Intermediate County Title Number Four For Clonea

          No game is over till the final whistle blows. Just ask the victorious Clonea side that today captured the Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship for the first time since 2006.

          The side from under the shadow of the Comeragh Mountains went into this game as the odds on favourite in the eyes of many to capture this year’s crown, but for long sections of this game it looked as if it would not be their day as they trailed a Clashmore side that won a first Intermediate Hurling title recently or if at worst they were going to have to do it all again.

          Twelve months ago in the county final played at Walsh Park Clonea were left disappointed going under to An Rinn on a 0-18 to 0-13 score line and today backed with a huge support amongst an attendance numbering around 2,500 on the day the side coached by former inter county hurler Brian Greene they were determined not to leave it behind them on the day.

          The stand at Fraher Field was well populated well before the 2-30pm start in this game and there was also a sizeable gathering on the bank on the opposite side of the field.

          Clonea will as a result of this win will now play Limerick champions Bruff or Garryspillane on October 28 most likely at the WIT Arena what with the County Senior Football Final expected to be played in Fraher Field on the same day while Ballygunner would be expected to play Cork representative (Imokilly won the County Final, but are a group side and so cannot play in the Munster Championship) at Walsh Park also on the same day.

           This game of hurling (in the eyes of yours truly anyway) was a much better game than the Senior and Junior County Finals played at the same venue last Sunday, and had the game gone to a replay as it looked with the game going into stoppage time at the end of the sixty few inside the ground would have complained and I have no doubt that having heard how good this game was those hurling supporters that opted to stay away from this game for whatever reason would have showed up for the replay, presumably next Saturday at the same venue.

          The sides were locked together on the score board on six different occasions in this game, including at the break where the scoreboard on the dressing rooms corner of the field showed the sides headed off in that direction locked at 1-6 each.

          With a goalkeeping place up for grabs on the county senior hurling panel up for grabs following the recent retirement of Ian O’Regan should there be any of the new look management team inside the ground to see this game they would have been impressed with the performance of Mark McGrath in the Clashmore goal.

          McGrath has impressed throughout the championship for the Still-Men and in this game Clonea’s margin of victory would be much bigger but for two wonder saves one made in each half.

Inter county player Tadhg Bourke again of the striking of placed balls from the Clonea 65 metre line back into his own half of the field opened the scoring with a free in the first minute of the game, a score that was cancelled out seconds later with a similar effort from Billy Power.

In a tight opening to this game Jason Gleeson and Edmond O’Halloran swapped scores before Ciaran Power from play and Tadhg Bourke with his second long range score from a free tied the scoring once more at the end of the first quarter.

Clashmore looked as if they were going to upset those that were making Clonea favourites on nineteen minutes when Brian O’Halloran picked out Brian Ramsey a valuable addition to this team in recent times netted the first goal of the game and when the same player followed up with a point moments later it was starting to look good for the Western Champions

Paul O’Connor another of Clashmore’s players who has impressed in his sides march to a first intermediate hurling county final appearance further stretched his sides lead, but it was then that Clonea’s hunger began to show as Billy Power twice split the post before Mark McGrath on twenty seven minutes made the first of his impressive saves tipping over a goal bound effort from Robbie Power who had come on for Aaron Gleeson seven minutes earlier.

Clonea refused to give up their fight to register a goal in this game and they were rewarded a minute later Ronan Cahill who was listed as a sub on the programme but was one of three changes to the selected team on the programme got on the end of a shot around the danger zone for a score that put his side one point up.

But Clashmore always made this a game and in first half added time at the end of the allotted thirty minutes Edmond O’Halloran fired over to level matters just before the sides made their way to the dressing rooms following the shrill of the half time whistle.

Clashmore came out for the second time continuing where they left off adding the first two scores of the second half, the first from the impressive Brian Ramsey three minutes after the restart and then from Edmond O’Halloran two minutes later. However their early lead was a short lived one as Michael Curry fired over a brace of scores in the two minute spell to lock the scoring 1-8 each with forty minutes played.

Mark McGrath made the second of his magnificent saves on forty one minutes when he went low and at full length to keep an effort out from a Ronan Cahill effort who shot at the far post coming in from the stand side of the field while attacking the town (road) goal. McGrath’s touch was strong enough to put the ball out for a ’65 but Tadhg Bourke saw his effort go wide of the uprights.

Aidan Trihy and Edmond O’Halloran edged Clashmore two points up by the end of the third quarter but this was as good as it got for their side on this occasion.

Billy Power and Brian O’Halloran swapped scores before a brace of scores from Billy Power with eight minutes remaining tied the scoring once more.

Scores were hard won for the remainder of the game. Ciaran Power pointed for Clonea with a minute of the hour to play and it looked as if that might be good enough to secure his side a fourth title from the eleven that they have appeared in, but on the hour mark Edmond O’Halloran tied things once more.

Few if any inside the ground were leaving this game early and when the fourth official Ciaran O’Toole indicated that there would be two added minutes added the question many were asking themselves will there be a winner or would the sides have to do it all again next weekend.

A winner was found and in dramatic fashion. Although Billy Power edged his side one in front in the first of the two added minutes nobody would have said it a degree of certainty that it would be the winner as if Clashmore could get the ball down the other end of the field you would have to fancy them to put the sliotar between the uprights.

Clonea created one more attack and with it they beat Mark McGrath, Robbie Power the player writing himself into the pages of history of the Clonea club and the parish when with the last puck of the game he saw his effort go past Mark McGrath and into the Clashmore net to seal a four point win.

There was no time for the restart. Clonea were a few minutes later were declared County champions by County Board Chairman presented the Tom Lannen Memorial Cup to the victorious Clonea captain Robbie Flynn.  

Clonea: Stephen Power; Paul Drohan, Jack Nugent, Willie Hahessy; Martin Power, Robert Flynn, Martin Scurry; Billy Power, Michael Curry; Ciaran Power, Ronan Cahill, Jason Gleeson; Conor Dalton, Sean Clancy, Aaron Gleeson.

Subs: Robbie Power for Aaron Gleeson (20), Michael Sexton for Sean Clancy (43), Martin Whelan for Jason Gleeson (47).

Scorers: Billy Power 0-7 (5f), Robbie Power 1-1, Ronan Cahill 1-0, Michael Curry, Ciaran Power 0-2 each, Jason Gleeson 0-1.

Clashmore: Mark McGrath; Ronan Fitzgerald, Jason Seaward, Ciaran Bourke; Brian Lynch, Tadhg Bourke, Adam O’Sullivan; Edmond O’Halloran, Declan Allen; Aidan Trihy, James O’Leary, Brian Ramsey; Brian O’Halloran, Paul O’Connor, Sean Fleming.

Subs: Cillian O’Keeffe for Sean Fleming (41).

Scorers: Edmond O’Halloran 0-5 (3F), Brian Ramsey 1-2, Tadhg Bourke 0-2 (2f), Paul O’Connor, Aidan Trihy, Brian O’Halloran 0-1 each.

Referee: Nicholas O’Toole.