Shamrocks cruise into semi-finals as Brosna Gaels endure anticipated beating

SHAMROCKS would have been warm favourites no matter what the circumstances but when news emerged that several of the Brosna Gaels team were abroad at the wedding of a former team mate at the weekend and seven of them were only returning home on Monday, the result of this Offaly Intermediate Hurling Championship quarter-final became a foregone conclusion.

Molloy Environmental Systems Intermediate Hurling Championship quarter-final

Shamrocks 3-28

Brosna Gaels 0-17

The attendance of so many at the wedding of former Brosna Gaels' player Dan Kelleher meant that their already remote prospects of a shock nose dived further and there was absolutely no surprise at the outcome and the size of Shamrocks' win.

It was all too easy for the championship favourites, who had a point to prove after losing to Shinrone in their last group game. No points were proven here but it was a satisfactory evening's work for Shamrocks, a solid, decent performance with no one picking up injuries or a silly red card.

Delayed to Monday night under lights in Clara because of the wedding, Shamrocks had the luxury of taking off five of their senior football stars before the three quarter way mark. Padraig Cantwell, Shane O'Toole-Greene, David O'Rourke, David O'Toole-Greene and Conor Egan were all called ashore with Shamrocks out of sight and one eye turning to Sunday's senior football quarter-final against Clara.

That was the right thing to do but had the game been remotely competitive, Shamrocks would not have been able to do that. The introduction of hungry subs, including one of their star players and an automatic selection, Jack Molloy - who attended that wedding and was not started - did not exactly ease things on a beleagured Brosna Gaels' side.

Padraig Cantwell and Shane O'Toole-Greene were particularly influential in Shamrocks having the game won early while David O'Toole-Greene started off brilliantly, getting a goal after just a minute as Shamrocks stormed into a 1-4 to no score lead after just five minutes.

Shamrocks' safe passage to a semi-final clash with Coolderry was secure at that early stage and there was never even a niggle of a doubt about the outcome. Eoin Murphy's striking and free taking was the one redeeming feature of a bleak evening for Brosna Gaels, a combination of players from Ballycumber, Doon, Erin Rovers and Tubber, and he got them off the mark in the sixth minute but Shamrocks poured forward relentlessly.

They were 1-10 to 0-4 up when Shane O'Toole raced in for their second goal in the 21st minute, superbly set up by older brother Johnny.

Shamrocks led by 2-15 to 0-8 at half time and the only issue at stake was their winning margin. As expected, the second half was a complete non event. Brosna Gaels improved but on a superficial level and never looked like getting back into it.

They did get five of the first eight points to reduce arrears to 2-18 to 0-13 after 41 minutes but the only source of conversation on the Shamrocks sideline was which subs to bring in and how quickly to bring their dual players off.

They had all five subs in by the 45th minute but it didn't stop Shamrocks from dominating. They got 1-5 without reply from the 41st to 47th minute, Johnny O'Toole-Greene, capping a great individual display with a fantastic goal. The lead was 3-23 to 0-13 and the only question was would Shamrocks' surpass 30 points. They didn't but it didn't matter as Shamrocks got back on track after their malfunction against Shinrone and are now well equipped to make a charge for a championship they badly need to win as they bid to get out of the third tier.

You had to feel sympathy for the people in Brosna Gaels with a genuine interest in promoting hurling – they were reduced to fourteen men when Sean Og Foley got a second yellow card in the 52nd minute but it didn't matter. They are flying the flag in traditional football territory and did exceptionally well to reach senior back a few years ago. That seems a long time ago now as Brosna Gaels plummeted back to Offaly's fourth tier, winning junior last year. Despite scraping into the quarter-finals in intermediate, Brosna Gaels were never title contenders and their preparations for this game would not have been matched by anyone who genuinely believed they could win a championship.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Johnny O'Toole-Greene (Shamrocks): Johnny O'Toole-Greene edges out younger brother Shane. Offaly senior football star Shane O'Toole-Greene had a sensational first half when he scored 1-3 but Johnny gets the nod. He was also immense in the first half, scoring two points and setting up other scores, including Shane's goal. He added 1-1 in the second half, when he wasn't as prominent but continued to do very good work – the fact that he wasn't one of the dual players called ashore suggests that he won't be starting in Sunday's senior football quarter-final when Shamrocks will be putting their strongest team out on the field from the start.

Apart from them, there were several other very good individual displays from Shamrocks with Padraig Cantwell, Mark Malone, Conor Egan and Eoghan Neville catching the eye at different stages.

THE SCORERS

Shamrocks: Eoghan Neville 0-9 (5f and 1 '65'), Shane O'Toole-Greene 1-4, Johnny O'Toole-Greene 1-3, David O'Toole-Greene 1-1, Conor Egan 0-3, David O'Rourke and Mark Buckley 0-2 each, Stephen Malone, Padraig Cantwell, Conor Moran, Alan Foster 0-1 each.

