Excellent Shamrocks just hold off brave Tullamore in high quality decider

THE pairing in the U-13 Hurling Championship final on Saturday has been noted with interest by many observers in the county but Shamrocks and Tullamore showed that they were there very much on merit as they served up an excellent game.

EJ U-13 Hurling Championship final

Shamrocks 1-14

Tullamore 2-10

Shamrocks eventually came out on top in a high quality game of high intensity hurling that went right down to the wire and could have swung either way. Shamrocks were marginally the better team over the hour plus and they had a few of the best players on the field but a tremendously brave Tullamore pushed them to the pin of their collar and were just a point away from securing extra time.

This was a heart warming game of hurling, played to a very high standard by both sides but with the intensity and workrate to match it. It provided riveting viewing with Tullamore desperately chasing an equalising point in injury time and Shamrocks defending as if their lives depended on it.

With Ballinamere going very well in the Senior Hurling Championship, there does seem to be a bit of a changing tide with the small ball game in the county. Football still has a powerful hold in many of those big population areas in Tullamore and hinterland but it is clear that there is a huge amount of work going on in hurling.

It has taken place in Ballinamere-Durrow and Na Fianna and now Shamrocks and Tullamore have clearly responded to the gauntlet thrown down by their neighbours. The presence of Shamrocks and Tullamore will have been taken on board by the hurling strongholds in the south. That is a story for another day but there are obvious challenges ahead for several clubs in that part of the county.

It is a numbers game at underage level but it is deeper than that and the presence of Shamrocks and Tullamore here is indicative of the great work going on with hurling in those clubs, a real desire to improve the game and it is being accompanied by the love that is developing in their young players for it - the Tullamore team did include three permission players from St Vincent's, the hard working Hugh Kelly, Adam Geraghty and Daithi Boland.

While Shamrocks deserved to win, Tullamore were so close to a heroic win. It took a whole hearted effort from both sides to provide such a fiercely, cleanly fought game and the effort levels were reflected by the fact that many players were out on their feet in the closing minutes.

Shamrocks won as they had a few really outstanding individuals who managed to perform at a higher level than most of the Tullamore players, though they were all tightly marked by a very good losing side. Conal Minnock, Keith O'Rourke and Cillian Moran were threee that caught the eye in this regard while Darragh Monaghan showed tremendous opportunism in the first half when he registered three points and Ben Boland produced a tour-de-force at full back, manning the square well and clearing a lot of ball. It was a day where every Shamrocks player played his part and they worked so hard - apart from their determination, other players came good at different times, including Brian Heffernan and Rory Grennan and it all counted on the day.

Credit to Tullamore who were underdogs going into this but really made Shamrocks sweat. They looked like they would win it at different stages and possibly had an overall more balanced side but in the white heat of battle, Shamrocks' class just about told the tale. Daniel Bourke had a great game for Tullamore at midfield and others did very well as Tullamore battled with every inch of their fibre. Some of the frees scored by Cian Rigney and Conor Rigney commanded the utmost of admiration – two thirds of triplets that include a sister, they also played very well in open play.

All the skills were on show here and Shamrocks knew within minutes of the throw in that they were not going to have it all their own way. Conor Rigney got in for a fourth minute goal as Tullamore led by 1-1 to 0-2 after four minutes. Three points from Darragh Monaghan were crucial for Shamrocks in the first quarter as they seemed taken aback by the intensity of Tullamore's and they were 0-8 to 1-3 ahead at half time.

The wind favoured Tullamore in the second half and two Conor Rigney frees and a point from play by Caiden Rattigan-Hogan had them a point up, 1-6 to 0-8 after 39 minutes. Shamrocks were in a very difficult position but they showed tremendous character in the face of adversity. If they didn't, they would have been beaten but they upped their work rate another notch. Two Keith O'Rourke frees gave them back the lead and settled them. The decision to move O'Rourke into full forward and Conal Minnock out to midfield was pivotal in the win. O'Rourke's presence and the threat he posed forced Tullamore to defend deeper than they would have wished, though he was fortunate not to have got a second yellow card earlier for holding his hurl up high when challenging a Tullamore player. Referee Kyle Waters had a fine game and he looked set to yellow card the Shamrocks man but seemed to settle for a lecture once he realised the repercussions. It would have been a travesty to send off O'Rourke whose first yellow was very innocuous and Shamrocks could not have won the game with the loss of such an influential player so early in the second half.

A scrambled kicked goal from David O'Shea in the 45th minute put Shamrocks 1-10 to 1-6 ahead and all of a sudden,Tullamore were on life support. Two frees from the two Rigney's, however, gave them a lifeline but then Shamrocks got three in a row for a five point lead inside the last ten minutes.

A fortunate goal from a Conor Rigney free in the 55th minute when his floater went all the way to the net brought it back to two points and it was game on again. Conal Minnock got a pressure pointed free for Shamrocks, not long after O'Rourke had missed one, but Tullamore came again. Centre half back, Hugh Kelly, a son of new Offaly senior football manager, Declan Kelly got a point and Cian Rigney almost got a stunning goal when he pulled on a free but it flew over the bar to leave a point in it.

The tension was almost visible as two minutes of injury time was played but Shamrocks defended well to keep Tullamore at bay and hold on for a historic A hurling win – to go with the minor hurling title they won back in 2002.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Conal Minnock (Shamrocks): A real tough call between Conal Minnock and Keith O'Rourke. While they couldn't have won without every player doing his bit, Shamrocks would not have got the win without the influence of this duo. O'Rourke was awesome had times, having great purple patches in both halves but Minnock gets the nod on this occasion. He was tightly marked and not everything went his way but some of the skill he displayed, in particular his ability to pick the ball out of rucks, crowded areas or with a man fighting for it, took the breath away. This was matched by a ferocious work rate, a willingness to do dirty work and put in hard yards while he also got three points, two of them from play - the late free he got was a real pressure one and really mattered as it was their final point.

THE SCORERS

Shamrocks: Keith O'Rourke 0-7 (5f), Conal Minnock (1f) and Darragh Monaghan 0-3 each, David O'Shea 1-0, Cathal Monaghan 0-1.

Tullamore: Conor Rigney 2-4 (1-4, f), Cian Rigney 0-3 (2f), Hugh Kelly, Daniel Holton and Caiden Rattigan-Hogan 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

SHAMROCKS: Zach Hamill; Brian Heffernan, Ben Boland, Eoin Keyes; Dylan Moore, Cillian Moran, Aaron Downes; Keith O'Rourke, Rory Grennan; David O'Shea, Conal Minnock, Darragh Monaghan; Fionn Minnock, Paddy O'Connell, Adam Fox. Subs – Cathal Monaghan for Fox (27m), Dion Rock for Fionn Minnock (HT),

TULLAMORE: Tom Lynch; Conor Clarke, Devin Donoghue, Daithi Boland; David Foley, Hugh Kelly, Adam Geraghty; Cian Rigney, Daniel Bourke; Niall Lambe, Jayden Daly, Daniel Holton; Caiden Rattigan-Hogan, Conor Rigney, Robbie Dolan. Subs – Sam Heffernan for Dolan (47m), Eoghan Stewart for Rattigan-Hogan (50m).

Referee – Kyle Waters.