Watergrasshill Notes (19th Nov)
- Nov 19,2024
Wolf Tones silenced by the Hill
AIB Munster Intermediate Club Championship Semi-Final
Watergrasshill 2-20 v 2-13 Wolf Tones na Sionna
Well, well, well, the journey continues for Eddie Enright’s men following a 7 point win over Wolf Tones na Sionna in the semi-final of the AIB Munster Intermediate Club Championship on Saturday afternoon in Páirc Uí Rinn.
The Clare outfit travelled to Cork full of confidence, their side bolstered with established Clare Seniors such as Aron Shanagher, Daithí Lohan and Rory Hayes. But the hill men are not ones to stand on ceremony and if Wolf Tones were to claim victory, they would have to earn it.
In a reversal of their start in the Premier Intermediate final 6 days before, the hill conceded a goal after just 30 seconds following a quick ball into Aaron Cunningham, who made no mistake finishing past Aiden Foley. The hill responded through an Adam Murphy free, but Wolf Tones added 2 more from play to move 0-1 to 1-2 ahead after just 5 minutes. The hill were still reeling after the goal, but slowly managed to recompose themselves and settle into the game. 2 more scores for Murphy from placed balls, separated by a Shane O’Regan effort from play brough us to within 1, when Brendan Lehane picked up a loose breaking ball and buried it beyond Oisín O’Rourke. In that 7 minute spell between minutes 12 and 19, the hill had added 1-04 without reply, turning a 3 point deficit into a 4 point lead. Wolf Tones chipped away with 2 scores of their own, before a trademark Aiden Foley long-range free left the score 1-08 to 1-05, but the hill keeper was injured when turning to race back to goal and was visibly struggling for the remainder of the game. The hill finished the half with a further 3 scores without reply, leaving the score 1-11 to 1-06 at the break. Wolf Tones were baffled going in at the break given their strong start, but once the hill settled, they were visibly on top in key areas of the field, although they had accumulated 11 wides in that first half, despite the best efforts of Murphy who had notched 7 of the hill’s 12 scores.
Wolf Tones manager Barry Keane had his work cut-out at half-time, and kept the hill waiting before emerging for the second half. Whatever was said, it paid immediate dividends with ‘Tones adding 3 points in as many second half minutes to cut the gap to just 2. The teams exchanged scores until the pivotal moment of the game on 15 minutes, with Aaron Cunningham bearing down on goal, Dylan Roche’s sliding tackle left referee Alan Tierney with no option but to award a penalty. However Cunningham’s dangerous reaction to the incident, catching Roche with a swinging hurley to the head meant a long conversation for Tierney with his umpires, the result of which was red for both Roche and Cunninham as well as a clash ball in lieu of the penalty. The gap was now down to just 3 points, but scores from Shane O’Regan, Brendan Lehane, and Adam Murphy, either side of 1-1 from Seán Desmond left the hill 2-19 to 1-12 ahead, a gap which appeared to be too much. Wolf Tones did add 1-1 at the death, but it was a case of too little too late, the game finished 2-20 to 2-13 meaning a historic Munster Final awaits for the hill.
Whilst the overturning of the penalty was a pivotal moment in the second half, the hill were good value for the win. Dáire O’Leary and Mick O’Driscoll marshalled Shanagher well, the latter keeping the Wolf Tones talisman quiet for the majority of the second half. With Murphy, Desmond and Lehane causing the Wolf Tones defence problems all day, Ciarán O’Leary and Aaron Spriggs ran themselves into the ground in support of the cause.
So a historic Munster Final against Cashel King Cormac’s awaits, one which the hill will attack with the same intensity and dynamism which has been their hallmark all year. This young side have brought so much joy to the parish this year, seeing club stalwarts like John O’Neill and Lizie O’Leary crying with joy and national school kids beaming from ear to ear having got a Seán Desmond autograph, that’s what it’s all about. Doing it for your parish, your people. We are so proud of this group of lads and at the moment, the entire parish is just surfing the wave, no doubt when this year ends, whenever that may be, these boys will go down in the annals of Watergrasshill GAA as the team who brought Senior Hurling to the hill and we couldn’t be more proud of them.
Watergrasshill: Aiden Foley, Shane Field (Sub – Ian O’Callaghan, 44), Dylan McCarthy, Dylan Roche (Red – 46), Mick O’Driscoll, Daire O’Leary, Kevin O’Neill, Ciarán O’Leary, Aaron Spriggs (Sub – Anthony Cronin, 44), Liam Foley (Sub - Patrick Cronin, 51), Adam Murphy, Shane O’Regan, Padraig O’Leary (Sub – Chris Healy, 51), Seán Desmond and Brendan Lehane.
Scorers for Watergrasshill: A Murphy 0-21 (0-8 f, 0-1 65), S. Desmond 1-2, B. Lehane 1-1, S. O’Regan 0-2, A. Foley, L. Foley & I. O’Callaghan 0-1 each.
Lotto
There was no jackpot winner in the lotto this week. Numbers drawn were 9, 27, 30 & 32. Lucky dip winners, who each receive €30 are Nora Reidy, Audrey & Dave Murphy, C. Mc Grath, Fermoy and Margo Leary. Congrats to you all. Next week's jackpot is a whopping €16,050 and draw will take place on 25th November in The Hut Bar.
Tickets are on sale in some of the village businesses like The Hut Bar, Johnny's Shop and our Lotto stand in Ross's Centra. Tickets can also be purchased on-line via our club website (www.watergrasshillgaa.ie). The Club would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members and supporters of the Watergrasshill GAA Club Lotto. The Club Lotto is a vital source of income for the running of all our teams within the Club and for future development of our facilities, so we ask you to please support it if you are in a position to do so. Remember, if you’re not in you can’t win.
Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday 16th November
AIB Munster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship Semi-FinalWatergrasshill (Cork) v Wolfe Tones na Sionna (Clare)
Venue: Páirc Uí Rinn at 1:15pm
Recent Results:
Saturday 30th November
AIB Munster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship FinalWatergrasshill v Cashel King Cormac’s
Venue TBC
