TUS Midlands set for semi-final after win over MIC
TUS Midlands 1-11 MIC, Limerick 1-8
TUS Midlands will take on GMIT in the semi-finals of the Trench Cup at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan, near Ballyhaunis, this evening (Wednesday) at 6.30pm.
The Athlone side made heavy work of seeing off Mary Immaculate College in their quarter-final on Tuesday night of last week.
In a lively game played in Athlone, both sides showed plenty of purpose and enthusiasm, but the shooting was below par. Also, too many players over-elaborated in attack and took too much out of the ball.
Some ten minutes elapsed before MIC kicked the first score of the game, with their impressive full-forward Jimmy O’Grady doing the honours. The Athlone side had four wides early on, with a scoreable attempt from a mark also dropping short.
MIC were down to 14 players for ten minutes after Stephen Curry was black-carded. Finally, Robbie Forde of Moate All Whites got the hosts’ scoring underway in the 13th minute. Clann na nGael’s Paul McManus extended the Athlone outfit’s lead.
TUS Midlands continued to be wasteful in front of goal, kicking six wides in the first half. Athlone’s management team of Keith Higgins, Richie Murray and Seamus Mitchell will be hoping for more accurate shooting in the semi-final.
The Limerick side had the better of the exchanges before the interval; they were that bit more ruthless with the possession they had. O’Grady kicked two more scores from frees and Philip Talty added another.
The Athlone side's only response was a long range free off the ground from midfielder Cormac Delaney. MIC led 0-4 to 0-3 at half-time.
TUS Midlands were full of vigour and energy from the start of the second half. They were boosted by a goal when Forde's goal attempt fell to the marauding Conor Lohan on the edge of the square and the corner-back placed a shot past Donal Halloran in the MIC goal.
Cathal Flynn, a member of last year’s All-Ireland winning Offaly U20 team, also showed the way with an excellent point. The Ferbane man, a small player with a big heart, was covering every area of the pitch, driving his side forward at every opportunity.
Jack Torpey and Forde added scores and the hosts looked like they were the stronger team at that stage.
The game then seemed to quench, and the fire went completely out of the game with scores very scarce.
Suddenly MIC seemed to realise that Athlone had stalled. They set about the comeback, driven in by Clare inter-county player Cillian Rouine from centre-back. First, O’Grady kicked a score before setting up Stephen Curry to palm the ball past Eoin Geraghty in the Athlone goal. The sides were level, 1-5 each, with 15 minutes to play.
It was as if both sides were waiting for the other to make the first move. A well struck ‘45’ from Clara's Cormac Delaney put TUS back in front.
Cavan’s Cormac Timoney then took on the mantle, helped in no small way by Athlone's Shane Allen. No. 6 Timoney started winning kickouts and spraying passes about. Timoney, Allen and Flynn showed the way and they finished strongly with three excellent scores from substitutes Shane Fleming, Jason Nugent and Kyle Higgins to secure a deserving win.
TUS Midlands have plenty of local talent on board. If they can find their shooting boots in the last four, there’s no reason why they can’t win the competition. Padraig Pearses player Conor Lohan, playing at corner-back, ended up as their top scorer in last week’s game.
The other semi-final is between TUS Midwest and Dundalk IT, with the final to be played in Carlow this Friday.
Man of the match: Cathal Flynn (TUS Midlands). Flynn’s continuous workrate for the duration of the game pips Cormac Timoney for the accolade.
Key moments: A few key moments stand out, including Cormac Delaney’s 45 on a slippery pitch to give Athlone a 1-6 to 1-5 lead in the 50th minute and from there the midlanders pushed on to win. Also, straight after this score, Flynn made a long run from deep in his own defence before releasing Jason Nugent for an inspirational score. Also key was Cormac Timoney winning two MIC kickouts when the game was level with ten minutes or so to go.
Scorers - TUS Midlands: C Lohan 1-0; R Forde (1f) and C Delaney (1f, 1 45) 0-2 each; P McManus, J Torpey, C Flynn, S Allen, K Higgins, J Nugent and S Fleming 0-1 each. MIC: J O’Grady 0-6 (3f); S Curry 1-0; P Talty 0-2.
TUS Midlands: Eoin Geraghty; Brendan Killian, Ian McGillicuddy, Conor Lohan; Shane Allen, Cormac Timoney, David Nally; Enda McGuire, Cormac Delaney; Kieran Colclough, Paul McManus, James Bracken; Robbie Forde, Cathal Flynn, Jack Torpey. Subs used: Kyle Higgins for McManus (51 mins), Shane Fleming for Bracken (53), Jason Nugent for Colclough (54).
Mary Immaculate College, Limerick: Donal Halloran; Padraig Waldron, Cillian Brennan, Liam Horkan; Timmy Roberts, Cillian Rouine, Oisin Tunney; Cillian Trant, Cian Cooke; Stephen Curry, Jack Curtain, Philip Talty; Patrick Darcy, Jimmy O’Grady, Gearoid Cahill. Subs used: Gerry O’Sullivan for Curry (46 mins), Paul Lenehan for Roberts (50), Owen Power for Cahill (48), Tom Devine for Tunney (55).
Referee: Niall Ward (Garrycastle).
- Eamon A. Donoghue