Composed Swan slow down Gortnahoe attack

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Carrick Swan 0-18

Gortnahoe/Glengoole 0-14

Report: Michael Dundon at FBD Semple Stadium

Carrick Swans’ were full value for their four point win over Gortnahoe/Glengoole in the second of the County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship semi-finals on Sunday.

Driving rain and a fresh breeze made life difficult for both sides but the Swan seemed better able to manage the conditions and when they reached half-way, just two points behind, having faced the elements, the game was very much theirs to lose.

However, they did not have it all their own way in the second half, and it wasn’t until the finishing straight that they finally pulled clear of their rivals.

The consensus was that Gortnahoe/Glengoole needed a decent lead at half time if they were to clear this hurdle. A 0-9 to 0-7 advantage certainly did not inspire confidence. The fact that Keane Hayes hit seven of those points, wingback Conor Gleeson with one, reflected the lack of scoring in their attack, Darragh Maher being the only other to oblige.

The Swan were better served in that department, and this became more and more obvious as the game progressed. Gortnahoe were 0-4 to 0-1 ahead after twelve minutes and moving well but then the Swan settled with Calum’s Lanigan and Walsh showing the way, they began to close the gap. Lanigan had four points and Walsh two, to leave them just two behind at half-time, 0-7 to 0-9.

After five minutes of the second half, the Swan were level, thanks to strikes from Aaron’s Dunne & O’Halloran. A further Lanigan point put them in front after forty minutes, but Gortnahoe’s resistance was stubborn and at the fifty minute mark there was still just one point between the sides, 0-14 to 0-13 in Swans’ favour.

However, over the next eight minutes, the Swan had points from Lanigan (2), Aaron Dunne and Danny Hanlon, for a five point lead that looked good enough to get them home with two minutes, plus, to play.

Oisin Cleary sent a rasper wide for Gortnahoe when a goal would have given them a lifeline and though Keane Hayes pointed for them in injury time, Swans kept them comfortably at arm’s length to the finish.

This win should do much for hurling in Carrick-on-Suir which has been largely out of the frame since the great days of the Davins almost fifty years ago. The challenge for the Swan now is to lift the Seamus O Riain Cup, regain senior status, and then seek further honours at Munster club level. Standing in their way is a very good Cashel King Cormacs side who they face in what should be a cracking county final on Sunday week.

The Swan surely have the potential to succeed, with players of the calibre of Gavin O’Halloran, Aaron O’Halloran, Aaron Dunne, Scott Hogan, Calum Walsh, and man of the match Calum Lanigan in their side.

Gortnahoe/Glengoole have been knocking on the door in this grade for a few years and once more came up marginally short. A lack of scoring options outside of Keane Hayes is a problem for them.

Hayes was their key man with Ronan Teehan, Liam Hayes, Brian Maher, and Conor Gleeson also doing well.

Player of the Match: Calum Lanigan (Carrick Swan).

Carrick Swan: Kieran Lonergan (6); Dean Kiely (6), Scott Hogan (7), Jack Murphy (6); Colin Loughman (6), Gavin O’Halloran (7), Ben Mulcaire (0-1, 6); Aaron O’Halloran (0-1, 7), Dean Waters (6); Eric O’Halloran (0-1, 6), Callum Lanigan (0-9, 7f, 9), Dean Fitzgerald Walsh (6); Aidan Waters (6), Aaron Dunne (0-3, 7), Calum Walsh (0-2, 7).

Subs: Danny O’Hanlon (0-1, 6) for DF Walsh (42); Shane Torpey (6) for A Waters (49); Colin Waters (6) for Hogan (53); Jamie Holloway (NR) for C Walsh (57).

Gortnahoe/Glengoole: Timmy Dunne (6); Enda McCarthy (6), Davy Nolan (6), Gearoid Fahey (6); Conor Gleeson (0-2, 7), Brian Maher (7), Davy Lanigan (6); Jack Moore (6), Liam Hayes (7); Adrian Maher (6), Ronan Teehan (7), Fionn Cleary (6); Damien Corbett (6), Keane Hayes (0-11, 5f, 9), Darragh Maher (0-1, 6).

Subs: Kevin Slattery (6) for Moore (51); Bobby Doheny (NR) for Fahey (56); Oisin Cleary (NR) for A Maher (58); Colm Guilfoyle (NR) for Gleeson (58).

Referee: Kevin Jordan (Thurles Gaels).