Rocks hitting their stride
TARA ROCKS seem to be hitting their stride at the opportune moment as they registered a second successive win in the Top Oil Intermediate A Hurling Championship when getting the better of Duffry Rovers by 2-19 to 0-16 in Sunday afternoon’s fourth round clash at St. Patrick’s Park.
Indeed, from the moment top-scorer Dean O’Toole stitched their opening goal on six minutes, the Gorey district men never looked back, but they were surely surprised by the lack of vigour in their opponents.
70 per cent of Duffry’s first-half tally came from frees, and they only added two more points from play in the second-half as they failed to make an impression up front.
In contrast, the victors had contributors from different areas of the pitch, as hard-working midfielder Paudie Hughes (twice), Lee Owley and Ben O’Connor all split the posts from play to add to the accuracy of O’Toole from frees as Tara Rocks raced into a 1-11 to 0-10 lead by half-time.
Despite Cian Fitzhenry pointed from play 23 seconds into the new half, it represented a false dawn as Tara Rocks continued to dictate proceedings on their own terms. And they enhanced their lead on forty minutes when Lee Owley collected possession, skipped past Stephen Watchorn in goal and nestled low in the dressing-room end net (2-14 to 0-12).
Niall Hughes made a welcome return off the bench following his summer sojourn in America, and they outscored Rovers 0-5 to 0-4 before the end to clinch victory in a rather straightforward manner. Paudie Hughes nicked his third point in that spell, with Owley bringing up his own salvo to 1-2, and O’Toole converting two more frees to condemn Duffry Rovers to their second loss.
Victory means that Tara Rocks have set up a mouth-watering winner takes all clash with district rivals St.Patrick’s in the last round, although they do have the safety blanket of a draw being good enough to advance.
Tara Rocks: Tom Hughes; Aidan Jones (capt), Edward Hughes, Rhys Owley; Mark Boland, Conor Devitt, Jim Hughes; Paudie Hughes (0-3), Niall Breen (0-1); Lee Owley (1-2), Stephen Hughes (0-1). Peter Hughes; Dean O’Toole (1-11, nine frees), Ben O’Connor (0-1), Patrick Fortune. Subs: Niall Hughes for Peter Hughes (43), Bobby Hughes for Fortune (48), Murt Sheehan for Stephen Hughes (51), Cathal O’Reilly for Jim Hughes (53), Colin Breen for Lee Owley (58).
Duffry Rovers: Stephen Watchorn; James Nolan, Eamonn Doyle, Thomas Dunne; John Dunne, Donie Doyle, Aidan Byrne; Cathal Clince (0-7, six frees), Robert Frayne (0-1); Joe Coleman, Johnny Flynn-O’Connor (0-1), Cian Fitzhenry (0-6, five frees); Donie O’Connor, Liam Pender, Gavin Watchorn (0-1). Subs: Alan O’Neill for Donie O’Connor (39), Colm Redmond for Eamonn Doyle (47), Gavin Rafter for Coleman (54).
Referee: Martin Quigley (Clonard).