Blues remain Too’ good for all the rest
Tooreen centre-back Stephen Coyne and Ballinderreen’s Evan Morgan focus on the sliothar during last Sunday's Connacht intermediate cub hurling championship final in Athleague. Pictures: David Farrell Photography
They were the first and remain the only champions ever eligible to even attempt back-to-back wins, by virtue of them having no avenue to pursue senior championship hurling, but the fact that Tooreen have now not just won two, or three, but the last four Connacht intermediate titles is enough to tell you that Mayo hurling is in the midst of something quite special at present.
The East Mayo club’s dominance of the provincial championship – and of the very best Galway intermediate teams in particular – shows no signs of abating, after they again delivered all the right answers in what was a serious examination from Ballindereen in last Sunday’s final showdown.
It had been at Ballindereen’s expense that Tooreen landed their first provincial title six years ago, and the Galway boys had every look of a team intent on revenge when storming into a 0-4 to no score lead inside eight minutes. But despite taking thirteen minutes to raise their first flag, Tooreen roared back into contention to lead by two points at half-time. And no matter how hard Ballinderreen tried – and my, did they try – they were simply unable to peg back the Blue Devils during a mile-a-minute second-half. Title number five might just be Tooreen’s sweetest yet.
The match had ended in a welter of excitement as a goal is all that separated the teams when referee John Murphy awarded Ballinderreen a 20-metre free in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time. Team captain Roy Lane aimed for the Tooreen net in search of the equaliser but goalkeeper Bobby Douglas saved and substitute Kieran Gill’s fierce pull at the rebound was deflected over the crossbar, to ensure there would be no extra-time.
Corner-forward Lane had struck two points in that bright start by Ballinderreen, including one from a self-won free, while midfielder Robbie Meehan and Kieran Ryan had also both hit the target before Tooreen, taking some time to reach the pitch of the play, eventually got their side of the scoreboard moving.
It was the superb long-range free-taking of Sean Kenny that settled them (he fired over three in-a-row) and from once Oisin Greally landed their opening point from play in the seventeenth minute, the Blues hardly looked back.
They still trailed 0-4 to 0-5, after centre-forward Evan Morgan was afforded far too much room and shot over from 45 metres, and there was an exchange of points from play between Shane Boland and Niall Coen, the latter whistling the sliothar a fraction over the Tooreen crossbar, but when Eoin Delaney rocketed over back-to-back points in the 23rd minute to send Ray Larkin’s side in front for the first time, 0-7 to 0-6, it was a lead Tooreen were never to surrender.
Liam Lavin and Shane Boland, a free, had a couple of points negated by Ballinderreen full-forward Niall Coen and Shane Larkin before Eoin Delaney, who would go on to deservedly receive the man-of-the-match award, saw a goal chance deflected past the upright by netminder Michael Kelly in first-half stoppage time. The chance arose after a booming Bobby Douglas clearance was broken into Delaney’s path by Shane Boland, but with Sean Kenny nailing the ’65 for his fourth point, it meant Tooreen held a 0-10 to 0-8 advantage at the turnaround – despite having only really hurled for half the half.
Within ten minutes of the restart they had moved five points clear, as captain Shane Boland, from a trio of frees, Delaney and Kenny Feeney, quite brilliantly from tight to the right sideline, all split the posts, with only a brace from midfielder Kevin Lane by way of response for Ballinderreen.
In fact, the Mayo champions outscored their opponents by 0-15 to 0-6 from the 13th to the 40th minute, something that was constructed upon a dominance of midfield where the ferocious hunger of Sean Kenny, Daniel Huane, Fergal Boland, and others, was simply too much for Ballinderreen – who had lost full-back Robbie Lane to injury in the opening minute of the match – to handle.
Tooreen led 0-15 to 0-10 with the final quarter fast approaching, however, Ballinderreen were about to strike a purple patch of their own, with their rangy full-forward Niall Coen bagging himself three excellent points from play in just four minutes, while Roy Lane picked off his first free of the half, to leave just one point between the teams.
It was then, however, that the experience, calmness and muscle memory of Tooreen, honed from past glories against the likes of Killimor, Moycullen, Kinvara and Ballinderreen themselves, and against London kingpins Robert Emmetts and St Gabriel’s, truly kicked in. Fergal Boland, back from an injury sustained in the county final, chose a crucial time to open his account, while Sean Kenny hit his first point from play and substitute Brian Morley also scored within seconds of his introduction, to leave Tooreen 0-18 to 0-14 in front after 51-minutes.
Ballinderreen halved their deficit through a couple of Roy Lane frees only for the elusive Eoin Delaney to fire back with another two from play, and although Kevin Lane pointed for a third time in the half, the reply to that was undoubtedly a result of the best team move of the day, with Shane Boland, the Kenny brothers, Sean and David, and even corner-back Gary Nolan, all having a hand in setting up Liam Lavin to convert and leave Tooreen 0-21 to 0-17 ahead.
Roy Lane, from a 61st minute free, made it a one score game, and three minutes later he would have that one last crack at forcing a draw, but Tooreen defended their goal manfully and now await the winners of next Saturday’s Munster final between Corofin (Clare) and Castlelyons (Cork at the Gaelic Grounds.
The All-Ireland semi-final is scheduled for the weekend of December 16/17.
Scorers – Tooreen: Sean Kenny (3f, 1 ’65), Shane Boland (4f) and Eoin Delaney 0-5 each, Liam Lavin 0-2, Oisin Greally, Kenny Feeney, Fergal Boland and Brian Morley 0-1 each.
Ballinderreen: Roy Lane 0-6 (5f), Niall Coen 0-5, Kevin Lane 0-3, Robbie Meehan, Evan Morgan, Shane Larkin, Kieran Ryan and Kieran Gill 0-1 each.
Tooreen: Bobby Douglas; Gary Nolan, Michael Morley, Conal Hession; Joe Boyle, Stephen Coyne, David Kenny; Sean Kenny, Daniel Huane; Oisin Greally, Fergal Boland, Liam Lavin; Eoin Delaney, Kenny Feeney, Shane Boland. Subs: Sean Regan (for Boyle 47), Brian Morley (for Feeney 51), John Cassidy and David Harrison (for Huane and S Boland 60+1).
Ballinderreen: Michael Kelly; Brendan Burke, Robbie Lane, Hugh Moylan; Matthew O’Connor, Kieran Meehan, David Mannion; Robbie Meehan, Kevin Lane; Sean Meehan, Evan Morgan, Shane Larkin; Roy Lane, Niall Coen, Kieran Ryan. Subs: Sean Collins (for R Lane 1, inj), David O’Connor and Padraig Lafferty (for Ryan and S Meehan 43), Kieran Gill (for Burke 47), Stephen Mannion (for Larkin 55).
REF: John Murphy (Limerick)
