Loughmore and Sarsfields go head to head in County Senior Hurling Final
LOUGHMORE/CASTLEINEY V THURLES SARSFIELDS
Semple Stadium
Sunday 14th November
Throw-in @ 3.15pm
Referee: Conor Doyle (Silvermines)
Live on TG4
By Shane Brophy
To get back to a County Senior Hurling final for the second year in a row is an achievement in itself; to do it after the agony of losing in dramatic fashion is even more so as Loughmore/Castleiney look to go one step further than in 2020 on Sunday.
Standing in their way are Thurles Sarsfields, back in the final after a four-year absence, which for them seems like an eternity having won eight titles in the previous thirteen years before that.
Sarsfields were always going to rebound at some stage, they have too much talent not to. However, their issue in recent years was their team had become stale and it needed an infusion of new blood. Having their second adult in the O Riain Cup was a big help as the likes of Paul Maher, Jack Derby and Seamie Butler and stepped up rather seamlessly, while Conor Stakelum has begun to show the consistency of a player that won an All-Ireland Under 21 medal in 2018.
However, the real impact has come for the two true new faces on the team, Darragh Stakelum, and particularly Paddy Creedon. There is nothing better for any team to see young blood coming in and immediately making a mark. Stakelum is a terrific link player and is not afraid to get stuck in as he did against Kiladangan in the semi-final.
Creedon has been on the radar as a juvenile, plus as the son for former Tipp football manager Peter, is a talented footballer and is the only dual player that played in the clubs’ county junior semi-final defeat to Ballina last Saturday.
However, this year his sole focus has been on hurling having opted off the Tipperary senior and under 20 football panels, and he has improved a lot, even from the Tipp under 20 campaign where he only showed flashes of his true ability.
In the club championship, he has kicked onto another level and his performance in scoring five points from play in the semi-final against Kiladangan was a coming of age. It helps when you have a focal point beside you in the experienced skipper Denis Maher who is a terrific foil.
Also, the Thurles Sarsfields gameplan certainly plays to their strengths of getting the ball in early as they can win it and score. Their battle with Loughmore’s Joseph Hennessy and Willie Eviston is likely to be one of the key battles on Sunday.
For Loughmore/Castleiney to win, they cannot play into the hands of Padraic and Ronan Maher down the spine of the Sarsfields defence. It would be foolish to do that and considering Loughmore struggled in the direct exchanges against Borris-Ileigh, playing more of a running game might well be their best route to success.
A lot is made that this will be Loughmore’s fifteenth consecutive weekend in all competitions, however, they have been fortunate in terms of injury, apart from Brian McGrath, whose broken thumb looks set to rule him out. His loss in the half back line will be enormous as while Loughmore survived the semi-final without him, in the really big games, class players come to the fore and the Tipp star is one of them.
Expect Loughmore to go with the same starting fifteen again, although the experienced Ciaran McGrath’s cameo off the bench in the semi-final may have given the Loughmore management food for thought as he provided a presence at full forward and could release Liam Treacy to the half forward line where his ball-winning ability will be beneficial.
After a difficult campaign with Tipperary this year, John McGrath’s return to form for Loughmore has been timely and is likely he will be targeted by Thurles, possibly by Ronan Maher, however, keeping him quiet is easier said than done, the same for his brother Noel.
While Loughmore/Castleiney have many talented players, they cannot allow this game to become too open as Thurles have more, and in a shoot-out, you would expect them to prevail. As it is, they have the Indian sign over their neighbours, particularly in the Stadium, but what a time for Loughmore/Castleiney to put it right and make up for 2020 in the process.