Taghmon hold on with 14 men
Disappointing loss for Rocks
TAGHMON-C’ROSS TARA ROCKS
DESPITE PLAYING with 14 players for the entire second-half, Taghmon-Camross still emerged the superior force as they fashioned a thoroughly deserved three-point victory over Tara Rocks in this Top Oil Intermediate ‘A’ hurling championship Group A game in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday.
When reduced to 14 right on the half-time break, with Barry O’Gorman dismissed on a second yellow card offence, it looked as if the south county side had blown their chance of victory.
However, with Jason Ryan re-organising his side during the interval, they went on to control the second period except for a brief spell on the resumption, with the losers’ goal only arriving in additional time.
Very little separated the sides through the opening quarter which ended with the sides level (0-4 each).
After Barry O’Gorman and Dean O’Toole (free) had exchanged opening points, they went on to swap three further scores, with David O’Keeffe, Chris Cullen and Barry O’Gorman on target for the south county side, while Niall Breen and Dean O’Toole (two, one free) replied.
Playing with greater cohesion and making better use of their possession, Taghmon-Camross went on to strike five unanswered points through Chris Cullen (two frees), David O’Keeffe, Cathal Doyle and a fine Barry O’Gorman effort off the sideline.
Colin Breen who closed out the first-half scoring with a neat point, leaving the eventual winners leading by 0-9 to 0-6 at the interval.
Within two minutes of the restart a long Ian Carty pointed free extended his side’s lead, but following this Tara Rocks went on to enjoy their best passage of play.
They responded with points through Conor Devitt, Niall Hughes, Dean O’Toole and Hughes once again to tie the sides at 0-11 each after 38 minutes, with Cullen managing a solitary pointed free in between.
However, the goal that Taghmon-Camross had been threatening eventually arrived five minutes from the end when substitute Shane Lacey pounced on a breaking ball to fire first-time low to the net, leaving his side with a 1-16 to 0-11 lead after they had initially pulled clear.
Tara Rocks switched Niall Hughes from his centre-back role in an effort to salvage something from the game, and he made an immediate impact in attack with a number of threatening runs.
However, his goal in additional time arrived too late to alter the result.
Taghmon-Camross: Jack Dunne; David O’Keeffe (0-2), Alan Nolan, Mark O’Gorman; Stephen Stafford, Ian Carty (0-1 free), Shane Doyle; Barry O’Gorman (0-3), Darren Carty; Thomas Furlong, Chris Cullen (0-8, 5 frees), Darren Hayden; Michael O’Gorman, Stephen O’Gorman, Cathal Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Shane Lacey (1-0) for Michael O’Gorman, Stephen O’Keeffe (0-1) for Furlong.
Tara Rocks: Tom Hughes; Tomás Owley, Aidan Jones, Paudie Hughes; Stephen Hughes, Niall Hughes (1-2), Jim Hughes; Niall Breen (0-2), Mark Boland; Colin Breen (0-1), Conor Devitt (0-1), Ben O’Connor; Lee Owley, Dean O’Toole (0-6, 4 fres), Patrick Fortune (0-1).
Referee: Aiden O’Brien (Cloughbawn).