Tourlestrane fight back to win two in a row
TOURLESTRANE EASTERN HARPS 1-13 1-09
TOURLESTRANE’S second-half comeback saw them crowned Senior Football Championship winners for the second year in a row - the first club to do so since St. Patrick’s in the late 1980s. DESPITE trailing 1-06 to 0-05 at the half way mark, the reigning champions dug deep in the second-half to carve out a hard fought win against a steely Harps side.
Seven first half wides from Tourlestrane would certainly have been a concern for the management of Eamonn O’Hara and Gerry McGowan, but their charges were far more productive with possession in the second half.
Few would have given Shane King’s side a sniff coming into this game, but their accuracy in the first-half compared with Tourlestrane’s wastefulness meant that they held a well deserved lead at the break.
Alan Dunne opened the scoring on five minutes after Tourlestrane had already hit two wides, with Shane O’Grady levelling the scoring from a free minutes later.
The underdogs spurned a golden opportunity to go fruther ahead seconds later when Thomas Cryan worked his way into an excellent position to hit the back of the net, but he could only watch on as his effort smacked the crossbar.
Again, O’Grady was on hand to give Harps the lead with another free-kick before the impressive Cathal Henry made it two points apiece.
Tourlestrane hit two further wides before O’Grady again hit over.
Man of the match John Kelly hit the post, before Brian Egan hit over.
Shane O’Grady’s fourth free of the afternoon was never going to go wide, but they did have to contend with the grit of Tourlestrane.
Brothers Gary and Liam Gaughan combined, before O’Grady again put his side ahead with two further points from free kicks.
Cathal Henry halved the deficit but Martin Doherty’s goal in the late stages of the first half gave Harps a well deserved 1-06 to 0-05 lead at the break.
They knew, however, that they were going to be up against it in the second half as Tourlestrane were not going to give up without a fight.
Whatever O’Hara and McGowan said to their players at the half way mark certainly seemed to have the desired effect, as they hit over two quick fire points after the restart, with Liam Gaughan and John Kelly hitting over in quick succession.
Points from Liam Gaughan and Pat Harte brought the scoreline level, before Gary Gaughan and Brian Egan hit over to give Tourlestrane a two point lead on 43 minutes.
That lead was halved when Thomas Cryan hit over, but Egan restored his side’s two point lead just seconds later.
Last year’s champions were looking like the more dangerous side and they showed what they can do on 51 minutes when Henry was played in by Liam Gaughan, his goal giving Tourlestrane a bit of cushion with less than ten minutes left on the clock.
Martin Doherty’s point brought Harps to within four points of their opponents, while goalkeeper Stephen Heraghty pulled off an excellent save to prevent John Francis Carr from extending their lead even further.
Ross Donovan’s excellent point from out wide meant Harps were three points behind with time running out fast, but John Kelly’s late point secured a four point victory for Tourlestrane, who were the first Sligo club in nearly three decades to win the elusive two in a row.
Tourlestrane: Alan Bowens, Noel Gaughan, Brian Kennedy, (Colin Neary, 30+2), Barry Wlalsh, Alan Dunne, Adrian McIntyre, James Leonard, Stephen Henry (John Quinn, 30+3), Shane Dunne, Cathal Henry (John Marren, 60), Brian Egan, Gary Gaughan (John Francis Carr, 53), Liam Gaughan, Pat Harte, John Kelly.
Eastern Harps: Stephen Heraghty, Gavin Hordan, Kevin Cryan (Barry Cryan, 55), Darragh Madden, Michael Clarke, Ross Donovan, Conor Higgins, Tony Taylor, Kevin Gallagher, Colin McGill (Michael Lennon, 48), Thomas Cryan, Declan Hannon (James O’Hara, 48), Evan Lavin, Shane O’Grady, Martin Doherty.
Referee: Barry Judge