Eight goal thriller sees Lorrha scupper Holycross Ballycahill's knockout prospects

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Championship - Group 3 - Round 3

Lorrha 5-16 

Holycross Ballycahill 2-23

Lorrha produced their best performance of the season by a distance last Sunday as they upset the odds to defeat Holycross Ballycahill in Templederry. However, it still wasn’t enough to prevent their descent into the relegation scrap in the coming weeks.

Goals win games and that was certainly the case for Lorrha who raised the green flag five times in the game, three of which came in the second half as each goal drove a nail into the Holycross coffin due to the timing of them.

Eoin McIntyre was the biggest threat all game for Lorrha and his pace and finishing were key for the North club in this win and had Nenagh managed to find a late winner against Loughmore Castleiney, Ken Hogan’s men would have produced a great escape but they just fell shy of the mark.

For Holycross Ballycahill it was an abject failure when you consider the way they started this group with a win over Nenagh Éire Óg and you would have had to be clairvoyant to predict the outcome of this game considering the form lines.

But the Mid club could hardly argue with the result at the final whistle and despite good individual performances from Darragh Woods who hit 2-5 from play and Bryan O’Mara and Robbie Ryan hurling well, they couldn’t get the most out of others around the pitch as Lorrha just wanted the result more.

Throughout the game, it was extremely tight in terms of the scoreline and one of the biggest gaps of the contest came early on as Lorrha burst out of the traps thanks to the Eoin as mentioned above McIntyre who had 1-1 on the board inside two minutes to propel his team into the contest.

McIntyre would finish the half with 1-2 to his name in a good opening 30 but he would be outshone by the incredible shooting of Darragh Woods for Holycross. The former Tipperary underage player would hit 1-5 in that time, with his goal being lashed to the net from close range in the ninth minute to level the game at 1-5 apiece after ten minutes.

Defensively lacking, both teams settled into what would essentially become a shootout and Lorrha hit their second goal in the 18th minute when Cian Hogan showed great persistence when going through on goal, flapping at a batted effort close to goal before pouncing on the break to kick home the loose ball. 

Confidence was growing for Lorrha but they were still struggling to keep the scores out at the other end as Holycross took the narrowest of leads in at the interval thanks to scores from Woods (2) and Robbie Ryan (2), giving them a 1-13 to 2-9 lead with the game firmly up in the air ahead of the second half.

A stern message would have resonated in the Holycross dressing room at half-time and they seemed to take it onboard in the first five minutes of the restart, hitting four of the next six points in that time with Darragh Woods again proving effective with two points from play, along with efforts from Bryan O’Mara and Tadhg Gould opening a 2-16 to 2-11 lead.

But Lorrha could sense their opportunity and continued to play a positive brand of hurling and when Patrick Maher made his first impact of the game at full-forward, it was significant as the Tipp hurler set up Christopher Fogarty to goal in the 35th minute. Game back on.

Holycross responded with the next two scores to take some of the sting out of that Lorrha major, but the men in blue were smelling blood now and shortly after a brace of Colm Fogarty frees, Eoin McIntyre struck for his second goal, again showing searing pace to get in on goal and finish smartly; Lorrha now ahead by one point at the three-quarter mark.

You could sense the nervousness in Holycross from this point and even with three points in succession coming for them afterward, Lorrha just seemed to be able to cling on and they had their talismanic leader in Patrick Maher to thank for their decisive fifth goal just shy of the 60th minute as he latched onto a long ball from Michael Dolan, and, as he has so often in his career, he found space to get a strike away from an angle and find the corner of Ewan Bourke’s net.

Now 5-16 to 2-22 ahead with injury time ticking down, Holycross needed a minor miracle to claw it back and despite their best efforts, the moment never came for them as they could only muster a late Darragh Woods free as Lorrha held strong to claim a good victory and something to work with as they attempt to preserve their Dan Breen status.

Lorrha: Kevin Hough; Denis O’Meara, Michael Dolan, Tom Duggan; Darragh Guinan, Conor Hogan, Brendan Fogarty; Alan O’Meara, Niall McIntyre (0-1); Colm Fogarty (0-11, 0-7f, 0-1 65), Cian Hogan (1-0), Eoin McIntyre (2-2); Christopher Fogarty (1-0), Patrick Maher (1-0), Conor Kennedy (0-2).

Subs used: David Fogarty for Christopher Fogarty (49); Oisin Guinan for D O’Meara (56).

Holycross Ballycahill: Ewan Bourke; Evan Morris, Joe Caesar, Jimmy Ryan (H); Jim Ryan (0-1), Bryan O’Mara (0-1), Liam Doyle (0-1); Tadhg Gould (0-1), Eoin Craddock (0-1); Ben Hennessy, Cathal Barrett (0-2), Paraic Russell (0-1); Darragh Woods (2-10, 0-5f), David Fogarty (0-1), Robbie Ryan (0-3).

Subs used: James Doyle (0-1) for Hennessy (HT); Conor Ryan (H) for Jimmy Ryan (H); Jack Dwan for Russell (52).

Referee: Sean Everard (Moyne Templetuohy)