Cashel aiming to be Munster kings again
GAA: AIB Munster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship Final Preview
By Stephen Barry
CASHEL KING CORMACS v WATERGRASSHILL
TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
Saturday, 30th November
Throw-in@ 6.00pm (E.T.)
Referee: Niall Malone (Clare)
Cashel King Cormacs will bid to end a Tipperary title drought dating back to Silvermines in 2012 when they take on Watergrasshill of Cork in the Munster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship final this Saturday evening.
All five other Munster counties have produced winners since then, with Ballina and Roscrea coming closest to a Tipperary breakthrough when contesting finals in 2013 and ’22. Cork, with nine titles, has provided almost half of the competition’s champions while Kiladangan, in 2004, were the only other Premier victors.
Cashel, however, have previous Munster championship experience, way back in 1991 when current manager TJ Connolly was part of the side that won the provincial senior title, beating another East Cork club, Midleton in the final.
have shown plenty of promise and a nose for the finish line. They trailed by five points heading into the final quarter against Limerick champions Newcastle West before reeling off eight in a row to advance. Against Kerry kingpins Abbeydorney, the gap was two entering the final fifteen minutes until a 2-8 to 0-4 scoring streak swung a decisive victory.
That sense of gas in the tank is underlined by their extra-time performances in the knockout stages of the County Championship against Éire Óg Annacarty (1-8 to 0-8) and Upperchurch/Drombane (4-1 to 0-8). In both games, Cashel had been the team to find the stoppage-time equaliser and carried that momentum forward.
Their youthful line-up has displayed strong progress across the year. They finished third in their county championship group and only survived to fight another day owing to that extra-time victory over Annacarty in the West final.
Having embedded himself in Liam Cahill’s plans with eight consecutive championship starts for Tipp, Eoghan Connolly has filled a leadership role at midfield for Cashel. His long-range free-taking acts as a deterrent for opposition fouling, racking up 3-47 (0-19 from play) across twelve games.
Their half-forward line is packed with potential, featuring two Fitzgibbon Cup winners in Cathal Quinn and Devon Ryan plus Munster U20 champion Oisín O’Donoghue.
Ryan has top-scored with 3-87 (3-25 from play), while O’Donoghue, leaving aside his viral ‘own point’, has hauled 4-18. On the inside line, Ross Bonnar (4-29) and David McGrath (5-18) pose a potent goal threat.
Their ability to see out knife-edge games has been boosted by Ger Browne’s return. He has netted a goal off the bench in three matches.
In Cork, Watergrasshill were remarkable champions. In the previous three years, their only victory had been in a relegation play-off, but they also drew a scarcely believable five consecutive games.
2001 Tipperary All-Ireland-winner and All-Star Eddie Enright, who has lived in the Cork village for the past two decades, took over as manager this year and they have gone unbeaten since.
They gave a relentless performance six days after celebrating their county title to dispatch Clare champions Wolfe Tones, who featured four All-Ireland winners.
The Hill’s superiority was such that they could afford eleven first-half wides to Tones’ one, while conceding a goal after ten seconds, and still led by five by the break. The one negative was losing corner-back Dylan Roche to a straight red card.
Centre-back Dáire O’Leary has overcome injury to anchor the team and put himself in the frame for a Cork recall. He will be kept busy by Cashel’s varied threats.
Adam Murphy and captain Seán Desmond faced up to inter-county man-markers Darragh Lohan and Rory Hayes and emerged with impressive hauls; 0-12 (9 frees) and 1-2 respectively. That star trio and Kevin O’Neill pocketed county senior medals with divisional side Imokilly last month.
Only Cashel can deny them a third major title in five weeks.