Nenagh get back to winning ways

GAA: FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship Group 1

Nenagh Eire Og 5-15

JK Brackens 1-15

Report: Shane Brophy in Dolla

A very satisfying win for Nenagh Eire Og on Saturday afternoon. Off the back of the round one loss to Drom & Inch, getting back in the winning vein in the County Championship was the target for the North champions, but doing it without Jake Morris and Tommy Heffernan was a statement in itself.

Few clubs would be able to win without two key players, particularly in the scoring department, and yet Nenagh still managed to conjure up 5-15 in difficult conditions with a heavy squall impacting proceedings in the first half. The ability to win short key players says a lot about the mentality in this Nenagh squad at the moment where it is about the collective and no matter who is missing, the machine keeps on functioning pretty well.

If and when Nenagh do get back to full strength, they are building depth to their panel, added to with Mark O’Farrell starting at corner back and was strong in his defending and using the ball. His inclusion paved the way for Sam O’Farrell to move to midfield and the 2022 All-Ireland winning minor captain was outstanding in a new role, dove-tailing effectively with Michael Heffernan who top-scored with 1-10, 1-1 from play. For a player in his first year of adult hurling, O’Farrell was assured in everything he did from making tackles, linking the play, and also chipped in with two points from play.

More noted as a back, Adam Carey has added real physical presence at full forward and helps make the ball stick and chipped in with one of the five goals and also won a penalty. Ben West and Cian Crowley both came off the bench and added legs which helped Nenagh pull away from a demoralised JK Brackens side late in the game who were suffering their second defeat and are now heading for a relegation playoff, a disappointing campaign for the Templemore/Clonmore side that would have been hoping for much more.

One of the few high points in the game was the return of Paddy Cadell as a second half substitute, his first action after six months out with a knee ligament injury, and his return is timely if they are to at least preserve their senior status for next year.

The early stages were evenly contested with the first six points shared before Brackens nudged two clear with Lyndon Fairbrother accurate from placed balls. Nenagh responded to level by the quarter mark and with the breeze behind them, were struggling to build up a decent advantage.

Michael Heffernan’s radar was off from frees in the early going but his 21st minute goal was the key moment in the game, running onto a breaking ball and finished clinically. He added two frees to stretch the lead to five as Brackens indiscipline was hurting them with four players on yellow cards by half time as they trailed 1-9 to 0-6.

Six points wasn’t a massive deficit in the conditions, but their task became even harder two minutes after the restart when Adam Carey was held in the square and Nenagh were awarded a penalty which Barry Heffernan slotted away.

To their credit, Brackens responded well and wiped out that goal within two minutes, all frees from Fairbrother as they forced the Nenagh defence to concede frees.

However, their momentum was stalled when Adam Carey blasted to the roof of the net in the 37th minute but it was immediately cancelled out by Lyndon Fairbrother and when he added a free, the scoreline was 3-9 to 1-10, game on. It was almost down to two on forty minutes, but Eanna McBride had a goal ruled out for a square ball.

Nenagh were on the back foot, but Sean Phelan got a settling score a minute later, and from where they kept the scoreboard ticking over with O’Farrell, Michael Heffernan and sub Ben West responding to Fairbrother frees.

The margin was at seven on 54 minutes when Nenagh sealed the game with Brackens keeper Jack Kennedy fumbling a high ball with Philip Hickey firing to the net from the breaking ball with sub Cian Crowley finishing off a flowing move for Nenagh’s fifth goal in added time.

Player of the Match: Sam O’Farrell (Nenagh Eire Og)

Nenagh Eire Og: Dermot McTiernan (6); Conor Ryan (7), Mark Carey (7), Mark O’Farrell (7); James Mackey (7), Paddy Murphy (7), Adam Healy (6); Sam O’Farrell (0-2, 8), Michael Heffernan (1-10, 0-9f, 8); Conor Hennessy (6), Barry Heffernan (1-0 pen, 6), Josh Keller (7); Sean Phelan (0-1, 6), Adam Carey (1-0, 8), Philip Hickey (1-1, 7).

Subs: Ben West (0-1, 7) for Healy (43); Cian Crowley (1-0, 7) for B Heffernan (56).

JK Brackens: Jack Kennedy (5); Luke Ormond (6), Tom Murphy (7), Martin Delaney (6); Eanna McBride (7); Cathal Scully (6), Jack Bergin (6), Jordan Moloney (7); Dean McEnroe (0-1, 7), Neil Quinlan (6); Conor Cadell (6), Shane Doyle (0-1, 7), David O’Shea (0-2, 6); Andrew Ormond (0-1, 6), Lydon Fairbrother (1-10, 0-9f, 0-1 65) 8).

Subs: Jamie Bergin for Quinlan (blood 18-22); Paddy Cadell (7) for Scully (43); Jamie Bergin (6) for McEnroe (50); Jack Nevin (NR) for Moloney (57).

Referee: Kevin Jordan (Thurles Gaels)