By Noel Dundon
De la Salle Waterford 1-11
Thurles CBS 0-7
Thurles CBS dream of bridging a gap spanning more than half a century in the Munster Credit Unions Dr Harty Cup will have to continue following the schools latest failure at Cashel on Saturday afternoon against holders De la Salle of Waterford.
With the hopes and wishes of the people of Tipperary behind them, the Thurles lads seemed to have put themselves in a very good position at half time - four points down having played into the teeth of the breeze. However, De la Salle got it absolutely spot on the nose tactically and having goalled in the 7th minute, they shut up shop and played out the game, to claim only their second Harty title.
The disappointment etched on the faces of the Thurles players at the final whistle was an all-too-familiar sight. There have been false dawns in the past, but the 2007/’08 season seemed to be the one to finally bring the Dr Harty Cup back to the Cathedral Town. The side had evolved and matured throughout the course of the season and they travelled to Cashel with confidence high and with a clear focus on what needed to be done to claim the silverware. Unfortunately, so too did De La Salle and they showed a few more strings to their bow than the Thurles lads, although it has to be acknowledged that Thurles failed to get out of the blocks in this final, particularly in the second half.
Any hurler, or supporter, making their way to Cashel on Saturday would have wished for better weather. The strong wind and heavy rain showers made for difficult conditions. And, as Thurles faced into the gale for the first half, the feeling was that if they could be within six points of their opponents by the turnaround , they would be in with a real chance of creating a bit of history. And, after a first half of real tigerish battling , stout defending and, manly exchanges, the Thurles lads were just four behind. It all seemed to be stacking up nicely. But, those who dared to dream, awoke to witness a nightmare.
The game turned in two minutes of second half play. A clever snapshot from Thurles midfielder Denis Maher seemed to be on it’s way to the net in the 5th minute when De la Salle keeper Stephen O’Keeffe dived full length to prevent the goal which would have left just one in it. Instead, De la Salle went upfield and Peter McCarthy goalled in the 7th after Stephen Murphy had set him up. Thurles went from being possibly just one down, to being six in arrears in two minutes - it was a cruicial juncture of the game. And, as the Thurles lads reeled from the setback, De la Salle added further points to leave a nine point deficit with just 12 minutes to go. It was game, set and match De la Salle.
The fact that the Waterford lads were holders of the Dr Harty Cup was probably a big help to them. They had campaigned through the competition last year and had a good deal of experience as a result. They knew exactly what to expect and were drawing on the experience throughout the final - it was quite evident in their tactics and their demeanour. Tactically, they left Thurles for dead.
Even when playing wind assisted, they deployed extra men in defence. From the off, Thurles’ John O’Neill was well marshalled. Indeed, the extra man in defence did a lot of sweeping up resulting in the Thurles forwards being unable to make much headway, despite the amount of ball making it’s way into the inner line.
De la Salle were off the mark first with a Stephen Power pointed free in the 2nd followed by a fine score from Niall Clifford in the 5th. Thurles responded through Ciaran Shelly - a lovely score after a pass from David Butler but Stephen Power cut a wonderful sideline ball over the bar in the 7th minute to add to their advantage.
A David Butler pointed free in the 12th was cancelled by Daniel Purcell and there seemed to be a lot of loose play at this juncture. Thurles were doing OK though and managing to keep De la Salle at bay with James Barry really coming into this own. At the other end though, the Waterford lads were well on top, particularly in the half back line where Thurles were failing to make headway.
Points from Peter McCarthy, and two huge long range frees from Stephen Power left De la Salle 0-7 to 0-3 to the good at the break - Colm Ryan grabbing Thurles’ third score five minutes from the break. The situation could have been worse for Thurles had it not been for the joint efforts of keeper Bill McCormack and midfielder Denis Maher who prevented a Waterford goal right on the stroke of the whistle -conceeding a goal would have have been a sickening blow at this stage, but Thurles held out and were in a very good position at the break.
