Nenagh forced to the well to earn share of the spoils with Clonoulty Rossmore

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Championship - Round 1

Nenagh Éire Óg 3-10

Clonoulty Rossmore 0-19

A pointed free by Mikey Heffernan in the second minute of injury time earned Nenagh Eire Og a draw with Clonoulty-Rossmore in the FBD Insurance county senior hurling championship Group 1, round 1 after a disappointing clash of divisional champions at Semple Stadium on Sunday.

Expectations for this encounter were high with both sides harbouring thoughts of Dan Breen success, but the contest never matched expectations, with Clonoulty-Rossmore the more disappointed at not taking all points, outscoring their rivals nineteen to thirteen.

Perhaps the fact that both are guaranteed a place in the knock-out stages after winning the divisional titles, dulled their edge but this game had neither the intensity or quality one would expect of sides and the short-list for the title.

The old cliché – goals win matches – springs to mind, and in that regard Nenagh exposed frailties in the Clonoulty defensive set-up that will need addressing if the West champs are to further their campaign.

Nenagh started without Paddy Murphy, Hugh Moloney and Daire Quinn, while Barry Heffernan was sidelined through injury for the rest of the year. Murphy and Moloney joined the action in the second half and, factoring in those absentees, this was not a bad result for them. Moycarkey-Borrus are next on their agenda.

Clonoulty missed Michael Ryan’s energy and work-rate at midfield and the strength of Thomas Butler, but despite conceding a goal to Be West for Nenagh after six minutes, they had much the better of the first half exchanges. Conor Hammersley, Dillon Quirke and Jack Ryan were picking off their points as Clonoulty went 0-10 to 1-2 clear approaching half-time.

Things were looking bad for Nenagh who had earlier been denied goals by excellent double save by Martin Sadlier in the Clonoulty goal, but they got a lifeline when Jake Morris took advantage when his marker lost his footing, to race through and fire home a Nenagh goal in the 30th minute. Conor Ryan and Morris followed with points to draw level but Jimmy Maher and Danny Slattery responded for Clonoulty before Mikey Heffernan closed the first half scoring with a pointed free, Clonoulty going in for the break 0-12 to 2-5 in front.

After a pedestrian first half a livelier second moiety was expected but it did not materialise. Cian Crowley’s goal for Nenagh in the 41st minute put them in front, 3-6 to 0-13 but a brace of Jack Ryan frees levelled for Clonoulty with twelve minutes to play.

The tempo of the game had risen somewhat by now as Mikey Heffernan’s free nudged Nenagh ahead but two smart points from Conor Hammersley and another from Jack Ryan had Clonoulty leading 0-18 to 3-7 with eight minutes left. Heffernan and Morris pointed to level for Nenagh but Conor Hammersley’s fifth point, in the 60th minute, looked like a winner for Clonoulty.
In the 62nd minute, Mikey Heffernan showed his class as a free-taker with the leveller for Nenagh from an acute angle, and though both sides had a chance of a winner subsequently, the tie ended all square.

Clonoulty-Rossmore could be the more disappointed of the two at not winning and will need to tighten up in defence if they are to progress further. Giving too much latitude to such as Mikey Heffernan and Jake Morris is a recipe for failure, and while Clonoulty escaped this time, next time could be different. Conor Hammersley, with five points from play, was their top performer but the contributions of Dillon Quirke, Danny Slattery, John O Keeffe, Enda Heffernan, Sean O Connor, and goalkeeper Martin Sadlier were also significant.

Nenagh will have to do better too and with the return to full fitness of those unable to start can be expected to be a more formidable side. Mikey Heffernan and Jake Morris were their “go-to” men in attack with Conor Ryan, James Mackey and Conor Hennessy also putting in a decent shift.

Clonoulty-Rossmore: Martin Sadlier; James Ryan, Ronan Heffernan, Robert Doyle; Enda Heffernan (0-1), John O Keeffe, Ciaran Quirke; Sean O Connor, Jimmy Maher (0-1);Aaron Ryan, Dillon Quirke (0-2), Tommy Ryan; Danny Slattery (0-2), Conor Hammersley (0-5), Jack Ryan (0-8,0-7f).

Subs: Stephen Ferncombe for A Ryan, Padraig Carew for C Quirke, James Hammersley for Maher.

Nenagh Éire Óg: Mark Tuite; Sean Phelan, Adam Grattan, Conor McCarthy; Conor Ryan (0-1), Ben West (1-0), Conor Hennessy; James Mackey, Adam Healy; Josh Keller, Philip Hickey, Cian Crowley (1-0); Jake Morris (1-2), Mikey Heffernan(0-7,0-5f), Tommy Heffernan.

Subs: Hugh Moloney for Hickey, Paddy Murphy for Crowley, Jamie Cottrell for West.

Referee: John Dooley (Thurles Gaels)