Late Drom rally stuns Clonoulty

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Quarter Final

Drom & Inch 4-21

Clonoulty/Rossmore 3-23

Report: John O’Shea in Boherlahan

Drom & Inch are back in the Tipperary Senior Hurling quarter final for the first time since 2023 following a late comeback victory over Clonoulty/Rossmore in this preliminary quarter final on Sunday.

Played before a good crowd, in sharp but dry conditions, they trailed by eight points going into the last quarter, but turned in a storming finish, helped by two goals from David Collins and one from substitute Paudie Kinnane.

West champions Clonoulty/Rossmore were quickly out of the blocks with Stephen Ferncombe setting the tone after just ninety seconds when he put over the opening score from a placed ball.

From the puck-out, Cormac Fitzpatrick split the posts for the equaliser, before the West men hit three on the bounce, two from Ferncombe and a long range effort from Ronan Heffernan.

Robbie Long pulled one back for Drom when he ran through the centre to latch on to a ball before firing over from forty metres.

Their next score came when Seamus Callanan found the unmarked John Ryan with a diagonal pass from a free and the full forward made no mistake from out near the corner.

Stephen Ferncombe latched on to a breaking ball around midfield to stretch the lead to two before Jack Ryan found the target after cutting in from the corner.

Jason O’Dwyer saved point blank from Callanan at the expense of a 65, which the ace marksman converted.

Stevie Quinn and Ferncombe made it 0-8 to 0-4 for Clonoulty before the West side were rocked with a Drom & Inch goal after seventeen minutes after Seamus Callanan split the defence with a piercing run before laying off to Cormac Cahill, who beat O’Dwyer from close range.

Cormac Fitzpatrick tied the game with five minutes of the half remaining, but the Clonoulty hit back to finish on a high, scoring four late points, including two from Enda Heffernan from his own half as Clonoulty/Rossmore led 0-14 to 1-6.

Drom & Inch attacked after the restart and points from Seamus Callanan and Cormac Fitzpatrick had cut the deficit to two by the 32nd minute.

Lorcan Campion moved them within one before Clonoulty were awarded a penalty, after Jimmy Maher was fouled in the square; Stephen Ferncombe making no mistake from the spot with a low shot to the corner.

Maher himself then got in for goal number two, when he was first to reacted to a high ball from Jack Ryan, coming back off the upright, to beat Eoin Collins with a shot from outside the square.

Stephen Ferncombe stretched the lead to eight with fifteen minutes remaining.

Drom were in serious bother but Seamus Callanan led the comeback with two converted frees before David Collins took advantage of hesitancy in the Clonoulty defence to steer a ball, that was going wide, into the net.

Points from Callanan and Mark Conroy reduced the deficit to the minimum before Drom struck on the double inside a minute.

Firstly, David Collins fielded a high ball outside the square before turning and firing past Jason O’Dwyer.

Then, Clonoulty were slow to clear their lines and Paudie Kinnane put them five up with a fourth goal on 58 minutes.

In a hectic period of added time, Stephen Ferncombe reduced the deficit to one score with two points from placed balls.

Callanan and Mikey Ryan traded minors before John Campion got the insurance point for Drom.

Clonoulty fought back with a late Stephen Ferncombe goal from a twenty metre free, four minutes into added time, but time ran out as the full time whistle sounded.

Drom & Inch now advance to next weekend’s quarter final where they take on Mid rivals Moycarkey/Borris, while Clonoulty/Rossmore face CJ Kickhams Mullinahone in the relegation semi-final.

Player of the Match: David Collins (Drom & Inch).

Drom & Inch: Eoin Collins (6); Robbie Long (0-1, 7), Fintan Purcell (7), Kevin Hassett (7); Mark Conroy (0-1, 7), Podge Campion (7), Michael Campion (6); Cormac Cahill (1-0, 7), Lorcan Campion (0-1, 7), Darragh Kennedy (7), David Collins (2-0, 8), John Campion (0-2, 7), Seamus Callanan (0-9, 6f, 1 ’65) 8), John Ryan (0-1, 7), Cormac Fitzpatrick (0-4, 8).

Subs: Johnny Ryan (0-2, 7) for M Campion (HT), Paudie Kinnane (1-0, 8) for John Ryan (52), Jack Lillis (NR) for C Cahill (58).

Clonoulty/Rossmore: Jason O’Dwyer (7); Tommy Ryan (6), Robert Doyle (7), Danny Slattery (7); John O’Keeffe (7), Enda Heffernan (0-2, 7), Ronan Heffernan (0-2, 7), Nathan Slattery (6), Stevie Quinn (0-1, 6), Cathal Bourke (6), Stephen Ferncombe (2-16, 1-12f, 1-0 pen, 0-1 ’65) 9), Jimmy Maher (1-0, 6), Jack Ryan (0-1, 7), Ciaran Quirke (6), Mikie Ryan (0-1, 7).

Subs: Jimmy Ryan (6) for N Slattery (45), Jamie Davern (6) for Quinn (50), Philip Kelleher (6) for Maher (50).

Referee: Peter Carroll (Burgess).