No score from play for Tullamore as impressive Trim march on

THE curtain came down on a very bleak provincial season for Offaly clubs when Trim easily dispatched Tullamore from the Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship on Saturday.

Leinster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship semi-final

Trim 1-21

Tullamore 1-9

A semi-final in Navan proved to be a bridge too far for the Offaly senior “B” champions. They tried hard and competed well for a while in many aspects of play but came up against a strong Trim side, who got better as the game wore on, ending up impressively convincing winners.

Tullamore's demise was not a surprise. Trim had won the Meath Senior Hurling Championship and were always likely to be a step ahead against the winners of Offaly's second highest grade. However, they didn't manage a solitary score from play over the hour plus. All 1-9 came from Shane Dooley placed balls and that really sums up a poor afternoon for Tullamore – not only that but you wouldn't need one hand to count the decent chances they had from play, the poor wides they hit as they just couldn't break down an excellent Trim defence.

With a swirling wind blowing all over the place, it was a difficult day for hurling. It was hard to figure the wind at times, looking to favour Trim one minute, Tullamore the next and it probably balanced out as a factor in both halves – though Tullamore looked to have the greater benefit in the first half, Trim in the second.

Tullamore were in serious trouble at half time when they trailed by 1-9 to 0-5. Most worryingly, they didn't score from play in the first half. All five of their points came from Shane Dooley frees and Tullamore rarely looked like hitting the target in open play.

Trim started off like a high speed train, firing in 1-3 without reply in the opening five minutes. The goal from Joey Cole came with just one minutes twelve seconds on the clock to give Trim a 1-1 to no score lead and Tullamore were in danger of going under in the blink of an eye. In fact it could have been worse for them in those opening five minutes as Trim almost got in for another couple of goals.

A Shane Dooley free got the visitors off the mark in the sixth minute and they steadied the ship after that. Dooley got two frees as Tullamore trailed by 1-4 to 0-3 after fifteen minutes. The Offaly side were happy with that and would have been closer but for an uncustomary Dooley miss from a free – he also missed one later on while Gareth Mann had a poor wide from play and Tullamore really needed to convert every chance.

Trim regained their form in the second quarter, outscoring Tullamore by five points to two for that half time lead and it was certainly theirs to lose at the break.

Tullamore needed something special to happen in the second half. Again they fought hard, making life difficult for Trim before their heads dropped late on and it never really looked like happening for them.

They hung onto Trim's shadow for a while in the second half and briefly looked like they might get back into it when they got it back to 1-10 to 0-8 after 42 minutes. However, they still hadn't scored from play and you simply couldn't win with that return.

Trim's response anyway was hugely impressive as they rattled over the next five points without reply. It meant that a 50th minute Shane Dooley goal from a free didn't raise any excitement among the large visiting support as a 1-15 to 1-8 deficit was still too big.

On an ultimately bad day at the office for Tullamore, Trim closed out the deal comfortably from here, sauntering over the finish line – scoring six points on the trot in a great spell of sustained pressure before Dooley converted an injury time free for Tullamore.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

James Toher (Trim): It is a sign of Trim's dominance that they had several man of the match contenders while there wasn't one Tullamore man who could be even remotely considered – Adam Cleary did deal well in goals with most ball that came his way. Trim had excellent performers all over the field with Ben Holden, Conor Quigley, David Murtagh and James Murray really catching the eye. The choice is centre half back James Toher. He was a tower of strength at the back, mopping up a lot of ball, using it well and showing impressive physicality.

THE SCORERS

Trim: James Murray 0-10 (5f, 1 '65' and 1 sideline), Joey Cole 1-1, David Murtagh, Mikey Cole and Pa Ryan 0-2 each, James Toher, Conor Quigley, Dylan Farrell and Alan Douglas 0-1 each.

Tullamore: Shane Dooley 1-9 (1-8f and 1 '65').

THE TEAMS

TRIM: Charlie Ennis; Ciaran O'Rourke, Gerard Dwane, Ben Holden; Diarmuid Higgins, James Toher, Conor Quigley; Dylan Farrell, David Murtagh; James Murray, James Andrews, Pa Ryan; Mikey Cole, Alan Douglas, Joey Cole. Subs – Gary Fleming for Holden (42m), Neil Heffernan for Andrews (48m), Peter Farrell for Douglas (63m).

TULLAMORE: Adam Cleary; Dylan Hensey, Niall Houlihan, Michael Feeney; Ger Treacy, Ger Crowe, Brian Hogan; Gareth Mann, Ciaran Egan; Jack Dooley, Shane Kelly, Cormac Martin; Dan Fox, Shane Dooley, Mike Fox. Subs – Nigel Bracken for Crowe, inj. (3m), Colm Woodlock for Jack Dooley (55m), Kevin Waters for Egan (59m), Niall McCabe for Mike Fox (63m), Paul Kelly for Kelly (63m).

Refereee – Conor Daly.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Joey Cole's goal just over a minute in gave Trim a foothold that they never looked like relinquishing as well as quickly telling Tullamore that they were in for a long afternoon.

REFEREE WATCH

Conor Daly had a good, solid game. There may have been a couple of questionable frees but he was very consistent, controlled it well and dished out yellow cards when a couple of the Trim challenges were a bit rough.

TALKING POINT

It has been a fairly miserable year for Offaly clubs this year and this defeat means that all their representatives have reached the end of the road. A couple of the Offaly champions bowed out very innocously and it does raise food for thought.

VENUE WATCH

It was a cold, wintry day but it was still an enjoyable game. Unusually, there was no coffee/tea on sale and spectators would have welcomed that on the day. The pitch, however, was dry and the fixture was well hosted.

WHAT'S NEXT

Trim go into the final while Tullamore can enjoy an off season.

STATISTICS

Wides: Trim – 4 (2 in first half); Tullamore – 8 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Trim – 3 (Ben Holden, Conor Quigley and Dylan Farrell); Tullamore – 0.

Red cards: 0.