SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Second-half scoring frenzy wins it for Tulla

Tulla 0-21   Broadford 1-12

ALTHOUGH now finished with hurling until 2013, Tulla cut loose in what was their last half hour of action for the year in Shannon last Sunday evening.

Only able to manage four points in the first half and trailing 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time, Tulla shot 17 second-half points, some of which were sublime scores.

Out of the championship but safe from relegation, Darragh Corry, Niall Bolton, Aidan Lynch, David McInerney, Trevor Vaughan from frees and Philip Brennan, along with veteran substitutes Michael Murphy and Andrew Quinn, pointed a dazzling array of scores for the Tulla men in that free-scoring second period.

Dominant for much of the first half, Broadford faded in the last 10 minutes of the second and were outscored 0-7 to 0-3 in that spell. They now join Clooney-Quin and St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield in the relegation quagmire. One of these three clubs will play Senior B hurling next year.

Padraig Hickey’s goal, 14 minutes into the second half, was their stand-out moment. The Broadford man cut through the centre of the Tulla defence, finishing clinically. That score left Broadford 1-9 to 0-8 up and in an excellent position 16 minutes from time.

Four minutes prior to the goal, Aongus O’Brien should have netted but his low shot skimmed across the Tulla goalmouth and wide.

While Tulla’s second-half excellence was admirable, they kept it well hidden for most of the opening 30 minutes. Ironically, their collective eye was out in that half, as evidenced by their seven wides, albeit Broadford hit six.

Playing in near perfect conditions in front of an easily contained crowd, Donie Whelan, Niall Moloney, Hickey, Shane Taylor and two excellent Cathal Chaplin points helped Broadford into a 0-7 to 0-4 half-time lead. Cathal Dinan twice, Trevor Vaughan and Niall Bolton scored for Tulla, who didn’t reveal much evidence of their impending scoring frenzy.

Broadford will rue the fact that although they only conceded 10 frees during the hour’s hurling, Trevor Vaughan nailed six of them and also put over a 65’. They will also feel that they should have pushed on following Hickey’s goal. Instead, Tulla upped their game and to their delight started firing over points from acres out.

While Michael Murphy and Andrew Quinn contributed significantly when brought on, some of Tulla’s youngsters really excelled with Darragh Corry, Cathal Dinan, Niall Bolton and David McInerney especially eye-catching at different times.

“We were totally out-hurled in the first half by Broadford but when we brought on Andrew Quinn and Michael Murphy, they made huge contributions,” Tulla manager Jim McInerney said after the game.

“I felt we had our strongest starting team out. We’ve had a bad year injury-wise, although we’ve blooded seven or eight young lads in the last 12 months. It was nice to finish the year with a win,” he added.

Padraig Hickey, Shane Taylor and Donie Whelan played some good hurling for Broadford, who will be very keen to sustain their hurling for an hour in their upcoming relegation fixture.

“No one wants to be relegated, so we’ll just have to try and knuckle down come the end of the week again,” Broadford manager Kevin Sammon commented. He said Broadford didn’t capitalise on their goal, following which Tulla outscored them 0-13 to 0-3.

“When we got the goal we sat back. We thought we had the job done and Tulla took advantage of that. They were the better team and deserved to go on to win the game,” the Broadford manager added.

Tulla: Kieran Brennan; Eugene Cooney, Seán Torpey, Colm Halpin; Cian McInerney, John Brennan, Paul Lynch; David McInerney, Niall Bolton; Trevor Vaughan, Philip Brennan, Aidan Lynch; Mark Lynch, Darragh Corry, Cathal Dinan.
Subs: Andrew Quinn for Mark Lynch (half-time) and John Fahy for Eugene Cooney (60).
Scorers: Trevor Vaughan (0-7, 6f, 1 65’), Darragh Corry (0-3), Cathal Dinan, Niall Bolton, Michael Murphy and Andrew Quinn (0-2 each), Aidan Lynch, David McInerney and Philip Brennan (0-1 each).
Frees for: 10; wides: 12; 65s: 1.
Yellow cards: Niall Bolton and Trevor Vaughan.

Broadford: Ollie Marsh; Brian Taylor, Alan Kilcoyne, Aidan O’Brien; James Gunning, Kieran Corcoran, Stephen Gunning; Mark Moloney, Cathal Chaplin; Niall Moloney, Aongus O’Brien, Padraig Hickey; Shane Taylor, Padraig Taylor, Donie Whelan.
Subs: Declan Teefy for Padraig Taylor (44), Diarmuid Moloney for Mark Moloney (51) and Cailean Cox for Aongus O’Brien (58).
Scorers: Padraig Hickey (1-4, 2f), Donie Whelan, Shane Taylor and Cathal Chaplin (0-2 each), Niall Moloney and Declan Teefy (0-1 each).
Frees for: 6; wides: 10.
Yellow cards: Brian Taylor.

Referee: Jim Hickey (Cratloe).