Thurles Advance After Mighty Clash with Flannan's
Thurles CBS 0-17 St Flannan's, Ennis 2-10Thurles CBS remain on course to retain their Dr Harty Cup, Munster Senior Colleges title after a hard fough, but deserved victory over St F
lannan's Ennis in the quarter final tie at Claughan on Wednesday afternoon last.
A fine game of hurling with the initiative swaying this way and that, the Thurles lads were made to fight all the way and had to battle hard at the very death to keep St Flannan's at bay. Indeed, had the Ennis school not managed to land 15 wides in the hour, they could well have found themselves in the Harty Cup semi-final having knocked out the defending champions.
But, games are won on the chances created and taken, not the chances missed, and Thurles proved to be more adept in this department once they got into stride.
Undoubtedly the foundations to Thurles victory were laid in the last ten minutes of the first half. Having raced into a two point lead through Pa Dunne and Aidan McCormack efforts, Thurles found themsleves five in arrears by the end of the first quarter - Niall Arthur striking a goal for Flannan's in the 12th after getting onto a long deliver from Stephen O'Halloran, while Arthur (2), Shane O'Connor and Brian Hehir were also on target.
Dr Harty Cup Downe's Goals Down Our Lady's
Ardscoil Ris 2-10 Our Lady's Templemore 1-9On the strength of a powerful last quarter revival Our Lady's Templemore deserved at least a draw from this gripping Harty Cup quarter-final, in Golden, on Thursday, but, their hopes were dashed dashed by a spectacular 61st minute goal from Kevin Downes that sealed victory for favourites Ardscoil Ris.
A game played in pleasant mild conditions at the beautiful modern Golden complex did not really ignite until the last ten minutes. The fireworks were well worth the wait, however, as Our Lady's outscored their rivals 0-4 to 0-1 to set up a spell-binding finish that saw the Limerick side lead by just one point right on the stroke of normal time (1-10 to 1-9).
The Templemore school left no stone unturned as they strove valiantly in search of the equaliser. But, it wasn't to be, and top scorer Downes brought a curious mixture of joy and relief to the Shannonsiders after a tough struggle. He won possession thirty metres out, moved into into a prime position, and exploited the opening before crashing home a splendid goal. Players of lesser ability and confidence might have taken the safe option of putting the ball over the bar, but, to his credit, the classy full-forward spotted the opportunity to blast low for a major, and to the delight of the school's followers he applied the perfect finish. As our Lady's players slumped to the ground in heartbreak after being so near and yet so far, the winners celebrated with added gusto, in the knowledge that they had to work their socks off to dispose of a Temlemore side who were given little chance by pundits in match forecasts.
Dr Harty Cup Forde Stars in Nenagh Win
Nenagh CBS 2-12; De La Salle Waterford 0-11NENAGH CBS will face holders Thurles CBS in the semi-finals of the Harty Cup after knocking out former champions De La Salle last Wednesday in Clonmel.
Nenagh set up an all-Tipperary last four showdown as they ran out comfortable seven-point winners against Waterford outfit DLS, who won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008.
DLS have fallen from those heady heights since but this result will still have come as a shock to many followers of colleges hurling.
Nenagh were full value for the win, however, and in Silvermines forward Jason Forde they possessed a player of real quality who ultimately proved the difference between the two sides.
Forde scored seven points, including two from play and two magnificent sideline cuts, as Nenagh booked a clash with Thurles CBS on February 7.
Four first half points from Forde helped Nenagh to lead by 1-6 to 0-8 at half-time and he added three more after the interval as the three-time beaten finalists reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2000.
John O'Brien and Eoin Hogan scored 1-1 each for Nenagh but in contrast, DLS were toothless in attack as leading scorer Pauric Mahony banged over all eight of his points from frees.
See this week's Tipperary Star for full reports
