Five-in-a-row is Too’ good to be true
It was as a result of this collision with Tynagh-Abbey/Duniry’s Shane Moloney that Fergal Boland was forced off at half-time during Tooreen's AIB Connacht Club IHC final against the Galway champions at Dr Hyde Park last Saturday. Boland returned to the field in the closing stages of his side's two points loss. Picture: David Farrell Photography
As Bert paused for breath, wonderfully benign conditions broke out for Saturday’s clash of Mayo and Galway’s intermediate hurling champions in Roscommon Town, but like the snow of a couple days previous, Tooreen’s hopes of landing the Connacht Club title for a fifth time in-a-row were melted by an incoming storm.
Tynagh Abbey/Duniry outscored Tooreen 0-10 to 0-4 in the second-half to come from four points behind and become the first Galway team to lift the provincial title since Oranmore-Maree beat Tooreen in 2018. That this was Tooreen’s seventh straight appearance in the final speaks volumes about the resilience of Ray Larkin’s players who every year experience so little competitive hurling until the Connacht competition itself, so it would be wrong to be overly critical about how they contributed to this game turning against them. Indeed had Larkin not been forced to replace Fergal Boland, Sean Kenny and Ciaran Finn at different junctures, there’s every chance the Blue Devils could still now be planning for another crack at the All-Ireland Series.
It would also be wrong, however, if not acknowledging the major part Tynagh Abbey/Duniry played in wrestling the trophy from the Mayo side’s grasp; with proud local and former Dublin senior manager Mattie Kenny at the helm, TAD entered the final quarter still three points in arrears but displaying fierce drive and determination, struck six of the game’s last seven points to edge over the line.
The teams played in the colours of their respective counties and traded points inside the opening two minutes, with Shane Boland firing over a self-won free and Niall Moloney negating that when Tynagh Abbey/Duniry went short from a sideline ball. By the ninth minute however, and with four Tooreen players already having shot wides, the Galway side were three to the good, as Shane Moloney converted a ’65 and Thomas Murphy and Ben Moran struck singles from play.
In fact, by the 12th minute, Tooreen’s wide count was up to six, and yet a barrage of points by Kenny Feeney, Ciaran Finn, Eoin Delaney and Feeney again, had the East Mayo outfit 0-5 to 0-4 in front entering the second quarter. And while a pair of Shane Moloney frees and Micheál Power’s first point of the afternoon saw Tynagh Abbey/Duniry regain a two points advantage, that was short-lived.
Composed defensive play that involved Stephen Coyne, Oisin Greally and David Kenny, ended with Fergal Boland smashing over for Tooreen from fully 80-metres. And it was a foul on Boland that resulted in Sean Kenny’s free levelling the game at 0-7 apiece after 24 minutes.
Fergal Boland’s move from full-forward to the middle third was having a major impact and Tooreen’s momentum continued to grow. A sensational block by Oisin Greally saw Joe Boyle pick up the loose ball and drive it all the way downfield on top of opposition goalkeeper Brendan Lynch who misjudged the flight and despaired as the lurking Eoin Delaney whipped the sliotar into the empty net.
And with Tooreen applying savage pressure to Lynch’s restarts, Kenny Feeney picked off another pair of quickfire points that moved his side 1-9 to 0-8 ahead after 28-minutes.
Fergal Boland had an excellent chance to either score or set-up a second Tooreen goal but with Liam Lavin available inside, he backed himself and batted left of the target under pressure from two defenders. Boland, however, was groggy, clearly impacted by an earlier head-high collision with Tynagh Abbey/Duniry free-taker Shane Moloney, to such an extent that he was substituted at half-time.
Shane Moloney’s only point from play arrested TAD’s decline and while Eoin Delaney cut out yet another Lynch puck out to restore Tooreen’s five points margin, the final say of the half belonged to Tynagh Abbey/Duniry midfielder Johnny Conroy who showed power and skill to win a high ball and emerge from a ruck of bodies to split the posts and leave the scoreboard reading 1-10 to 0-9 at the interval.
In truth, Tooreen should have been further in front, having so far shot eight wides (double that of Tynagh Abbey/Duniry), and slowly but surely you began to wonder as the second-half developed, whether that wastage might come back to haunt them.
As he had done at the start of the game, Shane Boland scored Tooreen’s first point of the second-half from a free, this time in response to Power’s second from play for Tynagh Abbey/Duniry, but this was Boland’s last score of the match – a rare and costly occurrence for the captain to be held scoreless from play.
Shane Moloney, a free, and Paul Killeen, who had been booked only 34 seconds into the first-half, hit points to narrow the gap to two points, and that remained the difference after 41-minutes when Tooreen midfielder Daniel Huane and Shane Moloney, a free, traded further points.
Brian Morley, the half-time replacement for Fergal Boland, rewarded a turnover forced by Kenny Feeney with a point that moved Ray Larkin’s side into a 1-13 to 0-13 lead at the three-quarter mark, but with a Shane Boland free rebounding off the post, and Feeney turning down what looked a scoreable free to a player with his range, Tynagh Abbey/Duniry were to capitalise on every let off from hereon.
Between the 46th and 57th minutes, Mattie Kenny’s team scored five points without reply, three of them frees by Shane Moloney, the other two by Padraig Breheny and Shane Fitzpatrick, the latter’s an excellent effort from in front of the Tooreen dugout on the right wing.
Fergal Boland shook himself down to return for the final exchanges but a second Daniel Huane point was Tooreen’s only score during the final 17 minutes of the match. Feeney saw a left-sided shot drop agonisingly short from distance and in between Liam Lavin having a 59th minute equalising chance sail wide from 50-metres and Brian Morley missing narrowly from the right wing, midfielder Ben Moran struck the insurance score for Tynagh Abbey/Duniry.
The Galwegians will face the champions of Leinster on the weekend of December 14/15.
Scorers – Tynagh Abbey/Duniry: Shane Moloney 0-9 (7f, 1 ’65), Micheál Power and Ben Moran 0-2 each, Niall Moloney, Thomas Murphy, Johnny Conroy, Paul Killeen, Padraig Breheny and Shane Fitzpatrick 0-1 each.
Tooreen: Eoin Delaney 1-2, Kenny Feeney 0-4, Shane Boland (2f) and Daniel Huane 0-2 each, Ciaran Finn, Fergal Boland, Sean Kenny (f) and Brian Morley 0-1 each.
Tooreen: Bobby Douglas; Ciaran Finn, Michael Morley, Oisin Greally; Joe Boyle, Stephen Coyne, David Kenny; Daniel Huane, Sean Kenny; Daniel Huane, Sean Kenny; Liam Lavin, Kenny Feeney, Eoin Delaney; Shane Boland, Fergal Boland, Conal Hession. Subs: Brian Morley (for F Boland ht, inj), Sean Regan (for Finn 35, inj), Fionnan Burke (for S Kenny 39), Boland (for Burke 55), Shane Crinnigan (for Feeney 59).
Tynagh Abbey/Duniry: Brendan Lynch; John Whelan, Garry McHugo, Kevin Moloney; David Jordan, Paul Killeen, Shane Fitzpatrick; Johnny Conroy, Ben Moran; Niall Moloney, Padraig Breheny, Shane Moloney; Micheál Power, Thomas Murphy, John Dervan. Subs: Conor Jordan (for Murphy ht), Shane Farrell (for Moran 59).
REF: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
