean Twomey finished a well-worked move after just four minutes with a strike to the net it looked as if it would soon be time to start plotting how to get the rattler right to the gates of Croke Park.
Ruairí Óg’s have put too much in to this competition over the years and got too little back out to go gently into that particular dark night however.
They drove back into the game and, with Neil McManus selected at number six but omnipresent, playing some wonderful hurling they were level by the break but facing into a slightly unhelpful wind.
The Antrim side looked the more cohesive at times but lacked sheer muscle in several key areas. De La Salle were slightly wasteful of their chances as the half progressed and wonderful points from Seán Delargy and Karl McKeegan closed out the half in encouraging fashion for Cushendall.
John Mullane had by then largely been held by the marking of Arron Graffin who made one sublime block to deny the Waterford hero a certain goal midway through the half.
The hurling was hard, honest and excellent with neither side showing any conspicuous weak links. It was a pity therefore after 43 minutes to see Declan McKillop get a slightly harsh second yellow card which required him to leave the game.
Lee Hayes of De La Salle, unhelmeted and brave had dipped his head down chasing a ball and McKillop without malice but perhaps without sufficient care or alacrity had made contact with the hurl.
They must have cursed their luck. By that stage they had established a platform which looked like ending a run of seven previous semi-final beatings. Mullane had filched the first point of the second half but a free from McKeegan had negated the score and then a wonderful goal had put three points worth of daylight between the sides.
Neil McManus had made a run of unlikely length and bravery at the De la Salle goal. His rasping shot came off the hurl of Stevie Brenner and was turned into the net by the waiting Shane McNaughton.
De La Salle’s confidence drained out their boots for a while and they drove four wides and a dropped a ball short into Francis McAuley’s hand in the next few minutes as they grew desperate for a score.
McKillop got the line then and when Brian Phelan pointed the free and the panic seemed to end. By now the Cushendall boys were relying on all the wiles they have gathered in previous campaigns.
McManus had another brilliant run which ended in a score with three minutes remaining to put two points between the sides again. Yet the pressure was intense by now and when De La Salle wing-back Stephen Daniels closed the gap to a point the tension in Parnell Park was unbearable.
The equalising score was the sort which any side would want to carry with them across the border into extra-time. Brian Phelan stood over a sideline ball out at the right wing and with typically bullish intent took a look up at the goal and sent the ball majestically between the posts. A huge gesture of defiance under pressure.
Extra-time was as entertaining as all that had preceded it but the pleasure was a guilty one. Players were tired and the play was now spangled with errors and looseness. It became a matter of who had the stronger bench and the tougher legs and De la Salle seemed to have both.
The first period of extra-time saw a splurge of point scoring, five points to De La Salle, three to Cushendall in the 10 minutes as the marking became loose on the heavy sod.
By then it looked as if that two-point cushion was going to be enough to carry things for the Waterford men and with John Mullane becoming more and more influential as others wearied it was De La Salle who ended with another day to look forward to.
DE LA SALLE: S Brenner; A Kelly, I Flynn, M Doherty; D Russell, K Moran, S Daniels (0-1); B Phelan (0-6, four frees, two sideline), C Watt; P Nevin (0-2), D McGrath (0-1), L Hayes (0-3); J Quirke (0-1), J Mullane (0-5), D Twomey (1-0). Subs: T Kearney for Quirke (40 mins); D Greene (0-1)for Kelly (44 mins ); A Kelly for McGrath (ET); B Farrell (0-1)for Watt (67 mins); J Foran for Hayes (80 mins)
CUSHENDALL: F McAuley; A Graffin (0-1), O Scullion, C Carson; D McNaughton, K Elliott, M McCambridge; K McKeegan (0-5, four frees, one 65), P McGill (0-1); B Delargy, D McKillop, S Delargy (0-1); S McNaughton (1-1), N McManus (0-4), A Delargy (0-3). Subs: C McCambridge (0-3, one free)for C Carson (21 mins); C Carson for B Delargy (59 mins); M Burke (Introduced for ET); E Laverty for S McNaughton (67 mins); B Delargy for A Delargy (67 mins); J Carson for Elliot (76 mins).
Referee: E Morris( Dublin).
