Best two teams in O Riain Cup decider
By Liam Hogan
If one is to be very honest both Killenaule and Templederry Kenyons were always going to be on the shortlist to reach the final of this year’s Seamus O Riain Cup decider.
In the case of Killenaule they have the pedigree of a team that could challenge for Dan Breen honours but never quite made it. They fell to Kiladangan in the 2016 senior semi-final and like any club, descended into a valley period and that came in 2019 when they were relegated from the Dan Breen Cup.
Looking on Templederry’s historical path, they played senior hurling for a short period in the early noughties, returned to intermediate in 2006 before winning the county title in 2008. From there they maintained their steady progress and reached the Dan Breen Cup semi-final in 2014, losing to Thurles Sarsfields. Their form dropped and before long they were relegated back to the Seamus O Riain.
Looking for a quick return to the Dan Breen has been tough but Templederry remain steadfast, and they have reached the knockout stages over the last five seasons. They reached the quarter final in 2017 but fell short. They were beaten semi-finalists in 2018 & 2019 with Burgess and Holycross/Ballycahill denying them before falling short to Lorrha in the 2020 quarter final. Now they have gone one step further and who knows where it will take them?
Killenaule’s path to this year’s final began with victory over Mullinahone to win the south championship. They emerged from their O Riain group unbeaten before defeating Kiladangan in the quarter final by six points while they didn’t have it all their own way in the semi-final clash with St. Mary’s.
Killenaule’s form has been hit and miss but it’s not because they are short of talent. Their defence has been giving very little way as Paddy Codd, Killian & Joe O’Dwyer can prove.
Their attacking options are reliable also with Ciaran O’Dwyer, Mark Stakelum and the evergreen Kieran Bergin displaying potential on the half forward line. On the inside line John O’Dwyer can inspire Killenaule single handily and has good support in Eoin Shaw and the experienced Michael Doyle.
On the other side of the coin, Templederry has produced very high scoring performances and their semi-final win over Cashel was case in point. Each of the six forwards can score which is what any teams wants but the performances of Sean Ryan at corner forward has elevated the side to new heights. The twenty-year-old has been inspirational and is mentioned as one that Colm Bonnar might call into the Tipp squad for 2022.
The experienced Gearoid Ryan is back to his best at half forward. The former Tipp star is the captain this year and Templederry fans will be delighted to see he has recovered from a number of injuries endured over the past twelve months and is hoping to go the full sixty without any problems. Other players like Odhran Murphy, Adrian Ryan and Darragh Carey have had injury problems, but they have recovered Templederry can find scores anywhere and Eanna Murray, Padraig O’Leary have not let the side down so far.
Christy Coughlan had his problems on the injury front too, but the excellent full back is approaching full fitness and will expected to line out on Sunday. However, the same might not be said about Brian Stapleton but in their absence the Templederry defence has done really well with Thomas Stapleton proving he is as reliable as ever either at three or six. Both Padraig Hogan and Tadgh McLoughlin are reliable corner backs and have an ever-improving goalkeeper in Tim McCutcheon behind them. Elsewhere Dale Donnelly has played very well at right wing back while Mattie Hogan has caught the eye at midfield.
In summary we can look forward to a humdinger of a game. The two best teams are in the final and based on their ability to score, expect Templederry to win. But they need to be aware that Killenaule have a defence that hasn’t gave much away only conceding one goal over the five games. Verdict: Templederry Kenyons