Shinrone find top form at last to record crucial win as Cahill frees can't save below par Birr

WITH a loaded gun aimed at their heads, Shinrone finally found their very best form to record a crucial Senior Hurling Championship win over a very below par Birr outfit in Banagher on Sunday evening.

Molloy Precast and Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 1 Round 4

Shinrone 2-21

Birr 1-16

It was Shinrone's best performance of the year by a country mile, wonderfully slick and sharp at times, full of intent and the right attitude the whole way.

They were particularly outstanding in the second half and were in no way flattered by the scale of their win. After losing to Ballinamere and drawing with Kinnitty, this was a potentially season changing win for Shinrone and a win over Belmont in their last game next weekend will secure a quarter-final berth – they may qualify in any event but have their fate very much in their own hands. Birr now face a must win game against Kinnitty to qualify while the other big spin off from this result is that Ballinamere are assured of top spot and a place in the semi-finals.

Champions in 2022 and beaten in the final last year, the early games suggested that Shinrone had shot their bolt bolt but they turned the corner fairly spectacularly here. It was reminiscent of their 2022 form and they performed really well on the day.

Shinrone were very comprehensive winners really and only a remarkable display of free taking from Eoghan Cahill kept the losers in it. Cahill got fourteen of their sixteen points, thirteen of them from placed balls. Some of them were truly breathtaking with five coming from well inside his own half and these kept Birr alive until into the second half. Cahill didn't have a miss until into injury time and that was one that he really should have dropped short as Birr needed a goal.

It was quite remarkable shooting by Cahill but his tour-de-force is also the reason Birr were beaten. It is very hard to win a game with such dependency on one man and frees for scores and outside of Cahill, it was an extraordinarily barren afternoon for the Birr attack. They got just 1-3 from play and Luke Nolan's goal was the only score from any of the other starting forwards, who made no headway whatsoever against an excellent Shinrone defence. And a bleak afternoon ended on a sad note for Birr when the veteran Sean Ryan was red carded two minutes into injury time after being singled out by umpires for a clash that left Gearoid Maher on the ground. Ryan has given great long service to Birr and has never been a dirty player, under any definition of it, but his dismissal completed Birr's tale of woe.

Contrast Birr's reliance on Cahill with Shinrone, who shared the load far better. While Donal Morkan was outstanding, they had players who stepped up to the plate all over the place and five of their forwards contributed to the scoresheet, some of them very handsomely..

The first half was a keenly contested affair, very tight and honest. There was very little separating the sides and they were level at 0-10 each at the break. Shinrone were marginally the better team in the first half, a little bit sharper but Cahill's frees kept Birr going. Four of his eight first half frees were from way inside his own half and had to be seen to be believed but the writing was still on the wall for Birr at the break.

Cahill and midfielder Brendan Murphy got their only points from play while Shinrone looked more dangerous as a unit. They led by 0-10 to 0-7 after 23 minutes and that was a fair reflection of the half.

Three Cahill frees sent Birr in on level terms at the break and the sides were level at 0-12 each after 33 minutes before Shinrone took over. Their dominance became more pronounced as it wore on on and worryingly for Birr, they really began to open up their defence.

Birr were only a point behind, 0-14 to 0-13 after 38 minutes but a Donal Morkan point and a brilliantly taken DJ McLoughlin goal after a pass from Jason Sampson, gave Shinrone the impetus to push on. That goal had been coming as Shinrone had the Birr defence in panic stations every time the ball went in during the second half and Paul Cleary had a fresh air swipe with a great chance in the 34^th minute. Jason Sampson was returned to an attacking role here and he displayed tremendous leadership qualities in the second half, playing an assist in Eoin O'Bailey's goal in the 44^th minute. Joe Cleary was also prominent in this and with a 2-16 to 0-14 lead, it was Shinrone's to lose.

