Foley on song as Rovers end title drought

A FINE point-scoring display saw put Moyle Rovers on the way to their first Tipperary senior football title since 2009 when they overcame a wobbly start to beat Ardfinnan in Thurles.

Down by 0-6 to 0-2 at one juncture of the first half, the Powerstown/Lisronagh club put over 11 points on the bounce to eventually run out comfortable winners.

Moyle Rovers went into the game as warm favourites, in front of a crowd of 2,863, but took time to get into their rhythm, sending shots wide and short as the first quarter progressed.

For all that, they were only a point down at half-time after scoring three points in two minutes close to the break.

The score of the half came when Dubai exile Peter Acheson made a brilliant catch in the middle, winning a mark, and sent a long ball into the arms of Liam Boland who released the inrushing Shane Foley who sent over a point.

Ardfinnan had put over some nice points themselves, with Billy Hewitt, Daniel O’Regan and Michael Barlow causing problems for the Rovers defence.

The second half was effectively a Moyle Rovers procession, with Liam Boland continuing his scoring streak and Shane Foley, Ross Mulcahy and Acheson in solid form.

It took Ardfinnan 26 minutes to get their first point of the second half, through Colm O’Shaughnessy, with Paul Kennedy following up shortly afterwards with an excellent goal.

The mini-revival was blunted just moments later, however, when Shane Foley ensured victory with a goal of his own.