Moneygall overpower poor Portroe in North Intermediate decider

Kellys of Fantane North Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship Final 

Moneygall 2-21

Portroe 0-11

By Liam Hogan 

Title holders Moneygall won the Kellys of Fantane North Tipperary Intermediate Hurling title for the eighth time by way of an easy win over a disappointing Portroe side played at a glorious sunny Dolla last Saturday evening.

Led by the brilliant Joe Fogarty and Sean Kenneally there was no doubt about the outcome once Moneygall took the outright lead after thirteen minutes as a slicker, stronger and all-round, better-balanced side won their fourth title since their drop to Intermediate level in 2016.

Joe Fogarty was the man of the match with 1-11. He scored 1-4 from play as well as doing much more in team play and workrate despite the best efforts of the energetic Jack O’Callaghan.  Michael Breen picked up Sean Kenneally on the edge of the small square and the Tipperary forward gave the Portroe full back testing time. 

Breen moved outfield at half time and Robert Byrne kept an eye on the Tipp attacker and kept him at bay for a while but Kenneally picked up three second-half points as he supplied 0-5 from play overall. 

It was far from a two-man show as Tadgh Whyte put in another good shift as did Bob Kenny with Sean Fogarty and Mark Fanning contributing much to the cause. 

Both Adam Hogan and Aodhan Ryan were much to the fore at midfield while Cathal Greene, Brendan Toohey and Cian Ryan did much to keep their backline in check in front of Andy Hoolan, Jack Kirwan and Roddy Teehan who gave goalkeeper Ciaran Quinlan much protection but the Moneygall custodian had one or two good saves to make.

For Portroe, this was a disappointing outing. Except for a positive opening quarter, they found it difficult to match the pace of the winners. Few if any could feel happy with their performance except for Darren Gleeson in goal while William Flood, Robert Byrne and Jack O’Callaghan did their best to stem the tide in defence. 

John Sheedy caused Moneygall a few anxious moments in the attack as the Portroe centre forward won much possession from Darren Gleeson’s long puck outs. However, the Port stickman was unusually off-colour with frees, especially in the second half. John Moloney had a good game while Oisin O’Connor caused some problems but not enough to be a real threat in the overall scheme of things.

Portroe must regroup as they have a difficult task ahead of them as they face the county championship in the same group as Shannon Rovers, Arravale Rovers and Drom & Inch. Injuries and immigration have hit them much harder than any other club in the division. 

Despite the setbacks, Portroe looked busy in the opening minutes. John Sheedy gave them the lead with a free in the first minute quickly followed by a Jack Moloney point from play. Bob Kenny replied for Moneygall but John Sheedy won Darren Gleeson’s puck out, was fouled and had Port two in front by the sixth minute.

Moneygall’s response was swift. Two-pointed frees by Joe Fogarty had the sides level by the eighth minute. One minute later, Adam Hogan drove forward and found Sean Kenneally who gave Moneygall the lead. Another John Sheedy free had the sides level before Joe Fogarty had his first point from play in the 13th minute to give Moneygall the lead. 

Seconds later another Moneygall attack saw the Portroe defence in trouble. Tadgh Whyte drew the Port cover but Bob Kenny was on hand to score the game’s opening goal. Joe Fogarty’s free increased the lead to five after a foul on Sean Kenneally as Moneygall were slowly gaining the upper hand. 

John Sheedy’s point from play was welcome after John Moloney set him up but Moneygall hit three unanswered points through Fogarty (free), Kenneally and Sean Fogarty as Moneygall were confident enough to strike from any distance or angle. 

For Port to reap a score much depended on Darren Gleeson’s long puck-outs where John Sheedy could win the ball. Sheedy’s accuracy from frees was good at the time as he bisected the posts with another free after 22 minutes. 

A well-taken John Moloney score arrived two minutes later as Moneygall could afford the luxury of two wides in quick succession but in the 25th minute, a lengthy free by Brendan Toohey reached Joe Fogarty who had little trouble in turning his man and scoring another point. 

Seconds later Tadgh Whyte went on the attack and had Joe Fogarty for assistance and Moneygall’s top scorer found the net for goal number two.  Portroe were in disarray as an unmarked Joe Fogarty scored again after Adam Hogan picked him out leaving John Sheedy’s 65 the final piece of the action as half-time arrived. Moneygall 2-11 Portroe 0-8. 

The new half was a minute old as Joe Fogarty picked off a brilliant point. Yet, Portroe found the energy to trouble Moneygall goalkeeper Ciaran Quinlan with the Moneygall netminder producing two great saves as he denied Jack Moloney and Oisin Connors in turn. This was an encouraging period for Portroe and Michael Breen’s point was at least some reward for their efforts. 

But Sean Kenneally replied with a score from the wing in the 37th minute and Joe Fogarty added a free four minutes later which pushed the winners eleven in front. Meanwhile, Portroe brought Christopher O’Riordan in from the bench and he celebrated his return to action after long-term injury with a point. 

However, the game had lost much of its endeavour by then as Moneygall moved at will and increased their lead to thirteen after points by Tadgh Whyte, Joe Fogarty (from a free after Kenneally was fouled) and Whyte again with eight minutes remaining. 

In the 54th minute, John Sheedy picked up Port’s last score but at the other end, Moneygall kept the scoreboard ticking and four more points followed through Joe Fogarty (free) Sean Kenneally, Niall Maher and Kenneally again with the final whistle sounding seconds later. 

Moneygall captain Paddy Fogarty received the Fr Hewitt Cup as a fair-sized set of supporters looked on. It was an impressive display and the winners looked very much the side that could go all the way to county honours and make up for the disappointment of losing the county decider to Lorrha in 2022 and the semi-final to eventual champions Borherlahan in the penultimate stage of last year’s campaign. 

Moneygall: Ciaran Quinlan; Andy Hoolan, Jack Kirwan, Roddy Teehan; Brendan Toohey, Cathal Greene, Cian Ryan; Adam Hogan, Aodhán Ryan; Joe Fogarty (1-11, 0-7f), Bob Kenny (1-1), Seán Kenneally (0-5); Seán Fogarty (0-1), Mark Fanning, Tadhg Whyte (0-2).

Subs used: Paddy Fogarty for Fanning (45); Eoin Whyte for Aodhan Ryan (49); Niall Maher (0-1) for T Whyte (53); Dylan Maher for J Fogarty (58); Gearoid Larkin for Teehan (58, inj). 

Portroe: Darren Gleeson; William Flood, Michael Breen (0-1), Adrian O’Halloran; Cian Hogan, Robert Byrne, Jack O’Callaghan; Conor Byrne, Brian Keating; Conor O’Brien, Sam Madden, John Sheedy (0-7, 0-5f, 0-1 65); Jack Moloney (0-2), Niall Gleeson, Oisin O’Connor. 

Subs used: Colm Gleeson for O’Brien (20, inj); Christopher O’Riordan (0-1) for C Byrne (39); Eoin Quinn for N Gleeson (53); Anthony Bourke for Madden (56). 

Referee: Ciaran O’Donovan (Burgess)