Champs the better balanced and more skilful on the whole

IT WAS a searching test for St. Martin’s before they eventually got across the line at the expense of St. Anne’s which made victory all the sweeter, but there was never a glint that this Pettitt’s Senior hurling final would salvage what has been a desperately disappointing championship campaign.

This was a decider which had the ideal build-up, a local derby, with St. Martin’s striving to win their second title in three years, and neighbours St. Anne’s seeking their first title since 2000.

St. Martin’s were strong favourites, with St. Anne’s the underdogs by a long shot.

There was a sprinkling of established inter-county players on show, but what we were treated to was disappointing.

We had a stop-start game, with no real flowing hurling, a disappointing attendance treated to a low-quality game, not helped by sub-standard refereeing, with some of the decisions and non-decisions difficult to fathom.

St. Anne’s and neutral supporters were left frustrated at the majority of calls going against them, particularly during the opening 30 minutes, but carrying over into the second-half, as two blatant fouls on St. Anne’s attackers went unpunished.

Perhaps the man in black had difficulty in refereeing into the low sun in the second period.

St. Martin’s lifted the Dr. Bowe Cup because they made better usage of their chances in contrast to their opponents, who were denied two goals in the first-half as ‘keeper Luke White denied Redmond Barry. And then in the second-half they created sufficient space in front of goal to have taken more from the game.

This is not to say that justice wasn’t done. St. Martin’s were that bit better balanced, carried the more skilful hurlers in each line, were physically powerful, and were efficient in attack even in the absence of the suspended Rory O’Connor.

They didn’t panic when St. Anne’s came knocking on their door through the final quarter. In finals margins can be tight, but they dug deep and showed their mettle when pushed.

And St. Anne’s pushed them all the way. Having lost their opening round to their final opponents by 34 points, there was never going to be a repeat.

Having agonisingly played through their final group game, with results elsewhere ensuring they avoided a relegation play-off, to their surprise they actually propelled them into the quarter-finals.

In the cold light of day, few gave them a chance of progressing much further given the lack of strength in depth in their squad.

But St. Anne’s are always difficult to beat once they set their minds to a challenge that awaits them. They shocked Shelmaliers in the quarter-final but, not content with this, they went on to easily dispose of Rapparees in the semi-final.

Their game had a real pattern to it, and they had momentum going into the final, but despite a brave effort the fairytale ended, as they failed to lift a first Senior hurling title in 19 years.

So the wait goes on for a club which had to endure the bitter disappointment of two county final defeats over the weekend, as their Junior ‘B’ side lost out to Rathnure after extra-time 24 hours earlier.

During the week most of the talking points down Piercestown way surrounded the availability or non-availability of star forward Rory O’Connor.

He failed at the eleventh hour in his final appeal to play in the final, adding to the pressure on the side as they also carried the tag of warm favourites into the game.

So there was a bittersweet tinge to their eventual victory as they defied the respective boardrooms to lift the Dr. Bowe Cup.

What one saw was a St. Martin’s team without their main scorer and inspiration going head-to-head with their opponents to overcome his absence. Both sides may have played on the edge, but it was St. Martin’s extra sharpness when it mattered most that got them over the line.

While St. Anne’s always love a challenge and they certainly took this battle to their highly-rated opponents, it was not to be their day. In the end it was their fairytale journey that salvaged a disappointing 2019 championship.

Congratulations to Cloughbawn on their return to Senior hurling ranks. HWH-Bunclody, despite a brave effort, came up short on the day.