Carty breaks GOH hearts
TAGHMON-CAMROSS 0-17 GER. O’HANRAHANS 2-10
THERE WERE shades of extra-time about this game until Ian Carty stepped up to point a 60th-minute free to guide Taghmon-Camross to the narowest of victories over a brave Geraldine O’Hanrahans side in this hugely entertaining Top Oil Intermediate ‘A’ hurling championship quarter-final in Clongeen on Sunday.
It looked for so long as if the New Ross town side’s goals were going to prove the difference, and with the lead changing hands on a number of occasions, the Barrowsiders held the minimum advantage (2-10 to 0-15) as the game moved into the closing minutes.
Ian Carty, who had assumed the free-taking responsibilities, brought the sides level with a 21-metre placed ball from an acute angle with one minute remaining, and then as the clock ticked down on 60 minutes, he once again delivered from 40 metres.
With just two minutes of additional time, the Geraldines were unable to fashion an equaliser to force extra-time, as the eventual winners’ defence battened down the hatches in a tense finish.
Dylan Egan had the first two points for the Geraldines, while Luke Sinnott and a long Ian Carty effort responded for the opposition.
Just six minutes into the game, Egan broke through the centre of defence, seemed to lose possession close to goal, but managed to get a ground shot to the net, leaving his side with a 1-2 to 0-2 lead.
Egan and Cathal Doyle went on to exchange pointed frees, while Stephen O’Gorman stormed into the game with two excellent points.
The Geraldines edged into a 1-5 to 0-7 lead, but with the opposition turning in a storming finish to the half with three unanswered points from Cathal Doyle (free) Luke Sinnott and an Ian Carty free from midfield, they went in with a 0-10 to 1-5 interval advantage.
Both sides produced scores within three minutes of the re-start, through Dylan Egan and an Ian Carty free, but after 35 minutes, Egan was fouled as he attempted to get his effort in on goal.
Brandon Gardiner came from the opposite end of the pitch for the resulting penalty, but had his shot saved by Jack Dunne, with Ned Connors crashing the rebound to the net to give his side a 2-6 to 0-11 lead.
With both sides guilty of some erratic finishing, they were deadlocked after 41 minutes, but the Geraldines edged in front from Egan’s pointed frees and led by 2-10 to 0-14 with six minutes remaining.
A Luke Sinnott point lifted Taghmon-Camross, before the intervention of Carty with those two late pointed frees put his side into the semi-final draw.
It was a hard-earned victory but few in the fine crowd would have begrudged the Geraldines a shot at extra-time given they had to play without injured star forwards, Barry Roche and Eoin Kelly.
Taghmon-Camross: Jack Dunne; David O’Keeffe, Alan Nolan, Mark O’Gorman; Stephen Stafford, Ian Carty (0-6, 4 frees, 1 ‘65), Shane Doyle; Chris Cullen (0-1), Darren Carty; Thomas Furlong, Barry O’Gorman, Darren Hayden; Luke Sinnott (0-3), Stephen O’Gorman (0-3), Cathal Doyle (0-4 frees). Sub. - Shane Lacey for D. Carty.
Geraldine O’Hanrahans: Brandon Gardiner; Gerry Cash, Conor Cleere, Michael Cleere; Barry Kelly, Enda Kelly, Pádraig Bailey; Matt Crowdle, Jack Foran; Diarmuid Kehoe, Dylan Egan (1-8, 0-7 frees), Stephen Somers (01); Ned Connors (1-0), Brian Haberlin (0-1), Kevin Grangel. Sub. - Dylan Wickham for Grangel.
Referee: David Jenkins (Gusserane).