Rocks rule with blistering finish

A BLISTERING last six minutes propelled Tara Rocks past Gorey District rivals Bann Gaels and into the Greenstar Under-20 hurling Division 3 championship final in The Rock on Wednesday.

With the just a point separating the teams (2-11 to 1-13), the hosts went on a 0-6 to 0-1 run to power past the Craanford/St. Patrick’s combination and into the title decider opposite Munna Abbáin.

It had been a highly competitive fixture up to the last burst. Bann Gaels looked sharper in the opening quarter but the 2-2 Tara Rocks got from their inside forwards proved to be a big factor in the end result.

Caleb Murphy was a huge part of that as, not only did he net both goals, he was a constant source of danger inside and several of his team’s frees were won from his speed and endeavour.

Stuart Byrne, Martin Doyle and James Smyth were all on the board early for Bann Gaels but they soon became reliant on scores from the stick of Paul McDonald.

They led by 0-7 to 0-3 after the opening quarter but the home side began to chip away at the lead.

Paudie Hughes and Seán Bardon had been on target for Tara Rocks in the opening quarter but they were also reliant on the dead-ball skills of Robert Murphy as the half wore on.

They had just got level in first-half added-time when Murphy collected from Ben O’Connor’s pass and flashed across goal to the net.

After the late flurry of scores gave the Rocks a 1-9 to 0-9 interval lead, things were a lot quieter after the resumption.

Both sides had added one point in the first ten minutes before Murphy collected Tom Mordaunt’s long ball and fired home his second major.

Eoin Doyle had given warning of his dangerous runs from deep when flashing over a short time earlier.

They weren’t heeded and when Doyle raced away on the left in the 45th minute and found the net, it was game on again (2-10 to 1-12).

There was still the minimum in the game heading into those last six minutes, but points from Robert Murphy (two), midfielders Paudie Hughes and Colm Noctor, plus Stephen Mordaunt and Ben O’Connor, cemented victory and a place opposite Munna Abbáin in the final.

Tara Rocks: Seán Geoghegan; Ben Morris, Cathal O’Reilly (capt.), Liam McCarthy; Tom Mordaunt, Seán Forde, Conor Hughes; Paudie Hughes (0-3), Colm Noctor (0-1); Robert Murphy (0-9, 8 frees), Ben O’Connor (0-1), Andrew Murphy; Caleb Murphy (2-1), Seán Bardon (0-1), Luke Devitt. Subs. - Stephen Mordaunt (0-1) for Devitt, inj. (23), Maurice Cousins for A. Murphy (51).

Bann Gaels: Luke Byrne; Jack Kehoe, Joe Cousins, Páraic Redmond; Glen Carton, Jim Kenny, Conor Morris; Eoin Doyle (1-1), Martin Doyle (joint capt., 0-2); Stuart Byrne (0-2), James Smyth (0-2), Paul McDonald (joint capt., 0-8, 5 frees, 1 ‘65); Stephen Greene, Andy Doyle, Fergal Maguire. Subs. - Michael Carroll for M. Doyle, temp. (15-18), Carroll for Maguire (33), Paddy Doyle for A. Doyle (48).

Referee: James Owens (Askamore).