Brosna Gaels: Eoin Murphy 0-13 (12f), Ciaran Murphy 0-2, Bernard Allen and James Langan 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

SHAMROCKS: Darragh Minnock; Conor Moran, Conor Condron, Sean Mooney; Mark Malone, Stephen Malone, Padraig Cantwell; David O'Rourke, Alan Foster; Eoin Neville, Johnny O'Toole-Greene, Shane O'Toole-Greene; Conor Egan, Shane Heffernan, David O'Toole-Greene. Subs – Jack Molloy for Cantwell (42m), Mark Buckley for Shane O'Toole-Greene (42m), Cathal Healion for O'Rourke (42m), Neil Minnock for Egan (45m), Darragh Neville for David O'Toole-Greene (45m).

BROSNA GAELS: Jamie Rigney; Ciaran Allen, Sean Hackett, Hugh Murphy; Sean Og Foley, Lee Colgan, Marcus Keena; Keith Lawlor, Colm Egan; Oisin Carroll, James Langan, Gary Larkin; Bernard Allen, Ciaran Murphy, Eoin Murphy. Subs – John Egan for Bernard Allen (38m), Aaron Daly for Keena (51m), Oisin Corcoran for Lawlor (54m),

Referee – Kyle Waters, Ballinamere.

REFEREE WATCH

Clearly determined to do the fixture well, Kyle Waters was tuned in and was consistent. He communicated well with his officials and it was easy to referee it – he did over rule an umpire who awarded a second half point to Shamrocks but was well positioned at the time.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Shamrocks did what they needed by turning the screw early and David O'Toole-Greene's first minute goal effectively ended the contest.

VENUE WATCH

An 8pm floodlight fixture on a Monday evening was far from ideal. It was fixed to facilitate Brosna Gaels over a wedding but hurling is definitely a very different beast under lights, whatever about football. The Competitions Control Committee will generally try to facilitate requests from clubs once they get adequate notice but you would wonder if they were right in this instance and if the importance of the fixture should have taken precedence and if a day time fixture on Saturday or Sunday should have been found.

Apart from this fixture being worthy of a weekend setting, it was not ideal for any of the clubs involved. Shamrocks and the Brosna Gaels' clubs of Ballycumber, Doon, Erin Rovers and Tubber all have big football games this weekend with Doon and Tubber out on Saturday, Shamrocks, Ballycumber and Erin Rovers all playing on Sunday - you can be sure that all the football managements involved would have preferred this game to be played at the weekend and while it is good to facilitate players with a problem, you would question it on this occasion.

In fairness to Brosna Gaels and the Competitions Control Committee, options were limited. The Brosna Gaels players clearly wanted to go to the wedding and Brosna Gaels did offer to play the game early last week but, understandably, this wasn't accepted by Shamrocks, as it was just a couple of days after a senior football game against Ferbane and with Shamrocks willing to facilitate later in the week but the dates not suitable for Brosna Gaels, it went to the Monday. The integrity of the competition probably should take precedence over such requests but in this case, the result suggests that it didn't matter that much and the fixture may have been the right and probably only way to go.

An U14 football quarter-final between Edenderry and Clara was played on the main pitch directly before the hurling. With Edenderry travelling, that fixture couldn't start any earlier than 6.30pm and on a wet evening, the floodlights were required to be sure of getting it finished so Clara's other pitch wasn't an option. The pitch held up very well even though there was plenty of rain during the day but it was all a bit manic, a bit messy – Clara won the U14 football game by a point with Edenderry missing late chances of forcing extra time, which would have led to mayhem with both hurling teams waiting to come onto the pitch and warm up personnel ready to put out cones etc.

It was not the fault of Clara who deserve credit for facilitating the County Board. The County Board only tried to facilitate a club with a dilemma but this was a very important fixture for all players and the real problem was the delay and it not having a day time, weekend setting.

Irrespective of all that, Clara have good floodlights and they managed the fixture with their usual efficiency, fully aware of the potential for problems with hurling supporters arriving at the same time that football ones were leaving. There were issues with the scoreboard - Brosna Gaels were two points short on it at half time, Shamrocks two short at full time.

WHAT'S NEXT

Shamrocks go onto face Coolderry in the semi-final while Brosna Gaels' year is over.

STATISTICS

Wides: Shamrocks – 17 (7 in first half); Brosna Gaels – 4 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Shamrocks – 1 (Cathal Healion); Brosna Gaels – 3 (Sean Og Foley 2 and Ciaran Allen).

Red cards: Shamrocks – 0; Brosna Gaels – 1 (Sean Og Foley, 2 yellows).