Munster Club HC semi-finalNewtownshandrum 0-15 Toomevara 1-9Two clubs who felt they'd a right to reach the Munster hurling final this year went to the vote in Thurles yesterday. It was fitting that they came wearing their county colours, as the game was loaded with rivalry as much as aspiration.
It took the full hour, and whatever was added, to decide the matter, but in the end Newtownshandrum well deserved their place in the final.
The Cork champions had the greater spread of proficiency and skill, and also managed to capitalise on the greater spread of errors produced by Toomevara.
In front of a small crowd of 4,152, both teams created an impressive contest. Toomevara were on home soil and yet never truly imposed themselves in the way their supporters would have wished.
The fact that they ended up with 14 men when Eoin Brislane was sent off for a second booking on 59 minutes also went against them over the crucial final phase of the match.
On the day, many more things went to plan for Newtown. They had lost captain John McCarthy and forward Donal Mulcahy to injury since winning out in Cork, so there was real pressure on the other stronger elements of their team, namely the O'Connor brothers. And they delivered, with Ben scoring 0-7 (four from play) and Jerry 0-2.
Others players rose to the occasion too, including the young John O'Connor, who is quickly following in the footsteps of his brothers and scored 0-3.
Maurice Farrell also did well after moving from midfield to full forward, and Brendan Mulcahy was outstanding in defence, holding down the full-back position with total authority.
In terms of consistency Newtown also won out well. They quickly levelled the opening points of Willie Ryan and Paddy O'Brien and pointed like clockwork for the rest of the half to earn a 0-10 to 1-4 lead at the break.
While Toomevara had started out well but they were soon making trouble for themselves. Ken Dunne, so often a model of accuracy with his free-taking, sent his first five shots wide of the bar.
Others, like Eoin Brislane and John O'Brien, didn't fare any better with their chances. And after 15 minutes the Tipperary men had lost their lead, with Ben O'Connor changing the scoreboard in Newtown's favour.
The only occasion when the Toomevara forwards clicked in the way they were expected to came on 25 minutes. A move started by John O'Brien was laid on perfectly for Willie Ryan by Michael Bevans, and Ryan thundered his shot into the net to give his side a 1-4 to 0-5 lead.
The Newtown response was swift and effective. Ben and John O'Connor twice hit a point each in succession, John's coming from play, and so their three-point lead at the turnaround was well earned.
Ben O'Connor's positioning at centre forward worked a treat. He sparked a series of runs at the Toomevara defence, and gradually revealed obvious leaks in that area. Tommy Dunne was forced back to cover on a number of occasions, but it was never enough.
Still, there was never much breathing space between the sides in the second half. Ken Dunne got a little of his confidence back and sent over two frees in succession, and another point from Ryan closed the gap to the minimum - 0-11 to 1-7 - with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Newtown's nerves were suddenly being tested, and with Benny Dunne now playing at midfield the Tipperary jerseys were starting to show in greater numbers. Without the security of Brendan Mulcahy and his older brother Pat in front of him, Newtown might well have crumbled.
There were anxious moments, too, when James Bowles and Ben O'Connor both squandered goal chances for the Cork champions. But they'd just enough in the bank to appear secure. When Brislane was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Pat Mulcahy the game was as good as over for Toomevara.
They played out with the four minutes of added time seeking the necessary goal, but by then the Newtown defence was impenetrable.
So defeat brings another club season to a premature end for the Tipperary champions. They had made no effort to conceal their ambitions of winning silverware in Munster this year, to make up for capturing only one Munster title in the seven years since 1992 that they have emerged as Tipperary champions.
For Newtown, Cork champions for only the second time, the journey continues when they play the winners of the Mount Sion-Patrickswell semi-final.
NEWTOWNSHANDRUM: P Morrissey; AG O'Brien, B Mulcahy, G O'Mahony; I Kelleher, P Mulcahy, P Noonan; A T O'Brien, Jerry O'Connor (0-2); John O'Connor (0-3), B O'Connor (0-7, three frees), J King (0-1); J Bowles, D Riordan, M Farrell (0-2). Subs: M Morrissey for Riordan (53 mins), D Naughton for J O'Connor (63 mins).
TOOMEVARA: J Cottrell; B Dunne (0-1), G Frend, P Shanahan; B Duff, T Dunne, D Young; T Dunne, K Dunne (0-3, three frees); P O'Brien (0-2), E Brislane, F Devaney; M Bevans (0-1); J O'Brien, W Ryan (1-2). Subs: T Delaney for Devaney (41 mins), P Hackett for Young (half time).
Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).
