Templederry into relegation after strong Clonoulty finish

Clonoulty/Rossmore got the better of Templederry Kenyons in this bottom of the table clash in the County Senior Hurling Championship group 4 on Sunday.

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Group 4 Round 3

Clonoulty/Rossmore 3-23

Templederry Kenyons 1-20

Report: John O’Shea at The Ragg

Templederry, playing with the aid of the breeze, were quickly off the mark when Sean Ryan fired over within forty seconds. Two minutes later, Stephen Ferncombe had the West side on terms before Enda Heffernan landed a huge point from inside his own half.

Templederry were taking the game to Clonoulty and Colm Murray split open their defence, only to have Jason O’Dwyer save well at the expense of a 65 from which he converted before Jack Ryan opened his account from around the half way.

Sean Ryan won a Clonoulty puck-out and split the posts from sixty metres and then capitalised to strike his third point on ten minutes. Eanna Murray and Gearoid Ryan added two more, either side of a Robert Doyle point.

Clonoulty’s opening goal came on thirteen minutes when Cathal Bourke, raced through and with a deft pass set up Robert Doyle who beat Tim McCutcheon with a low shot to the corner.

Mikey Ryan was beginning to cause problems for the inside line of defence, and he found Stephen Ferncombe who put two between the sides.

On the quarter hour, Jason O’Dwyer again saved his side, this time keeping a Sean Ryan’s goal bound shot at bay. Colm Murray hit his second from a placed ball, but Robert Doyle cancelled it out. Gearoid Ryan hit his second but Jack Ryan and Danny Slattery eased the West side out to a three point advantage

Templederry, finished the half with a flurry. Eanna Murray and Stephen Ferncombe traded scores while Colm Murray hit two frees, leaving just one between the sides, 1-9 to 0-11.

The Kenyons were quickly into action after the restart, with Colm Murray equalising inside the opening minute from a placed ball. Ferncombe and Murray exchanged minors before Clonoulty were rocked back with a goal from subs Padraic O’Leary, when he capitalised on an unforced error.

This goal put his side three up after 36 minutes, but from that point on, Clonoulty dictated the terms of engagement. They upped the intensity and played more direct ball out of defence, where John O’Keefe showed all of his experience.

Their forwards worked really hard with Mikey Ryan leading by example. He started the comeback when he came outfield, won a dirty ball, turned, and split the posts. This score lifted Clonoulty, and scores followed thick and fast, with two from Stephen Ferncombe and one each from Thomas Butler and Cathal Bourke, all inside a four minute spell.

Their second goal was a thing of beauty; Robert Doyle picked up a breaking ball around midfield, and his searing run cut open the defence before crashing a low unstoppable shot to the far corner of the net.

Templederry tried hard to get back into the game during the final quarter. The goal they needed never materialised. Sean Ryan put over a close-range free while Colm Murray was on target following good work by Padraic O’Leary.

However, Clonoulty’s experience came to the fore and Mikey Ryan found a new lease of life, adding three great points, drew a couple of frees and was instrumental in the build up to Stephen Ferncombe’s goal. Sean Ryan put over two points in quick succession before retiring late on with a leg injury, while Colm Murray was also on the mark.

Player of the Match: Mikey Ryan (Clonoulty/Rossmore).

Clonoulty/Rossmore: Jason O’Dwyer (8); Donnchadh Quirke (7), Ronan Heffernan (6), Jimmy Ryan (7), Sean O’Connor (7), Enda Heffernan (0-1, 7), John O’Keeffe (8), Nathan Slattery (6), Danny Slattery (0-1, 6), Jack Ryan (0-3, 7), Stephen Ferncombe (1-8, 0-7f), Cathal Bourke (6); Mikey Ryan (0-4, 8), Thomas Butler (0-1, 6), Robert Doyle (2-1, 8).

Subs: Jimmy Maher (6) for Butler (46), Aidan Loughman (6) for N Slattery (51), Ciarán Quirke (6) for D Slattery (56).

Templederry Kenyons: Tim McCutcheon (6); Liam McCutcheon (6), Christy Coughlan (7), Dale Donnelly (6); Darragh Carey (7), Adrian Ryan (6), Tom Stapleton (6); Pio Kennedy (7), Cillian Kennedy (6), Colm Murray (0-9, 7f, 7), Gearoid Ryan (0-2, 7), Sean Ryan (0-6, 5f, 7), Mikie Ryan (6), Eanna Murray (0-3, 8), Sean Collins (6).

Subs: Paidi Ryan (7) for A Ryan (18 inj), Padraic O’Leary (1-0, 6) for C Kennedy (HT), Padraig Hogan (6) for E Murray (54), Conor Looby (NR) for S Ryan (59 inj), Cathal O’Brien (NR) for Collins (60).

Referee: Peter Carroll (Burgess).