Gortnahoe/Glengoole demolish St Mary’s with first-half goal blitz
FBD Insurance Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Quarter-Final
GORTNAHOE/GLENGOOLE 4-18 ST MARY’S 0-13
Gortnahoe/Glengoole put Clonmel side St Mary’s to the sword in the quarter-final of the FBD Insurance Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship played at Clonoulty on Sunday afternoon, coming out on top by a massive 17 points at the end of a very one-sided encounter.
A crazy three-goals-in-three-minutes for the Mid Tipperary side between the 11th and 13th minutes killed off the game as a contest, and for a third consecutive year at the knockout stages in Premier Intermediate Hurling the South representatives had to settle for second best against the same opponents.
The first 10 minutes of a free-flowing game, after which Gortnahoe led by 0-3 to 0-2, suggested an entertaining hour’s hurling was ahead for the patrons at a sunny Dillon Quirke Park. But quickly and mercilessly the Reds exposed St Mary’s punishing them with a rapid match-winning three-goal salvo and thereafter the game was little more than a Sunday stroll in the park for the Kevin Corbett managed side.
By the time the half-time whistle arrived Gortnahoe had stretched their lead to 15 points, 3-10 to 0-4, St Mary’s failing to score again from play after the 12th minute of the half. Indeed that point would be their last from play until the 62nd minute, the unbeaten-up-to-this St Mary’s going an incredible 50 minutes of hurling without registering a single point from play. It will be a statistic and a day that they will want to forget quickly on the Western Road.
Gortnahoe/Glengoole have been knocking on the door at the concluding stages of this competition since their promotion in 2020 and now that they are back in the last four will be hoping to at least get to a final which they did in 2022 before losing out to Roscrea. On the evidence of their performance here, they will be quietly confident of making another breakthrough in 2024.
St Mary’s had the first two points of the game from Ross Peters and Cathal Deely inside six minutes, but three in-a-row for Gortnahoe from Adrian Maher, Keane Hayes and midfielder Jack Moore edged them in front after 10 minutes.
A linking move involving four players starting with goalkeeper’s Timmy Dunne’s short pass went the length of the field before Damien Corbett finished a low rocket past Enda Dunphy in the 11th minute for Gortnahoe’s first goal.
While Ross Peter replied almost immediately with a point from a difficult angle for St Mary’s, pressure from Gortnahoe then forced a St Mary’s turnover at halfway which ultimately made its way to Darragh Maher to punish them with another close-in low shot that again gave the keeper no chance.
And incredibly within a minute Gortnahoe were celebrating their third goal, this time Damien Corbett’s ground strike rattling the back of the net with the St Mary’s defence at sixes-and-sevens.
Tails up now, it seemed the Mid side were cutting through the heart of an out-of-shape St Mary’s rearguard at will, Fionn Cleary and Jack Moore adding further points to leave the scoreline reading 3-5 to 0-3 at the end of the first quarter.
After Ronan Teehan pointed to further extend the Gortnahoe advantage, St Mary’s had a great chance of goal when Ross Peters played Niall Hoctor through but a weak shot was well parried by Timmy Dunne. Nothing was going the way of the Clonmel side.
Unusually the game had to wait until the 24th minute for a point from a free, Enda Dunphy scoring for St Mary’s, before Gortnahoe added four points without reply before the break from Man of the Match Brian Nolan, Jack Moore and two Keane Hayes frees.
At the short whistle Gortnahoe/Glengoole led 3-10 to 0-4.
The second half was memorably forgetful, the team in front going through their paces and stretching their advantage to 20 points (4-15 to 0-7) midway through the half with their fourth goal. A Darragh Maher pass found Adrian Maher inside who again blasted low, but the move should have been cut out by a St Mary’s defender who failed to gather the low sliotar.
During that second half Gortnahoe/Glengoole also hit five from play via Darragh Maher (2), the impressive wing-back Conor Gleeson (2) and Keane Hayes, the latter also adding three from frees.
It would take the Clonmel side until the 32nd minute of the second half to register their first from play, Sean Kennedy scoring with virtually the last puck of the game. Their other eight second half points were from Sean Kennedy (0-7 frees) and a 65 from goalkeeper Enda Dunphy. Having arrived at the West Tipperary venue with high hopes of overturning the previous two years of disappointment against their rivals, St Mary’s departed further than ever from achieving their ambition. While the Clonmel side can look back on their 2017 county intermediate final win against Gortnahoe/Glengoole, the Mid side are definitely having the better of it these days.
This was an impressive team performance from the winners who hurled intelligently right through, keeping shape and to a plan. The back unit, led by centre-back Brian Maher with captain Davy Nolan behind him, conceded just four points from play in an hour. Midfielders Jack Moore, Liam Hayes and Fionn Cleary had by far the better of that territory while all six forwards got on the scoresheet, the opportunism of the goals top notch.
They now join Carrick Swan, Upperchurch/Drombane and Cashel King Cormacs in the semi-finals.
St Mary’s will be bitterly disappointed, not so much with the result but with the performance of the occasion; it was a day when nothing went right for them. Those three early goals totally deflated the side and they never got near to rising a comeback after that. Ross Peters, Sam Ryan, Conor Deely and Tadhg Sheehan tried hardest.
Gortnahoe/Glengoole: Timmy Dunne, Enda McCarthy, Davy Nolan (capt), Aidan Guilfoyle, Conor Gleeson (0-2), Brian Maher (0-1), Davy Lanigan, Jack Moore (0-3), Liam Hayes, Adrian Maher (1-1), Ronan Teehan (0-1), Fionn Cleary (0-1), Damian Corbett (2-1, 0-1F), Keane Hayes (0-6, 0-4F), Darragh Maher (1-2).
Subs: Gearóid Fahy for Guilfoyle (HT), Kevin Slattery for A. Maher (50 mins), Tomás Meaney for McCarthy (53 mins), Colm Guilfoyle for Nolan (53 mins), Oisín Cleary for Hayes (56 mins),
St Mary’s: Enda Dunphy (0-2, 0-1D, 0-1×65), Tadhg Condon, Ross Slattery (capt), Josh Ryan, Darragh O’Connor, Tadhg Sheehan, Sam Ryan, Conor Deely, Richie Gunne, Cathal Deely (0-1), Sean Kennedy (0-8, 0-7F), Micheál Murphy, Peter McGarry, Niall Hoctor, Ross Peters (0-2).
Subs: Thomas Charles for Murphy (HT), James Power for Hoctor (HT), Joe Higgins for Cathal Deely (44 mins), Eoghan Walsh for Slattery (48 mins), Oisín Forristal for Peters (58 mins).
Referee: Gerry Treacy.