Ryan’s to the fore as Borris-Ileigh better Nenagh

GAA: North Tipperary Under 21 'A' Hurling Semi-Final

Nenagh Eire Og 1-13

Borris-Ileigh 2-16

Report: Shane Brophy at MacDonagh Park, Nenagh

Borris-Ileigh’s quest for a second North Tipperary Under 21 ‘A’ Hurling title in three years remains on track as they were impressive winners over Nenagh Eire Og in the semi-final on Sunday.

Nenagh hosted the semi-final by virtue of winning their group in the round-robin section with three wins from three, but it mattered little here as they were outmuscled and outgunned by a well-drilled Borris-Ileigh side who, in Eddie Ryan, had the games dominant player, finishing with 1-11, 1-4 from play.

The former Tipp minor and under 20 ran the show from centre-forward and despite Nenagh playing a man-marker in Taurai Shayanewako in front of centre back Jake Donellan-Houlihan, Ryan as always able to find pockets of space, while was also accurate from placed balls.

Paddy McCormack was also strong in the early going at full forward but for the most part was well shackled by the excellent Cian Connolly. Eoin Boyle was also impressive with three points from play while his brother Colm was to the fore at full-back, keeping tabs on Billy O’Brien, as did Patrick Ryan in the second half who was outstanding.

Nenagh lacked the scoring power Borris-Ileigh had with the injured Zak Keller a big loss from their half-forward line where they relied heavily on Sam O’Farrell who scored all bar three points of their total.

The game started with a massive intensity which continued throughout with Borris-Ileigh’s Ryan and McCormack getting off the mark quickly, as did Billy O’Brien for Nenagh.

However, it was quickly notable that Borris-Ileigh had the edge in attack with Eddie Ryan adding his second before playing in Eoin Boyle for a fourth point.

Borris were getting to the ball first and winning frees with Ryan converting his first on nine minutes, responded to by Sam O’Farrell a minute later, 0-5 to 0-2. Ryan converted three more frees along with a second from Boyle as Borris led by seven by the time O’Farrell scored again on eighteen minutes.

Nenagh were starting to get some traction when O’Farrell pointed again but conceded a goal on 22 minutes, a flowing move from one end to the other, starting with a short puckout from Archie Devaney to Colm Boyle who passed to Patrick Ryan, and he took off on a solo run from inside his own half and played a one-two with Eoin Boyle, ending up on the 21-yard line, where straight at Dermot McTiernan but Paddy McCormack was on hand to fire the rebound to the net, 1-9 to 0-4.

Nenagh had a chance almost immediately to cancel it out when they were awarded a penalty two minutes later after a foul on Taurai Shayanewako who had ventured forward, however, Sam O’Farrell fired left and wide. He did convert two frees to one for Eddie Ryan as Borris led 1-10 to 0-6 at the break.

When Ryan scored a superb goal on 36 minutes for a 2-10 to 0-7 lead, the game looked done, but Nenagh rallied and reeled off four points in a row, three from O’Farrell and one from Filip McIntyre to give themselves some momentum and hope.

However, Eddie Ryan landed a relieving score and with Darragh Cute and Ryan again on target, an eight point lead was re-established going into the last ten minutes, where Nenagh reduced to fourteen men after sub Jack McLoughlin red carded for an off the ball incident.

A 59 minute free to the net from Sam O’Farrell threatened to set up a grandstand finish but two late points from steady Eddie Ryan confirmed Borris-Ileigh’s place in the final.

Player of the Match: Eddie Ryan (Borris-Ileigh)

Borris-Ileigh: Archie Devaney (7); Harry Gould (7), Colm Boyle (7), Eamon Groome (7); Lar Stapleton (7), Tom Delaney (7), Patrick Ryan (8); Cian Murphy (7), Mikey Kennedy (7); Darragh Chute (0-1, 7), Eddie Ryan (1-11, 0-7f) 9), Eoin Boyle (0-3, 8); Patrick Brett (6), Paddy McCormack (1-1, 7), Razuk Atik (6).

Subs: Donnacha Ryan (6) for Brett (44); Charlie Fitzgerald (NR) for Chute (60).

Nenagh Eire Og: Dermot McTiernan (6); Keelan Rice (7), Cian Connolly (7), Sean Moylan (7); Jake Donelan-Houlihan (6), Charlie Cavanagh (7), Taurai Shayanewako (7), Tom Kennedy (6); Mason Cawley (6), Emmet Jones (7); Filip McIntyre (0-2, 7), Sam O’Farrell (1-10, 1-8f, 8), Eoin Garrigan (6), Billy O’Brien (0-1, 6), Jamie Kennedy (6).

Subs: John O’Reilly (6) for J Kennedy (HT); Jack McLoughlin (NR) for T Kennedy (40); Valters Janitens (6) for Rice (50); Ben Connolly (6) for Garrigan (50)

Referee: Alan Tierney (Shannon Rovers).