They were relentless with the winning post in sight and extended their advantage to 2-19 to 0-15 after 48 minutes. A Cahill free and a Luke Nolan goal, set up by Cahill in the 51^st minute, reduced the gap to 2-19 to 1-16 and there was a brief glimmer for Birr. It was quickly shut when Shinrone gave the perfect response, an Eoin Bailey-O'Brien point and Birr were a beaten docket from here to the final whistle.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Donal Morkan (Shinrone): Had Birr won or even been more competitive late on, Eoghan Cahill would have been a near automatic choice for the sheer beauty of his free taking. However, Shinrone were so good that it would be wrong not to acknowledge this with man of the match.

Donal Morkan gets the nod. He scored ten points, four of them from play, and was on his game the whole way through. He was particularly influential when Shinrone found themselves in a dogfight in the first half and it looked like it would go down to the wire. He almost always did the right thing, had the work ethic to match it and was at his best here.

Shinrone had other players who could have got the nod. One was full back Michael Cleary, who handled a serious amount of ball and was immense every time it went in during the second half. DJ McLoughlin is having arguably his best year for Shinrone and he was very good again, scoring 1-3 while Eoin Bailey-O'Brien took his chances very well and Jason Sampson really stood up in the second half. A special mention must go to Paul Cleary who could have dropped his head after not converting his goal chance early in the second half but almost immediately made amends with a point and went on to have a very good second half. Dara Maher and Darren Crean also impressed in the Shinrone defence but it was an overall quality display.

For Birr, Barry Harding and Ben Miller had very good spells under fierce pressure in defence but it was an evening to forget for them.

THE SCORERS

Shinrone: Donal Morkan 0-10 (6f), DJ McLoughlin and Eoin Bailey-O'Brien 1-3 each, Paul Cleary 0-4, Sean Cleary 0-1.

Birr: Eoghan Cahill 0-14 (13f), Luke Nolan 1-0, Ben Miller and Brendan Murphy 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

SHINRONE: Eamonn Cleary; Peter Cleary, Michael Cleary, Darren Crean; Dara Maher, Darragh Landy, Luke Watkins; Joe Cleary; Adrian Cleary, Sean Cleary, DJ McLoughlin, Donal Morkan; Paul Cleary, Jason Sampson; Eoin Bailey-O'Brien. Subs – Adam Lany for Adrian Cleary (56m), Gearoid Maher for Peter Cleary (57m), James Liffey for Sean Cleary (63m).

BIRR: Sean Thompson; Cian Nolan, Eoin Hayes, Padraic Watkins; Brian Watkins, Barry Harding, Ben Miller; Brendan Murphy, Joe Ryan; Eoghan Cahill, Luke Nolan, Morgan Watkins; Ailbe Watkins, Ian Kerin, Lochlann Quinn. Subs – Emmet Nolan for Quinn (36m), Colm Mulrooney for Kerin (40m), Sean Ryan for Ailbe Watkins (52m),

Referee – Joey Deehan, Clara.

REFEREE WATCH

Joey Deehan had a good game and there were no big issues. He gave one first half point to Donal Morkan after the umpires waved it wide but linesman Brian Gavin called his attention to it. Sean Ryan was sent off late on but it was after consultation with an umpire and the reaction of Shinrone players and the melee that followed suggested that some heavy challenge had taken place to leave Gearoid Maher injured.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Eoin Bailey-O'Brien's 51^st minute point showed all that was so good about Shinrone. It was a magical score from way out on the left wing and it took the heat out of Birr's challenge immediately after they had got a very slim lifeline with Luke Nolan's goal.

VENUE WATCHING

Managing the traffic for a double bill is never a simple task but St Rynagh's did it very efficiently. They closed off one half of their car park for the first game between Ballinamere and Kinnitty and this meant that they were well able to cater for players and officials arriving for the second fixture only. It also ensured that they were able to get spectators out after the first one, though plenty remained for the Birr-Shinrone game. The pitch held up very well and top marks to St Rynagh's for the way they hosted the double bill.

WHAT'S NEXT

Birr play Kinnitty while Shinrone meet Belmont.

STATISTICS

Wides: Shinrone – 9 (5 in first half); Birr -11 (7 in first half).

Yellow cards: Shinrone – 1 (Michael Cleary); Birr – 0.

Red cards: Shinrone – 0; Birr – 1 (Sean Ryan).