Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels       7-06

Upperchurch Drombane                               2-09

By Mark Dunne PRO

A brace of first half goals saw Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels advance to this year’s Mid Tipperary Minor B Football Final at the expense of a determined Upperchurch Drombane on a dull evening in Drombane.

Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels began the strongest; within the opening three minutes they found themselves 1-01 to 0-00 up, Sean Hayes (1-00) and Martin Ryan (0-01) on target for the visitors. Three minutes later and Conor Bowe from what appeared to be a miskick found the roof of the net to extend the lead to seven. Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels were now playing with a sense of freedom, their defence sniffing out any Upperchurch attack with Kieran Larkin and Shane Lowe to the fore. Upperchurch though had chances and a superb run from Eanna Ryan nearly saw him find the back of the Moyne net but his shot went narrowly wide. It took until the 17th minute for the home team to find their first score with the scoreboard now reading 2-03 to 0-01. Martin Ryan was next to raise a green flag with a superb finish to the roof of the net, 3-03 to 0-01. Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels eye for goal did not end there, a fantastic move starting with Kieran Larkin and ending with Conor Bowe saw yet again another green flag raised. Upperchurch Drombane though rallied back and scored 1-01 before the break to leave the score at half time, Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels 4-06 Upperchurch Drombane 1-02.

The second half begun with Upperchurch Drombane dominating play, three scores without reply saw them gain a foothold in the game. Their quick running game lead to difficulty for the Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels defence but a quick counter-attack in the 37th minute saw Micheál Mulcaire get his team’s 5th goal. This however would be their final score until the 61st minute. A hugely dominant second half saw Upperchurch Drombane come storming back into the game. A narrowly missed goal opportunity soon after could have turned the tide of the game but the Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels defence stood strong. Relentless pressure though eventually saw Upperchurch get their second goal and reduce the deficit to 8 points with less than 10 minutes remaining. That gap was further reduced to 6 until Gearoid O’Connor on a superb individual run finished the ball expertly into the corner of the net, 6-06 to 2-09 the scoreboard read. With time almost up referee Tom McGrath then awarded Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels a late penalty which Conor Bowe duly converted. The full time whistle soon followed to leave the scoreboard reading Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels 7-06 Upperchurch Drombane 2-09.

Goals most certainly win the matches however the Moyne Templetuohy/Thurles Gaels players can be very proud of their performance. A difficult second half saw them face attack after attack but they held out. Their attention now turns to the Mid Final which takes place this Friday night against Boherlahan in a venue yet to be confirmed. We wish players and mentors all the best on their quest for glory.

Team and scorers: Barry Ryan, Kieran Larkin, Darragh Taylor, Ciaran Llyod, Dean Lawlor (0-01),Shane Lowe, Dylan O’Shaughnessy, Shane Ryan, Gearoid O’Connor (1-00), Chris Munroe, Sean Hayes (1-00), Ben Ryan, Martin Ryan (2-01),Conor Bowe (C) (3-03), Micheál Mulcaire (1-00). Subs used: Bill Hogan for Dean Lawlor, Jack Keogh for Micheál Mulcaire, Colin O’Shaughnessy for Martin Ryan and Patrick Kiely for Ben Ryan.

Referee:

Tom McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)