Saint Mary’s County Champions for First Time in Thirty Years

Saint Mary’s are County Junior Hurling Champions for the first time in thirty year’s after beating Ballydurn at Walsh Park this afternoon.

By strange coincidence the last time Saint Mary’s took a Junior Hurling County Final back to Touraneena, it was won in the month of November in Walsh Park against Ballydurn and two points separated the sides at the end of the hour exactly as things panned out today.

While Saint Mary’s took home the title this afternoon, the real winner was possibly the County Board. This game was to have taken place yesterday (Saturday) at the same venue but it was called off following an early morning pitch inspection after some heavy overnight rain across Waterford City and County. Saturday afternoon and even Friday evening games seldom favour rural clubs and it could be argued that the attendance today could well be somewhat higher than if the game was played on Saturday afternoon.

Saint Mary’s in this game were always the better of the two teams and were full value for their win.

Clubs from Waterford have a good record in this competition in the last number of years with Ballysaggart, Modeligo and Ardmore all returning from Mallow in early December with the Rody Nealon Cup with them something that the Touraneena men now get to fight for in the coming weeks when they enter the championship against Limerick representatives Castletown/Ballyagran who recently lost out to Kilmallock in the Limerick County Final but will represent their county in the competition as the rule of the competition do not allow for clubs second string sides to enter the competitions.

Saint Mary’s at times today played some good hurling and while this win will be celebrated and in some style team coach Dan Shanahan is an experienced coach at this point and he will not leave it too long before he has the players back at Kirwan Park preparing for their Munster Championship game on November 16 at a Waterford venue, most probably Fraher Field a venue favoured by the Touraneena men down the years.

Both sides finished this game with fourteen men on the field. The winners had Sean Fitzpatrick sent off in the first of three minutes of added time at the end of the hour after he picked up his second yellow card of the game.

Thirteen minutes earlier Ballydurn had their number cut by one when Jack Halley who had just come on for Conor Keane lashed out at Cillian Tobin on taking up his position at corner forward. The incident happened out of sight of referee Michael Wadding who had an excellent game in charge of this game, but his attention was brought to it firstly by linesman Tom Mansfield and then after consulting with his umpires at the city end of the ground the Roanmore man pulled a red card from his shorts pocket and flashed it at the Ballydurn number 20, meaning that he must have had one of the shortest parts to play ever in a game in the history of the association.

When the same two sides clashed at the same venue at the same stage of the same competition thirty years just 12 scores were shared by the two sides. By half time in this latest game the sides had surpassed that tally by the break. And while the scoring rate dried up during the second half, this could be down to the difficult ground conditions and the battering the field took in the run up to the game. In fact for much of the first half it rained in this game making conditions tougher. So wet was it at times for the first half in this game when referee Michael Wadding emerged from the dressing rooms after the break he had switched the green shirt which he wore in the first half for the more traditional black for the second half.

Right throughout Saint Mary’s were the better of the two sides and when ball was pumped in to Mike Kearns playing in front of the Ballydurn goal he caused a great deal of hassle in the Ballydurn defence. Neutrals inside the ground were very impressed with Saint Mary’s big full forward and many of the Ballydurn support coming out of Walsh Park after the game readily admitted that he was the player that they looked forward to playing against with some of their players remembering him from playing underage hurling and football games in recent years knew they were not going to have an easy afternoon with him around.  

It was his brother Eoin that opened the scoring in the first minute of the game playing into the city end of the ground. The Eastern Champions playing in a second final in three years shot two wides before Eoin Kearns stretched the Touraneena sides lead from a ’65 and five minutes later it was the same player who put Saint Mary’s three in front when he converted a free.

Shane Behan did not enjoy the best of afternoons with his free taking. He had shot three wides before he got his side on the score board on 13 minutes putting over a placed ball following a foul by Brendan McGourty which resulted in him picking up the first yellow card of the game. Conor Keane was on target for Ray Barry’s charges a minute later to leave one between the sides and it was beginning to look like as if a titanic struggle would be fought between two sides both deserving to move up a grade after going so near in recent years.

But Saint Mary’s on the quarter of an hour mark would put daylight between the sides with the scoring of the game’s only goal. A long ball was played in to Mike Kearns who was getting the better of Andy Hubbart and while he did not manage to get hold of the ball he did enough to leave it off to an alert Jason Sheehan who finished past Richie Kirwan giving Saint Mary’s a 1-3 to 0-2 lead.

Michael Power pulled a point back for the mid county side and when they followed up with points from Niall Dunphy and Shane Behan from a free it left just a single puck of the ball between the sides with 23 minutes played.

The Touraneena men needed to score next if they were to keep their chances of winning alive and they duly obliged with efforts from Eoin Kearns from a free and then from younger brother Mike Saint Mary’s were back in front by three.

