Tullogher Rosbercon 2-1O Lisdowney 0-8

WHAT do you know - third time really is lucky!
The hurlers from Tullogher-Rosbercon proved that there is some truth in the old saying when they captured the junior county title at the third time of asking on Saturday.
The heartbreaks of defeats to Danesfort and Conahy Shamrocks in 2006 and 2007 respectively were finally erased as the men from the South, finally got their hands on the Aylward Cup in Nowlan Park.
After a tight first halt which ended with just a single point between the teams, it was Tullogher’s first score after the restart that paved the way to their first county title in 11 years.On a day where both sides were again battered by the elements, clever use of the conditions gave Tullogher the springboard to success.
Latching onto a long puck-out, Walter Walsh picked up possession and burst through the Lisdowney backs.

Go for goal
Cutting through the centre, the county minor decided to go for goal from some way out.
The decision proved correct, as Walsh let fly with a low shot that skipped off the wet pitch, bounced over the outstretched hurley of goalkeeper Niall Grogan and into the net.That was Tullogher’s second goal of the game. Their opener came with their first score of the game, but that didn’t arrive until they had spurned four good chances to put some points on the board.Opening against a wind that whipped its way towards the Country end goal Tullogher did well to stifle the Lisdowney forwards and create some attacks of their own, but you could sense that nerves were beginning to creep in as the wides started to mount.
That all changed when Shane Ryan eased the tension with eight minutes on the clock.
Once again Tullogher played smartly, Captain Pat Hartley opting to keep a lengthy clearance low and into the face of the wind rather than hoisting it into the air.The sliotar was picked off by Richie Dollard, who fed it inside to Ryan. The corner-forward raced towards goal but his shot came back off the butt of a post and zipped along the line. Ryan continued his run, sliding in to add the finishing touch.

Opening score
Lisdowney had to wait until the tenth minute for their opening score of the game, a Rory Hickey free,
but almost grabbed a big score of their own soon after. Niall Grogan’s long 14th minute free was caught by a gust of wind and carried inside the Tullogher full-back line and towards Hickey, but net- winder Martin Roche was quickly off his line and swatted the sliotar to safety.Hickey did point the resulting 65, but a Liam Barron free wiped that score out, leaving two points between the sides at the end of a first quarter that have plenty of effort and enthusiasm, but little in the way of accuracy.Lisdowney finally found their rhythm as the half wore on, gradually using it to take more control of the game. Rory Hickey added another 65 before Paddy Bowden saw his close range 21st minute shot deflected out by ‘keeper Roche.Sixty seconds later, play had swung back to the other end, where Lisdowney used a little luck to stay in the game.
Eoin Mullally beat Niall Grogan with a diagonal shot but somehow his effort ran across the face of goal and stayed out. A relieved Lisdowney quickly recovered, throwing a blue and white wall around Eddie Conway to keep out his rebound effort.
Although Lisdowney did manage to add another Rory Hickey 65 on their tally, they were kept scoreless from play in the first half. Much of that was done to the work of the Tullogher half-back line, ably led by Pat Hartley, who denied them time and again. Hartley led by example, often pushing deep into defence to stifle the attack, and then moving closer to midfield when needed.There was only one other score in the half. Crucially it went the way of the winners, Richie Dollard grabbing the point that separated the sides at half-time (1- 2 to 0-4).

Wilt
Parity was restored when Rory Hickey pointed a free four minutes after the restart, but when Walter Walsh goaled within seconds Lisdowney began to wilt.The northerners were forced to graft for their chances after the break. Tullogher also slogged their way through the half, but went on a run that eventually led to victory.
Three points in five minutes may not sound much, but John Barron, Liam Barron (free) and Martin Bookie did enough to open up a five point gap (2-6 to 0- 7) with 12 minutes to go. Eddie Hickey grabbed the Lisdowney score during that spell, their first from play, but already they were flagging.
Rather than tire, Tullogher strove for the finish line in the closing ten minutes as if led there by previous defeats. John Cottrell did most of the cajoling, driving his side on and forcing Lisdowney into giving away frees which Liam Barron easily converted.They didn’t stop until they heard the final whistle, as Dollard and Barron (free) added the final points that finally delivered the title and intermediate hurling for next year.

The scorers
Tullogher-Rosbercon:  Liam Barron (0-5, all frees); John Barron, Walter Walsh (1-0 each);
Richie Dollard (0-3); Martin Bookle (0-1).
Lisdowney: Rory Hickey (0-6, 0-3 frees, 0-3 65); Eddie Hickey, Sean Phelan (0-1each).

The teams
Tullogher Rosbercon: M. Roche, J. Hartley, J. Grennan, D. Grennan, M. Cottrell, P. Hartley, K. Barron,
J. Cottrell, J. Barron, R. Dollard, L. Barron, W. Walsh, E. Conway, E. Mullally, S. Ryan.
Subs: M. Bookie for E. Conway, 31 mins; E. Conway for E. Mullally, 51 mins;
M. Grennan for K. Barron, 60 mins.
Lisdowney:  N. Grogan, P. Burns, B. Purcell, A. O’Hara, J. Bergin, M. Phelan, N. O’Hara, P. Bergin,
P. Kenny, V. Fitzpatrick, E. Hickey, S. Phelan, P. Bowden, R. Hickey, B. Dowling.
Subs: C. Mackey for P. Kenny, 24 mins; E. Delahunty for D. Dowling, 30 mins;
J. Delaney for C. Mackey, 55 mins; N. Mackey for P. Bowden, 60 mins.
Referee: Paddy Neary (James Stephens).

County Chairman Paul Kinsella and  Paul Kavanagh present the County Junior Cup to
Tullogher Rosbercon Captain Pat Hartley.