Toome end Kiladangan hoodoo in style

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Group 1 Round 3

Toomevara 1-26

Kiladangan 1-13

Report: Shane Brophy in Dolla

Toomevara ended a twelve-game winless run against Kiladangan, stretching back to 2011, in style, to book their place in the knockout stage of the County Senior Hurling Championship.

Going into Sunday’s clash, Kiladangan knew they had the fall-back of a preliminary quarter final berth as North champions, while it was win or bust for Toomevara, and they played in that vein with an intensity and hunger that their North rivals just couldn’t match.

It was expected to be a spikey encounter and inter-county referee Michael Kennedy had his hands full from the off and it eventually boiled over midway through the second half which ultimately led to both sides finishing with thirteen men, Kiladangan’s Dara O’Dwyer and Toomevara’s Kevin McCarthy issued with straight red cards which will mean a suspension for their next game, pending appeals, while Kiladangan’s David Sweeney and Toome sub Robbie Quirke were both sent off for second bookable offences.

By the time the red mist descended, the game was pretty much over as a contest as Kiladangan were very much second best which will concern their management heading into their preliminary quarter final with another rival in Kilruane MacDonaghs.

The first fifteen minutes were competitive with Toome edging it 0-5 to 0-4 before they began taking advantage of the breeze to open up a 0-15 to 0-7 lead at half time.

Kiladangan’s indiscipline didn’t help, neither did a superb save from Rory Brislane from Dan O’Meara on 24 minutes which would have given them a shot in the arm coming up to the break.

Brislane was forced to leave the game in second half added time with concussion following a collision with Willie Connors.

Toome’s work-rate was such that Kiladangan’s half-back line which is the launching pad for their attack was pretty much stifled with Alan Flynn and Joe Gallagher as quiet as they have been in the blue and gold. Willie Connors was one of the few players that played up to standard in the middle of the field, top-scoring with 1-5, 1-3 from play.

Without control back the field, their forwards were forced to work off less than ideal ball as Toomevara dominated the physical exchanges with captain Liam Ryan dominant at centre back while Barry O’Connell was also to the fore.

Conor O’Farrell was back to his best in the middle of the field with a three point haul while each of the starting six forwards got on the score-sheet, with eleven different players contributing to their total of 1-26, including young subs Jake Hackett and Austin Duff, Toome’s bench playing its part once again.

Darragh McCarthy contributed almost half alone with 1-12, ten points coming from frees, but he won a number of them himself as he gave David Sweeney a torrid time to an extent that when he scored his goal in the 57th minute, Sweeney’s threw the hurley in vain which led to his second yellow card. The reaction to it led to Kevin McCarthy receiving his marching orders for an off-the-ball incident.

The red cards did take the gloss off the win for Toomevara who have responded well to the first round loss to Holycross/Ballycahill and the greyhounds building up momentum isn’t good for their challengers, starting with a faltering JK Brackens in a preliminary quarter final.

Player of the Match: Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara)

Toomevara: Rory Brislane (7); Joshua Powell (7), Andrew Ryan (7), Barry O’Connell (0-1, 7); Josh McCarthy (0-1, 7), Liam Ryan (8), Jake Ryan (7); Conor O’Farrell (0-3, 8), Paul Ryan (6); Jack Delaney (0-1, 7), Darren Delaney (0-1, 7), Conor O’Meara (0-1, 7); Darragh McCarthy (1-12, 0-10f, 9), Adam Hall (0-2, 7), Kevin McCarthy (0-2, 6).

Subs: Robbie Quirke (5) for P Ryan (43); Austin Duff (0-1, 7) for J Delaney (51); Jake Hackett (0-1, 7) for D Delaney (54); Cathal Frend (6) for O’Meara (59); Jack Ryan (NR) for J McCarthy (60+3); Darragh Hayes (NR) for Brislane (60+3 concussion).

Kiladangan: Barry Hogan (6); Daragh Butler (6), James Quigley (6), David Sweeney (5); Dara O’Dwyer (6), Alan Flynn (6), Joe Gallagher (6); Willie Connors (1-5, 0-2f, 8), Tadhg Gallagher (0-2, 7); Conor Byrne (0-2, 1f, 6), Billy Seymour (0-1, 6), Sean Hayes (6); Dan O’Meara (6), Neil Cahalan (6), Paul Flynn (0-2, 7).

Subs: Bryan McLoughney (5) for Cahalan (37); Conor Culhane (6) for O’Meara (38-41 blood, 48); Declan McGrath (6) for Byrne (46); John O’Meara (6) for Hayes (59).

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Newcastle).