Dungarvan Colleges back in Dr Harty Cup Final

Saint Flannan’s in Ennis, Saint Colman’s in Fermoy, De La Salle in Waterford City, Thurles CBS and Ard Scoil Rís from Limerick have all done in since the turn of the Millennium and now Dungarvan Colleges, formally Coláiste na nDéise have join the list of sides that have contested two or more successive Dr. Harty Cup Finals since 2000.

Saturday’s victory over Thurles CBS may not have been a classic, but its fair to say that nobody in the Dungarvan Colleges set up or those that went to Fermoy to support them on Saturday afternoon last will not worry about this too much.

At time’s lady luck may have shone on the Dungarvan CBS team at times, but this is something that you need if you are to win, and more over in the bigger games.

Thurles CBS went into the game as the favourites to advance to the next phase of the competition. The Mid Tipperary side went into the game as one of two teams in the last four of the competition to have won all their games in the competition and they also within their ranks included six members of the Tipperary Minor team that won the 2012 Minor Hurling All-Ireland Final.

It was The West Waterford side that began the brightest as Patrick Curran hit a point from play inside a minute of the game starting.

Thurles CBS however quickly showed why they were regarded as the favourites.

Eoin Moriaty playing with the Emeralds Club in Kilkenny leveled matters and shortly afterwards Thurles Sarsfields duo Kevin Dunne and Conor Lanigan who hit a brace of frees had their side leading 0-4 to 0-1 after eleven minutes.

Patrick Curran who finished the game as its leading scorer hitting nine points, and Conor Lanigan kept the scoreboard ticking over and when An Rinn’s Christy Breathnach hit a point on eighteen minutes just two separated the sides.

Thurles CBS however at this stage were in no humour to leave the gap close in too much and within sixty seconds of each other hit a brace of points from Eoin Moriaty and Conor Lanigan to extent their sides lead to double their lead.

Tadhg Bourke one of a number of players in the Dungarvan Colleges side that were part of last years Championship winning team hit a long range free to leave just three between the sides just as Dungarvan Colleges began to hit their best spell in the game.

Seven minutes from the break Christy Breathnach sent in a shot from out on the wing which looked to be no danger, but Paul Maher in the Thurles CBS goal made a cardinal sin and took his eyes off the ball, instead keeping an eye on the advancing Dungarvan Colleges forwards that were heading in his direction, the end result – the An Rinn Club man’s shot found its way past the Thurles CBS goalkeeper for the only goal of the game which leveled matters.

Sean Nally sent Thurles CBS back in front but three points from Patrick Curran and one more from Conor Lanigan gave Dungarvan Colleges a 1-7 to 0-9 lead at the change of ends.

One of the best things that Dungarvan Colleges or Colaiste na nDéise have done in recent years was to bring former county coach Peter Power into their set up.

The enthusiasm of the Kilgobnet man for hurling holds no bounds. Heading into the dressing rooms he was encouraging his sides players and the same was happening as the side re-entered the field and in the closing minutes of the game when the pressure was on he was again on the line encouraging his sides defenders to keep doing the simple things and to do them right.

What ever he and his fellow mentors said in the dressing room at the break worked. The side came out for the second half hitting the first four scores of the second half in the opening ten minutes of the half.

Patrick Curran hit the first two both from frees in the first and fourth minutes of the half. Sandwiched in between, Thurles won a free forty metres from goal and just to the right of the posts as Conor Lanigan stood over the ball. He looked odds on to send the umpires racing for a white flag but he saw his effort go to the right of the near upright.

The Thurles Sarsfields club man did hit his sides first score of the half on forty-six minutes and two minutes later Eoin Moriaty looked as if he was going to rattle the Dungarvan CBS net but he say his shot somehow deflected out for a sixty-five which Lanigan converted.

Eoin Moriaty pointed again for the Mid Tipperary College again on fifty minutes as the Premier County Side began to put the Dungarvan Colleges defence under some pressure.

With five minutes of the hour to play, Thurles CBS won for themselves a free thirty metres from goal which was marginally closer to the sideline than the posts.

Conor Lanigan having already hit seven points looked odds on to hit his eight of the afternoon, but he failed to pick the ball correctly, and even his stroke along the ground after attempting to raise the ball was not as it should be and the ball was easily cleared by the Dungarvan defence, who attacked down field and won a free of their own from a good position which Patrick Curran put over with some ease to give his side a three point cushion.

A three point lead in hurling is a very dangerous one, and in the closing minutes Thurles CBS continued to attack the Dungarvan Colleges goal. The west Waterford men however held out. They hurried the Thurles CBS players into shooting when they had a chance, the end result being that they missed a number of what normally would have been relatively easy chances.

Dungarvan held out for a three point victory which was richly deserved. They are now through to the final for the second year in a row, but who they will play has yet to be decided after Our Lady’s from Templemore and Ard Scoil Rís from Limerick drew their semi final at Nenagh on Sunday and the two sides will now have to replay this coming Saturday.

Dungarvan Colleges: Laurence Power; Kaelan Looby, Brian Looby, Michael Cronin; Tadhg Bourke, Kevin Daly, Tom Devine; Cormac Curran, Michael Harney; Christy Breathnach, Patrick Curran, Seamus Keating; Colin Dunford, Darragh Lyons, David Gartland. Subs: Ryan Donnelly for David Gartland.

Scorers: Patrick Curran 0-9 (8 frees), Christy Curran 1-1, Tadhg Bourke, Colin Dunford 0-1 each.

Thurles CBS: Paul Maher; Brian Troy, Robert Larkin, Jack Lineen; Lorcan Egan, Ronan Maher; Rory O’Regan; Jack Skehan, Eoin Moriaty; Sean Ryan, Sean Nally, Kevin Dunne; Stephen Cahill, Pauric Russell, Conor Lanigan. Subs: Caley Maher for Pauric Russell, Ronan Heffernan for Rory O’Regan.

Scorers: Conor Lanigan 0-7 (0-4 frees, 0-1 ’65), Eoin Moriaty 0-3, Sean Nally, Kevin Dunne 0-1 each.

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).