Tourlestrane through to final.
AFTER a breathtaking finish to last week’s semi final, Tourlestrane and Tubbercurry had to do battle all over again.
Only one change was made to each team before throw in, with Cian Gilmartin replacing Tubber’s injured Eoin Coleman, and Alan Dunne replacing Tourlestrane’s injured Oisin Kennedy. The opening minutes of the game seemed somewhat livelier than that of the previous, although a lot of kick and hand passes were turned over quite easily. Five minutes in, and Cathal Henry overturned a Tubbercurry attack. Pat Harte was at the end of the move, tapping the ball over off his left.
Harte was involved in the next move also, winning a free from a long ball from Alan Dunne. Cathal Henry kicked over to increase the gap to two.
The key battle in the opening minutes was between Pat Harte and Brian Murphy, with Harte winning his share of the ball, but as the game went on Murphy handled Harte better.
Tubber kicked five wides in the first half, meaning that when they did have possession they needed to be clinical in their shot selection. David Kelly played a cross field ball to Stephen Gilmartin, who took on two Tourlestrane men to score Tubber’s first point of the day.
Tourlestrane took a trademark quick kick out, catching Tubber off guard. Two points in the next two minutes brought Tourlestrane’s lead to three. Gary Gaughan with the first, followed by a beauty from Brian Egan.
A minute later, and the first goal chance presented itself. Cathal Henry drove at the Tubber back line, driving a low shot. McGee got a touch to knock the ball onto the outside of the post, preventing Tourlestrane from pulling away.
In the next attack Tubber won a sideline, ending up with David Kelly who fed Gerard Perry. Perry scored off his right, and returned the favour to Kelly a minute later, winning a free twenty yards from goal. Kelly slotted over to reduce the margin to a point.
There was a pattern appearing in the early stages of the first half, and was evident throughout the game. Every time Tubber attacked, Rory Ryan was left in acres of space on the opposite side of the field. Ryan made great use of this in the 20th minute, beating two Tourlestrane defenders before popping over to draw the game level. This was to be the only minute of the game that the teams were level, as Tourlestrane held their lead throughout the remainder.
Gary Gaughan won a free along the 45 metre line, and Brian Egan drove the ball over to bag his third score of the game. Gaughan won another free a few minutes later, this time it was his brother Liam who got the point – his first of the game.
With a minute of normal time remaining in the half, Tourlestrane were on a counter attack. Liam Gaughan passed a ball over the head of Cian Gilmartin. Both men collided, with Gaughan seeming to come out of the challenge the worse of the two. In a controversial decision, referee Michael Duffy awarded a black card to Gilmartin, much to the displeasure of the Tubbercurry team and support.
Liam Gaughan had a chance on goal in added time, but opted for a point. Tourlestrane dominated the latter stages of the first half, pushing their lead out to four points. Tubbercurry needed scores early in the second half to give them a chance of gaining any advantage.
Half time score: Tourlestrane 0-8 Tubbercurry 0-4.
The first attack of the second half saw a long ball from Gerard Perry in towards the Tubbercurry full forward line. Adrian McIntyre cut out the pass, stretching to beat Luke Gilmartin to the ball. McIntyre made numerous key interceptions and bursting runs forward throughout the second half, a certain contender for man of the match.
Tubber went with the same long ball tactic in their next attack, this time the ball into the corner was cut out by Barry Walsh. Walsh danced his way through four Tubber men, before sending a long ball of his own in to Pat Harte. Harte won a free for his effort, with Brian Egan continuing his form infront of the posts as he got his fourth of the day.
It became quite evident in the second half that Tourlestrane had been training to deal with long, high balls which troubled the full back line on numerous occasions throughout the championship.
The game went a further seven minutes without a score, and took some excellent Tourlestrane team play to earn it. John Kelly carried the ball forward and laid off to Brian Egan. Egan changed gears and headed straight for goal.
His pass to the incoming Alan Dunne took a deflection, yet Dunne still managed to flick over to bring their lead to six.
David Kelly won a free for Tubber, and slotted over with ease, as Tubber looked to dig down deep to try and make a comeback. It must also be noted that this score came in the 40th minute, and was Tubber’s first of the half.
Within the next five minutes, Alan Dunne and Brian Egan (2) kept the scoreboard ticking for Tourelstrane. The score now read 0-13 to 0-5 in favour of the County Champions, as they looked to see off their weakening opposition.
Then, in the 50th minute Tubbercurry were well and truly put to sleep. Brian Egan spun past Darragh Kilcoyne and fed Gary Gaughan. Gaughan made no mistake in burying the ball into the back of Colm McGee’s net. Eleven points between the teams.
With Tourlestrane leading by twelve points and five minutes remaining, Tubber were always going to give it their best for what was left of their championship. Darragh Kilcoyne, Brian Morahan and David Kelly all pointed well in the closing stages. Kilcoyne took a quick free from the twenty, looking to catch out the Tourlestrane defenders. Barry Walsh got down well to the shot, saving with his right foot.
Brian Curran hit the last point of the game from a close free.
For Tourlestrane, their dream of becoming back-to-back County Champions is close to being reality. Only Eastern Harps stand in their way of holding the title for the 13th time. players; Rory Ryan, Gerard Perry, and Luke Gilmartin would certainly come to mind.
Tourlestrane team: A Bowens; N Gaughan, B Kennedy, B Walsh; G Gaughan (1-1), S Dunne, J Leonard (c) (0-1); A McIntyre (0-1), S Henry; C Henry (0-1, 1f), B Egan (0-6, 3f), A Dunne (0-2); L Gaughan (0-1, 1f), P Harte (0-1), J Kelly.
Subs used: J Quinn (0-1, 1f) for P Harte (47), J Marren for B Egan (53), N Egan for A Dunne (55), C Neary for B Kennedy (55), K Gavigan for S Dunne (57).
Tubbercurry team: C McGee; C Gilmartin, B Murphy, C Surlis; F Cretaro, B Curran (c) (0-1, 1f), R Ryan (0-1); S Gilmartin (0-1), E McGuinness; B Morahan (0-1), G Perry (0-1), J Kelly; S Kilcoyne, L Gilmartin, D Kelly (0-3, 2f).
Subs used: D Kilcoyne (0-1, 1f) for C Gilmartin (Black Card) (28), J Moran for F Cretaro (36), S Matthews for G Perry (47), D Walsh for S Kilcoyne (53), A Brennan for B Murphy (55), M Mulhern for S Matthews (59)
Referee: M Duffy.