HURLING: Tulla finish season on a high

Under 15B Shield Final
Tulla 2-25 Broadford 2-09

TULLA eventually eased to the last Under 15 silverware of 2021 after keeping Broadford at arm’s length on the home soil of Dr Daly Memorial Park on Tuesday evening, writes Eoin Brennan.
Despite finishing lower than their East Clare rivals on the Under 15B table, the hosts were always in control, leading from start to finish, without ever really loosening their grip on proceedings.
Chief marksmen Emmet Mulcahy (1-7), Ryan Hayes (0-7) and Daniel Humphries (0-6) combined for a remarkable 1-20 between them including some exquisite long range shooting while Sean Cunningham, Cathal Culloo and Shaye Curtis were others to impress for Tulla.
Centre-forward John Moran led the Broadford charge alongside Cormac Gunning, Fiachra McNamara, and James Dillon, with their best period coming immediately after the break when halving the deficit to five thanks in the main to a well-worked Aodhan O’Driscoll goal.
Overall though, Tulla possessed the greater balance, with everyone playing their part in major scoring bursts to keep their opponents at bay.
That commenced immediately from the throw-in as Emmet Mulcahy converted a free after only 20 seconds before another came back off the upright for Conor O’Brien to pull to the net on Tulla’s way to a 1-3 to 0-0 advantage after only six minutes.
Broadford finally settled with four of the next five points, two from John Moran frees, only to be rocked by another Tulla purple patch, this time a seven unanswered point drive led by Mulcahy (3) and Humphries (2) that transcended the water break to power into a 1-11 to 0-04 lead by the 21st minute.
Broadford grabbed a much needed lifeline four minutes later when Michael Vaughan’s persistence paid off to grab a goal amidst a goalmouth scramble following an initial Jack Dillon effort. However, even that boost would be wiped out when Finn Boyce, Emmet Mulcahy and Ryan Hayes answered with late points to ensure a 1-16 to 1-06 scoreline.
Requiring a huge second half, Broadford inevitably came out in determined mood, with Michael Vaughan and John Moran combining to tee up Aodhan O’Driscoll for their second goal in a 1-2 rally by the 34th minute at 1-16 to 2-08.
Tulla always seemed able to up the ante when required though, with braces from Hayes and Humphries restoring their ten point cushion by the final water break before Emmet Mulcahy raided for a second goal to put the result beyond any doubt on the resumption.
With that, the home side fleshed out the final margin with four of the last five points in what was the perfect end to a testing campaign.

Tulla: Daniel Ryan; Alan Yan, Sean Clune, Sean Collins; Darragh Walsh, Sean Cunningham, Liam Moroney; Cathal Culloo, Emmet Mulcahy; Daniel Humphries, Shaye Curtis, Matthew Nolan; Conor O’Brien, Ryan Hayes, Finn Boyce Subs: Fionn O’Mahony for Boyce (51), Evan Byrnes for O’Brien (51), Cormac Murphy for Nolan (51)

Scorers: Emmet Mulcahy (1-7, 6f); Ryan Hayes (0-7); Daniel Humphries (0-6); Conor O’Brien (1-0); Shaye Curtis (0-3); Finn Boyce (0-2)

Broadford: Jack Lovett; Daniel Green, Liam Wixted, Cormac Gunning; Fiachra McNamara, Noah Corbett, Mark McNamara; James Dillon, Oisin McMahon; Aodhan O’Driscoll, John Moran, Michael Vaughan; Tom Marsh, Adam Flynn, Michael O’Donoghue Subs: James O’Donnell for Flynn (40), Ronan O’Connell for O’Driscoll (57), Sean O’Brien for O’Donoghue (57), Elijah Corrigan for Gunning (57), Jack Tobin for Lovett (58), Hughie Vaughan for M. Vaughan (58)

Scorers: John Moran (0-5, 3f); Aodhan O’Driscoll (1-1); Michael Vaughan (1-0); James Dillon, Oisin McMahon, Tom Marsh (0-1 each)

Referee: Jarlath Donnellan (Wolfe Tones)