A minute from break Shane Behan pointed again from a free for Ballydurn leaving two between the sides and when the same player was given a chance to make it a one point game heading into the break when his side won a free, he saw his effort go wide of the mark and as a result his side went into a huddle at the city end of the ground at the break trailing 1-5 to 0-6.

Both sides made changes at the break as Gearoid Hallinan came on for Cian Geary for the Touraneena men while Paddy Dunphy came on for John Sheahan for Ballydurn, but it was the Touraneena men that had the better of the exchanges in the second half as bothers Mike and Eoin Kearns helped put Saint Mary’s 1-7 to 0-6 in front with less than two minutes of the half played.

Shane Behan pointed from a ’65 for Ballydurn to make it a three point game on 37 minutes but it was followed by the score of the game which went the way of the Touraneena men when Kevin Sheehan put over a magnificent point.

On 41 minutes Andy Hubbard took a long range free which looked to be tailing wide on the stand side of the city end of the ground but somehow Shane Behan was able to keep the ball in play breaking it to Darren Long who shot over when it looked as if a goal could be on.

Shane Behan and Eoin Kearns from placed balls swapped scores for their respective sides on 48 minutes and it was at this point the Ballydurn mentors decided to send on Jack Halley for what must be the shortest roll that anyone has played in a game without the full time whistle been blown after their introduction.

Aidan Kearney and Andy Hubbart from a free swapped score’s with the game drawing closer to its conclusion. Darren Long pointed with six minutes remaining there must have been some in the large attendance in the stand asking themselves and even those around them will they have to return to the same venue next weekend to see who will represent Waterford in this year’s Munster Club Championship, so close those two sides were evenly matched.

Sean Fitzpatrick was issued a second yellow card of the game on 61 minutes with his side leading by two and when Shane Behan put over the resulting free awarded after the Touraneena man’s dismissal there was just one between the sides and the chances of a replay been needed was very much on the cards.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man and in the second minute of added time Eoin Kearns secured the Man of the Match Award for himself when he pointed from a free. And when Michael Wadding blew his full time whistle soon afterwards the surface of Walsh Park was invaded by a sea of yellow and maroon as men, women and children invaded the pitch to celebrate a first hurling title for the Touraneena Club in 30 years.

This is not an easy competition to come out of. Sides that are relegated down from the intermediate grade are not automatically assured of going back up unless they are an exceptionally strong side. This was Saint Mary’s third final appearance in five years and for their opponents it was their second final appearance in three years, and they appeared in last year’s Eastern Final as well.

Saint Mary’s will hold their own playing in the intermediate grade next year. Like so many of the sides that have moved up a grade in recent years they have a nice mix of youth and experience, something that is needed in what is a ultra competitive competition in the west of the county.

Ballydurn will be disappointed this evening. They will know that on another day they could have won the game. Had they the use of 15 men for the full hour we will never know if it will make a difference now. Have no doubt however the mid county side will be contesting for the title again in 2020. They know that they have some strong teams competing in the East Waterford Championship again next year, but you can’t but feel that they will learn from this defeat. The hunger will or should be there to go that step further. Saint Mary’s were possibly the best side in this grade over the past five years not to win a county final up to today, and now that the Touraneena men are gone Ballydurn can claim next year to be the best side over the previous five years not to win the competition.  

Saint Mary’s: John P. Fitzpatrick; Ronan Gleeson, Denis Coffey, Cillian Tobin; Aidan Kearney, Brendan McGourty, Dermot Tobin; Sean Fitzpatrick, Kevin Sheehan; Eoin Kearns, JJ Coffey, Jack Power; Cian Geary, Mike Kearns, Jason Sheehan.

Subs: John O’Shea for JJ Coffey (19), Gearoid Hallinan for Cian Geary (HT), Stephen Coffey for Jason Sheehan (45), Jack Skehan for Gearoid Hallinan (59).

Scorers: Eoin Kearns 0-7 (4f, 2 ’65), Jason Sheehan 1-0, Mike Kearns 0-2, Kevin Sheehan, Aidan Kearney 0-1 each.

Ballydurn: Richie Kirwan; Jack Dunphy, Andy Hubbart, Sean Cummins; Robert Kent, Ger Dunphy, Conor Flynn; Paul Cummins, Conor Burns; Michael Power, Darren Long, Conor Keane; Niall Dunphy, Shane Behan, John Sheahan.

Subs: Paddy Dunphy for John Sheahan (HT), Niall Flynn for Robert Kent (40), Jack Halley for Conor Keane (48), Luke Foran for Michael Power (51).

Scorers: Shane Behan 0-6 (5f, 1 ’65), Darren Long 0-2, Conor Keane, Michael Power, Niall Dunphy, Andy Hubbart (f) 0-1 each.

Referee: Michael Wadding