Harty Cup Final: Nenagh CBS triumph in Ennis

TUS Dr Harty Cup Final

Nenagh CBS 0-20 St Flannan’s College, Ennis 0-18

By Stephen Barry at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg

Eoghan Doughan struck 0-12 in a man-of-the-match performance before lifting Nenagh CBS’s second TUS Dr Harty Cup in front of 6,909 fans after a fierce tussle with St Flannan’s at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg.

It took over a century for the North Tipperary school’s first Harty title to arrive. Their second came just two years later at the same venue by battling back from five points behind against the hometown side.

Captain Doughan, the sole remaining starter from that triumph, took his total to 4-63 across six games as they delivered a 20th Harty title for Tipp schools, and the county’s fourth in a row.

It piled more final misery on Flannan’s, who lost the corresponding Dean Ryan final to Nenagh two years ago and the Harty final to Thurles CBS last year.

Both sides lined out without county talents in Billy O’Brien (Nenagh) and Dara Kennedy (Flannan’s). Amid a light fog at the Ennis venue, Flannan’s opened brightly by getting their inside threats into the game with Darragh McNamara and Thomas O’Connor points.

Centre-back Dara O’Dwyer put Nenagh on the board. A Doughan free and Patrick Ryan soon had them level at 0-3 apiece.

But Nenagh wouldn’t score for the next nine minutes as Flannan’s gained superiority across the field. Their five-point streak began and ended with those ball-winners McNamara and O’Connor mining scores. In between, Harry Doherty tagged on two frees and Isaac Hassett grabbed another from play.

Trailing by 0-8 to 0-3, Nenagh made two vital switches. Doughan had been nullified at centre-forward by Conor Hill. Nenagh moved him inside, where the Moneygall stickman was able to find space breaking out to the wings. In the final 10 minutes of the half, Doughan scored points off left and right from either sideline and one from a long ball into the square.

With full- and centre-backs Shane Cleary and O’Dwyer swapping, that set the platform for Doughan to add three more frees. Austin Duff and Patrick Hackett, having been moved out to the half-forward line, also split the posts.

Flannan’s didn’t hit back-to-back points for the remainder of the half, with Graham Ball and Eoin O’Connor stemming the tide. They needed Doherty’s fourth point to level at the break; 0-11 apiece.

McNamara’s third nudged Flannan’s ahead, but Doughan and Joe O’Dwyer, back on from some treatment for a blood injury, were motoring nicely to provide Nenagh’s first two-point lead.

Doherty scored from play, but missed a levelling free before Doughan’s 10th point reinstated their two-point advantage.

However, Darragh Ball was dropped deep to limit the supply to Doughan as Flannan’s came back with the next three points. Doherty slotted two placed balls, including one after James Cullinan’s run was cynically stopped, and Colm Daly hit the lead score.

Nenagh hadn’t scored for 11 minutes now, while KJ Dunne flashed a goal attempt across the posts. O’Dwyer sparked them to life with a 51st-minute equaliser. The Burgess corner-forward won the first of two Doughan frees and Hackett added the other for a 0-20 to 0-17 lead.

Doherty’s eighth point cut the deficit before Ryan’s attempts at a clinching goal was blocked by Darragh Murrihy. But once Nenagh choked up the final ball into the square, they were champions again.

Scorers for Nenagh CBS: Eoghan Doughan 0-12 (8fs); Austin Duff, Patrick Hackett, Joe O’Dwyer 0-2 each; Dara O’Dwyer, Patrick Ryan 0-1 each.

Scorers for St Flannan’s: Harry Doherty 0-8 (5fs, 1 65); Darragh McNamara 0-3; Thomas O’Connor 0-2; Colm Daly, Graham Ball, Isaac Hassett, Patrick Finneran, Eoin O’Connor 0-1 each.

NENAGH CBS: Paddy McCormack; Diarmuid Fogarty, Shane Cleary, Cormac Kennedy; Emmett Jones, Dara O’Dwyer, Johnny Grace; Hugo Healy, Austin Duff; Patrick Ryan, Eoghan Doughan, Paul Cahalan; Joe O’Dwyer, Patrick Hackett, Éanna Tucker.

Subs: Tom Boland for J O’Dwyer (26-h-t, blood), Boland for Tucker (HT), Rian McGrath for Cahalan (44), KJ Dunne for Healy (48), Charlie Kennedy for J O’Dwyer (60+1), Daniel McKelvey for Hackett (60+4).

ST FLANNAN’S: Leon Talty; Darragh Ball, Seán McNamara, Darragh Murrihy; James Cullinan, Conor Hill, Colm Daly; Graham Ball, Isaac Hassett; Harry Doherty, Patrick Finneran, Rory Ralph; Eoin O’Connor, Thomas O’Connor, Darragh McNamara.

Subs: John Barry for D Ball (28-29, blood), Barry for Hassett (38), Jason Keane-Hayes for Finneran (45), Ben Talty for Ralph (53), David Loftus for E O’Connor (56).

Referee: Thomas Walsh (Waterford).