Lorrha edge out Sarsfields tosecure back-to-back promotions
Lorrha were crowned County Premier Intermediate Hurling champions following a tremendous victory over Thurles Sarsfields in an absorbing replay at MacDonagh Park on Saturday.
GAA: FBD Insurance County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Final Replay
Lorrha 2-13
Thurles Sarsfields 0-18
Report: James Hayden in Nenagh
MATCH DIGEST
Player of the Match: Cian Hogan (Lorrha).
SCORERS – Lorrha: Colm Fogarty 0-7 (5 frees); Cian Hogan 1-3; Patrick Maher 1-0; Eoin McIntyre 0-2; Niall McIntyre 0-1.
Thurles Sarsfields: Jack Lanigan 0-10 (5 frees, 1 65); Rory Purcell 0-3; Aidan Ryan 0-2; Harry Fitzgibbon, Liam McCormack, Mossie McCormack, Robbie Stapleton 0-1 each.
The Seamus O Riain Cup will now reside in Lower Ormond for the first time ever after what has been a roller-coaster three years for the Blues. Just three years ago, Lorrha were narrowly edged out by Mullinahone in the 2020 Seamus O Riain final before enduring a season of discontent and subsequently were relegated to the third tier of hurling following a 2021 relegation final defeat to Burgess.
However, in what has been a remarkable turnaround for the club’s fortunes the famed hurling parish which once had six teams affiliated to hurling in North Tipperary prior to 1938, namely Redwood, Rathcabbin, The Pike, Abbeyville, Carrigahorig and Lorrha, are now back dining at the top table of hurling in the Premier County.
And boy do they deserve it! Few can argue with the fact Lorrha, under the tutelage of former inter-county goalkeeper Ken Hogan, and his backroom team of Brian Carroll, Conor O’Sullivan, Willie Fogarty, and Shane Brophy have been nothing but impressive over the course of the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Unbeaten in the championship in two years and with two North titles and two County titles under their belts, Lorrha will now feature amongst the sixteen teams who will enter the race for Dan Breen in 2024, and maybe there is more to come in this year’s Munster Intermediate Club championship for a side embedded with copious amounts heart, skill, and determination.
And it was those very qualities which saw the men from Lower Ormond edge out Thurles Sarsfields by the slenderest of margins on a MacDonagh Park pitch that had stood up admirably to the deluges of rain that hit in the preceding few days.
Lorrha’s backroom team enforced one change from the drawn final with Denis O’Meara making way for the introduction of Brian Hogan in what was a re-jigged Lorrha rearguard. Sarsfields on the other hand fielded an unchanged side and surprisingly didn’t hand Michael O’Brien a starting role considering his heroic impact from the substitute’s bench a week previous.
Prior to throw-in a minute’s silence was impeccably observed in memory of Lorrha natives, Tom Milne and Kathleen Houlihan who had recently passed to their eternal award.
Playing with the aid of a stiff breeze, Lorrha were once again afforded a tonic start and led by 1-2 to 0-1 after just six minutes following points from Eoin McIntyre and Cian Hogan and a second minute goal also form the stick of centre-forward Hogan after Patrick ‘Bonnar’ Maher set him up with the deftest of defence-splitting passes.
Thurles responded admirably though and points from Jack Lanigan (free) and Henry Fitzgibbon coupled with an earlier effort from Rory Purcell saw Brian Stakelum’s charges narrow the gap to two points.
Lorrha had their match-ups well sorted though and despite the fact that their long puckouts were not yielding dividends a brace of excellently struck Colm Fogarty frees coupled with a sublime Niall McIntyre effort on the quarter-hour mark saw Lorrha fashion a 1-5 to 0-3 lead.
Thurles hit back in style though with two fine efforts from play from the stick of the impressive Jack Lanigan bringing Sars’ to within a goal. Lorrha retaliated in devastating manner with an absolute belter of an individual goal from Patrick ‘Bonnar’ Maher firing Ken Hogan’s charges into a fully deserved six-point lead after he gathered Daniel O’Donoghue’s clearance out of defence and tore towards the Sarsfields goal before unleashing a low goal-bound effort from just inside the 21-yard line.
Eoin McIntyre enhanced Lorrha’s lead on the 20 minute mark with an arrowed effort from close-range after Sars’ failed to clear Alan O’Meara’s sideline cut. Sars’ now found themselves seven-points adrift but throughout this year’s campaign they have always found a way to claw their way back into games and they duly did just that, outscoring Lorrha by 0-5 to 0-1in the closing ten minutes of the half.
