A general view of TUS Gaelic Grounds. Photo by Tom Breary/Sportsfile
AIB Munster Club IHC Final
Watergrasshill 1-21 Cashel King Cormacs 0-14
By Stephen Barry at TUS Gaelic Grounds
Watergrasshill are Munster Intermediate hurling champions after a dominant 10-point victory over Cashel King Cormacs in a downpour at TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Centre-forward Adam Murphy led the way with a point straight from the throw-in and he never stopped going in front of 2,336 fans, ending the day with 1-12 (1-5 from play).
Managed by 2001 Tipperary All-Ireland-winner and All-Star Eddie Enright, the Cork champions advance to meet Carey Faughs of Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final in a fortnight.
Cashel were over-reliant on Devon Ryan’s frees and a couple of Eoghan Connolly sideline cuts. Tipp U20 Oisín O’Donoghue was their only starter to score from play.
Murphy showed his form in the opening minutes with the first two points, including a peach from the sideline.
A Ryan free put Cashel on the board but Brendan Lehane responded before teeing up captain Seán Desmond for a shot on goal which Jonathan Walsh was quick off his line to save.
A Ryan free and Oisín O’Donoghue, playing with advantage, brought Cashel level.
The trend soon emerged that any time the Hill were pegged back level, they clipped the next score to move ahead again. Murphy and the pacy Pádraig O’Leary did the needful for a 0-5 to 0-3 lead.
Connolly produced two major moments with back-to-back sideline cuts arrowed between the posts either side of a point from Hill’s roaming corner-back Ian O’Callaghan.
Ryan frees levelled the game twice more but the Hill forged ahead again by the break. Lehane and Ciarán O’Leary’s off-the-hurley strike pushed them two up.
After Ryan’s fifth free, Liam Foley, an early substitute for the injured Michael O’Driscoll, ensured the gap would remain two, 0-10 to 0-8, at half-time.
Cashel’s reliance on placed balls was signposted with just one point coming from play while the Hill’s cutting edge was such that they only needed one free.
Murphy and Ryan traded two frees apiece on the restart but after Murphy registered from play, Ryan pushed a routine free wide. Anthony Cronin celebrated the Hill’s next point by punching the air to mark the first four-point gap between the sides.
O’Donoghue brought it back to a one-score game but not for long. Desmond supplied Murphy who whistled his bullet just over the crossbar.
His next chance came around straight from the next puck-out. Anthony and Patrick Cronin did the spadework for Murphy to skip a low shot to the bottom corner. 1-15 to 0-11 after 48 minutes.
Ger Browne, introduced as a sub, nailed a tricky score but Aiden Foley stopped a close-range Ryan free.
The Hill took over with five points on the spin, while Desmond forced Walsh into another save.
Cashel sub Adrian Cummins scored back-to-back points, but it was the Hill’s day.
Scorers for Watergrasshill: Adam Murphy 1-12 (7fs), Brendan Lehane 0-3, Ian O’Callaghan, Ciarán O’Leary, Shane O’Regan, Liam Foley, Pádraig O’Leary, Anthony Cronin 0-1 each.
Scorers for Cashel King Cormacs: Devon Ryan 0-7 (7fs), Eoghan Connolly (2 sidelines), Oisín O’Donoghue, Adrian Cummins 0-2 each, Ger Browne 0-1.
Watergrasshill: Aiden Foley; Shane Field, Dylan McCarthy, Ian O’Callaghan; Michael O’Driscoll, Dáire O’Leary, Kevin O’Neill; Anthony Cronin, Aaron Spriggs; Ciarán O’Leary, Seán Desmond, Shane O’Regan; Brendan Lehane, Adam Murphy, Pádraig O’Leary.
Subs: Liam Foley for O’Driscoll (28, inj), Patrick Cronin for O’Callaghan (46), Chris Healy for P O’Leary (52), James McCarthy for C O’Leary (59), Paddy O’Regan for Spriggs (60), Ryan Murray for Field (60+5, temporary).
Cashel King Cormacs: Jonathan Walsh; Kieran O’Dwyer, Nathan Ryan, Conn Bonnar; James Cummins, Conor O’Dwyer, Anthony Walsh; Ronan Connolly, Eoghan Connolly; Ross Bonnar, Devon Ryan, Cathal Quinn; Paddy Fahy, Oisín O’Donoghue, David McGrath.
Subs: Ger Browne for McGrath (42), Adrian Cummins for Fahy (52), Dan Moloney for A Walsh (57).
Referee: Niall Malone (Clare).