De la Salle didn’t panic. They were in control and while they probably felt that more scores would be desirable, they still felt that they could create chances. They did.
Thurles needed to start firing from the off. The attack had been very mute in the first half and they needed to start creating a rumpus. John O’Neill’s score in the 1st minute after resumption prompted optimistic thoughts - Stephen Power though cancelled it in the 4th form a free.
Then came that crucial save from Denis Maher - it really was a great save as O’Keeffe dived low to high left to deny the Sarsfields man. Still Thurles pressed on with a David Butler pointed free helping.
But, when Peter McCarthy goalled in the 7th, the bottom fell out of the Thurles CBS world. Stephen Power, Peter McCarthy and Power again pointed to leave the Thurles lads reeling. The game was over if Thurles didn’t find a goal very soon. They didn’t
De la Salle packed the defence further still - they adopted a ‘what we have, we hold’ mentality, and it had the desired affect. Thurles just could not penetrate - the Waterford lads had just two players in the entire second half of the pitch for the last quarter.
Thurles managed scores from Kieran Morris and James Barry in the final moments but they were too little too late - their race was run De la Salle held onto their title.
The pouring rain which fell as De la Salle lifted the Harty Cup, reflected perfectly the tears of disappointment for Thurles CBS. It’s one thing being beaten in a final - it’s another thing entirely when you know you just didn’t play up to scratch - that was the really disappointing thing for Thurles CBS. And, while they do have the All-Ireland series to make amends and restore their reputation, the Harty was the one they wanted.
It’s been a long season for Thurles and they have had many stars throughout the campaign. But, that counted for little on Saturday. James Barry was their outstanding player again at centre back and when he moved up-field later on also. Captain Kevin O’Gorman was very solid while keeper Bill McCormack did all that was asked of him. David Butler too worked hard while Denis Maher, Rory Ryan, Patrick O’Brien and Stephen Maher had their moments.
For Thurles the quest for Harty Cup glory goes on. The monkey is still on the back.
De la Salle could be criticised for being a negative, defensive side. Will they care? Not one bit. They are Harty Cup champions and deserved the title. They got their tactics spot on and outfoxed Thurles throughout the park and off it. A physically stronger team than Thurles, De la Salle used their strength to good effect - the conditions probably suited them better than Thurles as well.
Stephen Power bagged seven of their 12 scores and was a constant thorn in the Thurles side. His freetaking was superb and clinical and he fired over a fantastic sideline cut also. Peter McCarthy was also very impressive for De la Salle while Daniel Purcell, Philip Mahony, Barry Coughlan, Oran keevers and Noel Connors had top class games. De la Salle will have a big say in the All-Ireland Colleges competition.
Teams and Scorers: De la Salle: S O’Keeffe, R Cunningham, B Coughlan, O Keevers, N Connors, P Mahony, S Daniels. D Purcell 0-1, E Barrett, J Dillon, N Clifford 0-1, P McCarthy 1-2, S Power 0-7, B O’Sullivan, P Mahony. Subs:P Farrelly for Purcell.
Thurles CBS: B McCormack, S Maher, K O’Gorman,( all Sarsfields), P Ryan (Upperchurch Drombane), M Doyle (Holycross Ballycahill), J Barry 0-1 (Upperchurch Drombane), R Ryan (Moycarkey Borris), D Maher (Sarsfields), P O’Brien (Knockavilla Kms), C Shelly 0-1 (Ballingarry), M Greene (Upperchurch Drombane), C Ryan 0-1 (do), J O’Neill 0-1 (Clonoulty Rossmore), D Butler 0-2 (Drom-Inch), K Morris 0-1 (Moycarkey Borris). Subs: M Russell (Sarsfields) for M Greene; P Looby (Drom Inch) for R Ryan; A McCormack (Durlas Og) for Shelly; P Molloy (Moycarkey Borris) for D Butler.
Referee: G Hoey (Clare)