Lorrha’s defensive sextet of Tom Duggan, Ciarán Hough, Conor Hogan, Daniel O’Donoghue, Brian Hogan, and Michael Dolan were all called into action in that closing ten-minute period as they attempted to thwart a resurgent Sar’s side. Tom Duggan was forced to cough up a yellow card and pull down Liam McCormack on 21 minutes with a clear-cut goal chance in the offing if McCormack escaped his attention. Jack Lanigan duly obliged from the resulting placed ball and the fightback was now gathering pace.
Further points from Robbie Stapleton, Jack Lanigan (2) and a booming long-range effort from Aidan Ryan on the cusp of half-time ensured Sar’s trail by just three at the break, 0-10 to 2-7.
Lorrha emerged for the second half determined to kill off the game early and manufactured two clear-cut goal chances which, luckily for Sars’ went abegging. Goal poacher supreme, Christopher Fogarty had a hand in both, but Kevin Bracken in the Sars’ goal pulled off a superb 33rd minute save before another Fogarty effort seconds later was again cleared by a resolute Thurles Sarsfields defence.
Crucially for Sars’ a missed long-range Jack Lanigan free seconds later after a Cian Hogan challenge on Tommy Maher hampered their efforts to narrow the gap before Lorrha’s Colm Fogarty fired his side four clear on 36 minutes after Eoin McIntyre was denied by Kevin Bracken following yet another Patrick ‘Bonnar’ Maher assist.
Lorrha added further to their tally thanks to a Cian Hogan effort from close-range before Sars’ turned to their bench in a bid to peg back Lorrha’s five-point lead with Michael Russell coming on for Tommy Maher. Three points on the bounce from Rory Purcell, Jack Lanigan and Liam McCormack narrowed the gap to two as a slick Thurles side went up through the gears and were driven on by the hugely influential Michael Cahill at centre back.
Colm Fogarty responded with a 44th minute Lorrha free but Sars’ kept coming with an Aidan Ryan effort from range before Jack Lanigan knifed over a 48th minute 65’. Once more Colm Fogarty responded for Lorrha, accepting Alan O’Meara’s insightful pass, and bisecting the uprights with ease.
Sars’ were building momentum though and despite the loss of Michael Cahill with appeared to be a hamstring injury successive Jack Lanigan frees brought Thurles level on 53 minutes before Thurles captain, Mossie McCormack fired his side into the lead for the first and only time in the match with a cracking 55th minute strike.
Lorrha restored parity almost immediately with a Colm Fogarty free after Kieran Costello was pinged for overcarrying. Sarsfields were afforded the chance to go back in front but a 57th minute Jack Lanigan free trailed to the wrong side of the upright. By this juncture Darragh Guinan was operating well in defence and it was the Lorrha defence who really stood up in the closing stages of this game.
With a battle royale for supremacy ensuing Lorrha seized the initiative thanks to a sublimely struck Cian Hogan point on 58 minutes, a point that ultimately secured the Seamus O Riain cup for the men from Lower Ormond.
A helter-skelter four-minute period followed with Thurles Sarsfields doing their utmost to force a leveller. Eoin McIntyre looked to have sealed the deal with a late strike, but his effort ricocheted off the upright before Tom Duggan denied Thurles substitute, Michael O’Brien an almost certain point with a tremendous hook. Aidan Ryan then set up one last gasp Thurles attack, an attack that was defused by Conor Hogan first timing his clearance into the nearby Monaree housing estate. From the resulting sideline, Ryan’s effort sailed right and wide and with it went Sarsfield’s chances as Lorrha held out to secure a famous and memorable win, and a win that will live long in the memory of many a Lorrha supporter for years to come.
TEAMS – Lorrha: Michael Kennedy (7); Tom Duggan (7), Daniel O’Donoghue (7), Ciarán Hough (7); Conor Hogan (7), Michael Dolan (Capt, 8), Brian Hogan (7); Alan O’Meara (7), Niall McIntyre (8); Darragh Guinan (7), Cian Hogan (8), Christopher Fogarty (7); Colm Fogarty (8), Patrick Maher (8), Eoin McIntyre (8).
Sub: Denis O’Meara (6) for Christopher Fogarty (54).
Thurles Sarsfields: Kevin Bracken (8); Jack O’Mara (7), David Maher (7), Aidan Ryan (8); Henry Fogarty (7), Michael Cahill (8), Kieran Moloney (7); Kieran Costello (7), Harry Fitzgibbon (7); Liam McCormack (7), Rory Purcell (8), Mossie McCormack (Capt 7); Tommy Maher (7), Jack Lanigan (8), Robbie Stapleton (7).
Subs: Michael Russell (6) for Maher (39); Michael O’Brien (7) for L McCormack (43); Pa Dunne (6) for Cahill (51 inj); Tommy Maher for Lanigan (58 inj).
Referee: Peter Carroll (Burgess).