Passage Late Late Show helps secure Silverware

As the signature tune to the Late, Late Show was starting on RTE1 last Friday evening, a Late, Late Show of a different sorts was unfolding at Fraher Field in Dungarvan.

Passage East Hurling Club are no strangers to late fightbacks coming from behind to pull off a victory that few if any could have seen as the game neared its closing minutes.

Who will ever forget the way they won their first and so far only County Senior Hurling Championship back in 2013. Seven points down with as many minutes to play against their near neighbours Ballygunner, they staged a remarkable fightback at Walsh Park and won the game by three points hitting some crucial goals near the end of the game.

On Friday evening they did it again.

This time the setting and the competition was different but the outcome was the same, and just as in 2013 their fightback was reward with silverware going back to the club on the banks of the River Suir just before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean down river at Dunmore East.

Dungarvan in this game played without three players that were due to be part of the Waterford Under 21 panel on the following day while Passage were as near to full strength as you could imagine.

When the sides clashed in the championship earlier this year it was the Old Boro side that ran out winners and without their three under 21 inter county players many were wondering how much they would affected.

Early in the game it looked as if Dungarvan were going to be up against it in this game, as they went under by four points within ten minutes of the game starting.

Killian Fitzgerald opened the scoring with a brace of frees on two and three minutes, before Adam Roche put over from play which Killian Fitzgerald followed up with another pointed free on nine minutes.

Dungarvan however were soon into their stride and on thirteen minutes Cormac Curran on free taking duty in the absence of younger brother Patrick put over a free which was followed with a Ryan Donnelly effort from play.

Cormac Curran landed another free on sixteen minutes and when Liam Ryan followed up with a score from play to level matters with twenty minutes played.

Ryan Donnelly edged Dungarvan in front for the first time on twenty two minutes before Killian Fitzgerald levelled matters once more. Cormac Curran and Killian Fitzgerald swapped scores inside a minute of each other before Dungarvan went in front once more with a brace of Cormac Curran frees which meant that his side went to the dressing rooms at the break leading 0-8 to 0-6.

By the end of the third quarter of this game the Old Boro side had edged five points in front on the scoreboard.

Killian Fitzgerald with another free and Eoin Healy traded early scores in the second half which was followed by a Hat-trick of scores from Cormac Curran between the thirty fourth and thirty seventh minutes, two of which were from frees and one from play to give Dungarvan a 0-12 to 0-7 lead.

In the following seven minutes things proved to be a tight affair as Liam Ryan and Sean Hogan swapped scores which was followed by Cormac Curran and Patrick Flynn doing likewise after the latter was only on the field a few seconds.

Richard Hurley pointed for Passage on forty six minutes which was quickly followed with another Cormac Curran score and with eight minutes remaining Liam Flynn pointed for the eventual winners.

There was questions been asked would this game go to extra time if the game was to end in a draw or would there be a replay. With an 8-30pm start on what was a wet day few if any would have wanted the game to go to Extra time and it would have been interesting to see how many would have stuck around if the game did end in a draw and the sides had to play extra time.

The possibility of the game ending in stalemate grew even closer six minutes from time.

Those that are regular attenders of games at Fraher Field when played under lights would have you wondering was their some sort of curse in defending the country goal.

A few weeks back we saw Tallow and Abbeyside play at the same venue. During the course of the game a high cross field ball from under the stand was dropped in around the Abbeyside goal that evening and as the ball fell at the far post it appeared that the Abbeyside defending players lost sight of the flight of the ball while looking up at the lights and the ball went into the back of the Abbeyside net.

There is some that says that history does not repeat itself but it did here. From under the stand around the middle of the field Killian Fitzgerald sent in a high dropping ball around the Dungarvan goal and with the Dungarvan defence trying to keep and eye on the ball as it dropped while looking into the lights somehow if went straight to the net.

In soccer, the colour of the ball is often changed when games are played under lights and maybe the same could happen in hurling as looking up into the lights in hurling at times the white sliotar is hard to see. Maybe we could see a red, pink or orange sliotar used for night games soon but that is for another day to decide.

With just one point between the sides in Dungarvan’s favour, Passage drew level on fifty six minutes when Patrick Flynn hit his second score of the game which was followed with an Eoin Kelly point which game his side the lead for the first time since Ryan Donnelly edged Dungarvan in front on twenty two minutes.

Another former inter county player Jamie Nagle pulled the sides level again on fifty seven minutes and now people were defiantly asking would the game go to extra time or a replay if needed.

However there was no need for such questions to be asked as Callum O’Neill blasted low and hard for Passage past Daren Duggan on the hour mark to give his side a three point advantage and in added time Killian Fitzgerald from play secured victory was going to go to Passage when he put over his final score of the game.

Passage: Eddie Lynch; Darragh Lynch, Jason Flood, Gary Cullinane; Adam Roche, Stephen Mason, Richard Hurney; Noel Connors, Pa Walsh; Mitchell Baldwin, Sean Hogan, Killian Fitzgerald; Liam Flynn, Eoin Kelly, Owen Connors. Subs: Patrick Flynn for Stephen Mason (44), Callum O’Neill for Richard Hurley (54).

Scorers: Killian Fitzgerald 1-7 (4f), Callum O’Neill 1-0, Patrick Flynn 0-2. Adam Roche, Sean Hogan, Richard Hurley, Liam Flynn, Eoin Kelly 0-1 each.

Dungarvan: Darren Duggan; Luke Egan, Michael Kiely, Joe Allen; John Curran, Kieran Power, Eoin Healy; Gavin Crotty, Conor Sheridan; Jamie Nagle, Colm Curran, Liam Ryan; Sean Ryan, Cormac Curran, Ryan Donnelly. Subs: Aaron Donnelly for Gavin Crotty (Blood sub 27-half time), Aaron Donnelly for John Curran (Half Time), John Curran for Ryan Donnelly (41).

Scorers: Cormac Curran 0-10 (8f), Ryan Donnell Liam Ryan 0-2 each, Eoin Healy, Jamie Nagle 0-1 each.

Referee: Noel Kelly.