Maher return adds to Sarsfields joy as Thurles men book final place

FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Thurles Sarsfields 2-18

Nenagh Éire Óg 1-14

The biggest cheer in the course of an unflattering seven-point win for Thurles Sarsfields over an under-performing Nenagh Éire Óg in the FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship semi-final at Semple Stadium on Saturday came ten minutes from the end when All-Star Ronan Maher entered the fray for Sarsfields, having been sidelined for some months with a broken ankle bone.

At that stage Sarsfields were ahead 1-15 to 0-14, doing just enough to contain their struggling opponents, but on his arrival Maher made an immediate impact. He first created the space for Euan Murray to win possession and set Paddy Creedon up for Sarsfields’ second goal, a score that basically decided the game. In injury time, Maher hit a glorious point to round off a very successful comeback for himself and a satisfactory afternoon for the Thurles lads.

Expectations of a classic between two high-quality teams were never realised in an encounter riddled with errors in handling and decision-making on both sides.

What redeemed the contest was the closeness of the affair for much of the way and the possibilities that a surge from either side presented, but in the closing stages Sarsfields were by far the superior team, Nenagh’s goal coming in injury time when they were eight points adrift and well on their way out of the championship.

The biggest talking point before the game was whether countyman Jake Morris, sidelined with a tendon injury, would line out for Nenagh. He did not start but came on early in the second half and got little scope to exert an influence due to the tight-tackling Paul Maher of Sarsfields.

It was that kind of day for Nenagh, beaten finalists last year and with lofty ambitions this time - nothing seemed to be happening for them.

This was the case despite starting well to establish a 0-5 to 0-1 lead over their rivals after thirteen minutes, Mikey Heffernan hitting four of those points from frees. Five Sarsfields wides in the opening ten minutes must have made supporters wince, but gradually, with Aidan McCormack “on song” from placed balls, they found their range.

Still 0-6 to 0-9 behind approaching half-time, Sarsfields, as they so often do, whipped over four points in quick succession through Darragh Stakelum, Kieran Rossiter, Aidan McCormack (f) and Eoin Purcell for an interval advantage of 0-10 to 0-9 - a modest lead, marginally deserved, after a poor half-hour’s hurling by both sides.

Two minutes into the second half, after a Mikey Heffernan free for Nenagh earned them parity, Sarsfields struck a crucial blow. Darragh Stakelum intercepted an attempted Nenagh pass to race through for a well-taken goal. Kieran Rossiter and Aidan McCormack quickly added points and now the ball was very much in Sarsfields’ court, leading 1-11 to 0-10.

Nenagh needed something to inspire them but were still relying heavily on Mikey Heffernan’s free-taking for their scores.

Sarsfields, on the other hand, were doing just enough to keep them at arm’s length and they got a huge lift when Paddy Creedon raced back fifty yards to turn over a Nenagh possession, the ball feeding to Kieran Rossiter, who pointed. Psychologically, it was a match-defining score.

Enter Ronan Maher in Sarsfields’ front line. In his first action he used his strength to create the space for Euan Murray to set up Paddy Creedon for a confidently taken Sarsfields second goal and a 2-15 to 0-14 lead with five minutes left to play.

Aidan McCormack followed up with two points to seal the deal, but in injury time Josh Keller got on the end of a high Nenagh delivery for a goal that came too late to change the shape of the game. Indeed, Sarsfields added two further points from Darragh Stakelum and Ronan Maher in injury time to nail down their place in the final.

A welcome victory that delighted their fans, but this was not one of Sarsfields’ better performances and improvement will be needed if they are to claim the Dan Breen Cup.

A particular concern will be the concession of so many frees, eleven of the Nenagh scores came from placed balls, and there were also a couple of aberrations. On the other hand, the return of Ronan Maher is a big boost ahead of the final and the work rate of the players is also admirable. Sarsfields are in a good place facing into the decider.

The man of the match accolade went to Denis Maher, who was a powerful figure at the edge of the Thurles square. Not far behind him was Conor Stakelum, with Cian Stakelum, Aidan McCormack, Keith Rossiter, Keith Loughnane and Paul Maher also doing their bit to advance their cause.

Nenagh’s difficulty with putting good performances back-to-back again manifested itself. Excellent when disposing of Cashel in the quarter-final, they were well below their best here.

Scoring 1-3 from play is not title-winning hurling and, were it not for the excellence of Mikey Heffernan from placed balls, their lot would have been much sorrier. Barry Heffernan, in his sweeper’s role, did his utmost to get them moving and Mark Carey had a fine game at full-back, with Jake Donelan Houlihan also in form. Elsewhere they struggled. Sam O’Farrell, operating in attack, made little headway. Josh Keller and Paddy Murphy worked hard with little reward.

Scorers: Thurles Sarsfields: Aidan McCormack (0-11, 0-8f), Darragh Stakelum 1-2, Paddy Creedon 1-0, Kieran Rossiter 0-2, Euan Murray, Eoin Purcell, Ronan Maher all 0-1 each.

Nenagh Éire Óg: Mikey Heffernan (0-12, 0-11f), Josh Keller 1-0, Sam O’Farrell, Filip McIntyre 0-1 each.

Thurles Sarsfields: Patrick McCormack; Paul Maher, Denis Maher, Henry Fogarty; Keith Loughnane, Conor Stakelum, Cian Stakelum; Daniel Rossiter, Aidan Stakelum; Eoin Purcell, Aidan McCormack, Euan Murray; Darragh Stakelum, Paddy Creedon, Kieran Rossiter.

Subs used: Tommy Maher for Purcell (50); Ronan Maher for A Stakelum (50); James Armstrong for Loughnane (56); Robbie Stapleton for K Rossiter (58); Stephen Maher for Cian Stakelum (59).

Nenagh Éire Óg: Dermot McTiernan; Conor Hennessy, Mark Carey, Jake Donelan Houlihan; Paddy Murphy, Barry Heffernan, Sam O’Farrell; Conor Ryan, James Mackey; Ben West, Josh Keller, Filip McIntyre; Mikey Heffernan, Mason Cawley, Philip Hickey.

Subs used: Billy O’Brien for Cawley (HT); Jake Morris for McIntyre (35); Emmet Jones for Mackey (39); Tommy Heffernan for West (47); Sean Phelan for Hickey (59).

Referee: Conor Doyle (Silvermines)