Darragh McCarthy hits 0-11 for Toomevara in quarter-final win over JK Brackens

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final

Toomevara 0-26

JK Brackens 0-21

Toomevara came out on the right side of a dogfight with JK Brackens to claim a semi-final spot for the second year in the second FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final played in FBD Semple Stadium on Saturday evening.

This game will have been a tough watch for the neutral given the physical nature and running game employed by JK Brackens, and with Toome cutting their measure to match throughout, it wasn’t the best advertisement for Tipperary club hurling over the 63 minutes of play.

But that will matter little to Toomevara who had the more quality when it counted late on, scoring three points in added time to finally put away a stubborn JK Brackens effort on a dull evening in Thurles.

Toomevara held the lead for the vast majority of the contest and even though Brackens managed to pull level in the middle of the second half, they never threatened to push on and take control of the game as the Greyhounds found the necessary scores to carve out the win and a place in the last four.

It was an attritional game for the players with hard running, heavy hitting, and a congested middle third a feature and there was very little between the teams in the first quarter of the game with the teams deadlocked at 0-6 apiece after 15 minutes.

Those scores largely came from play with Adam Hall, Josh McCarthy, Darren Delaney (2), and Darragh McCarthy (free) the scorers for Toome, while Jamie Ormond continued his good form early, hitting 0-3 from play along with a brace of Lyndon Fairbrother frees and another from Andrew Ormond making up the Brackens scores.

Toomevara had a good goal chance in that time too when Jack Ryan continued a strong run from the half-back line and was picked out by a smart Conor O’Farrell flick but the wing-back was bottled up well and thwarted close to goal by the scrambling Brackens defence.

There were some lovely scores hit heading into the second quarter with Jack Delaney and Shane Doyle bagging their first scores, but the Brackens attack were proving menacing for the Toome defence, with Jamie and Andrew Ormond hitting points in that time to keep the game level at 0-8 all. 

Toome though - through Jack Ryan and Mark McCarthy - took a two-point lead. They very nearly extended it significantly when a long, raking ball from Jack Ryan into the full forward line was fielded brilliantly by Adam Hall, and when he laid the ball off to Darragh McCarthy, he turned on the spot and rifled an effort on goal which cannoned back off the post to the relief of Jack Kennedy in the Brackens goals.

Well in the ascendancy now, Toome did fire over the next few points through Mark McCarthy and Jack Delaney to push in front by 0-12 to 0-8 but Brackens finished the half well with the Ormond brothers again the main outlet for scores, scoring one apiece to leave them trailing by 0-12 to 0-10 at the break.

Darragh McCarthy was quiet by his usual standards in the first half but he soon got into the fray after the restart with his first from play from range and it pushed Toome out to a three-point lead once again, which they would maintain up to the 43rd minute; Darragh McCarthy and Lyndon Fairbrother the main source of scores for the teams.

However, Toome weren’t going to maintain that lead without a challenge with Brackens having the game level by the 50th minute with Jamie Ormond hitting a lovely fifth from play in that period while Éanna McBride became prominent with two points in quick succession; the game on at 0-18 to 0-18 with eight minutes of normal time remaining.

Toome needed a settling score and they worked it soon after with Barry O’Connell finishing a nice flowing move downfield, and that seemed to do the trick with Darragh McCarthy, and a fine effort from newly introduced substitute Conor O’Meara pushing Toome back out into a 0-22 to 0-19 lead.

From here, Toome had the comfort of that lead and after surviving a scare on the stroke of the 60th minute when Éanna McBride had a rasper at goal saved by Rory Brislane, the North runner-ups hit three of the last four points with Conor O’Meara again, a Darragh McCarthy free and a clincher from Adam Hall sending the Greyhounds to victory and another semi-final outing

Toomevara: Rory Brislane; Barry O’Connell (0-1), Andrew Ryan, Seamus O’Farrell; Jack Ryan (0-1), Josh McCarthy (0-1), Liam Ryan; Robbie Quirke, Conor O’Farrell; Mark McCarthy (0-3), Kevin McCarthy (0-1), Jack Delaney (0-2); Darren Delaney (0-2), Darragh McCarthy (0-11, 0-8f), Adam Hall (0-2).

Subs used: Josh Powell for A Ryan (35, inj); Jake Hackett for D Delaney (44); Conor O’Meara (0-2) for Quirke (52); Colm Canning for K McCarthy (56); David Nolan for C O’Farrell (62).

JK Brackens: Jack Kennedy; Luke Ormond, Cathal Scully, Tom Murphy; Ned Delaney; Paddy Cadell, Jordan Moloney; Éanna McBride (0-3), Dean McEnroe; Conor Cadell, Shane Doyle (0-1), Jamie Ormond (0-5); Lyndon Fairbrother (0-7f), Andrew Ormond (0-3), Michael Cahill (0-1).

Subs used: Jack Bergin for Delaney (37); Ned Walsh for Doyle (37).

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Newcastle)