Smith O’Brien’s cause a stir against Tulla

Smith O’Brien’s 1-10 Tulla 1-7

UNBEATEN in Division 2 B of the Clare Champion Cup, Smith O’Brien’s carried their league form into the championship at Scariff on Saturday when the caused a shock by beating Tulla in this first-round tie.
While they did experience some anxious moments in the second half, Smith O’Brien’s were worthy winners on the day. With former Irish and Lions rugby captain, Keith Wood in their corner, they took the game to their more fancied opponents and held the lead from the start.
Wood, who played underage hurling with his native Killaloe club, has been supervising a training programme for the team this year.
They took the lead in the opening minute when John Cusack pointed a 40m free and they were three ahead by the fifth minute after a Shane O’Brien point as Cusack converted from another free. Andrew Quinn opened Tulla’s account in the seventh minute but the favourites continued to struggle in this half. Another Cusack point from a free was followed by the winner’s goal which came from Seánie Conway after a great break by Brian McKeogh midway through this half. Cusack converted another free to go seven points clear with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
It was 1-5 to 0-2 when the half-time whistle sounded and while Tulla were guilty of some bad wides, they were fortunate not to be more than six points in arrears at this stage of the game.
There was a noticeable step-up in Tulla’s approach when play resumed and a brace of points from Aidan Lynch gave their supporters hope before they sent veteran Brian Quinn into their attack. An Eanna Torpey point cut the margin to a goal with over 20 minutes still to play but just when some Killaloe followers might have been concerned about the outcome, their side hit back. They hit four points without reply in the next 10 minutes to go seven clear with 12 minutes to play. John Cusack’s effort from play at the start of the final quarter was, without doubt, the score of the game.
Shortly before the end of the third quarter, Ray Stewart, ruled out of the Tulla starting line-up after suffering a hand injury in training on the previous Thursday night, was introduced and he sparked off another Tulla rally with his side’s goal six minutes from time.
There was a bit of controversy over this score as Killaloe followers argued that the handpassed effort went straight to the net and should not be allowed. After consulting with his umpires, match official Ger Lyons allowed the score.
Andrew Quinn and Stewart quickly followed with points and the margin was down to two with four minutes remaining. John Cusack put three between the sides when he pointed with a minute remaining but then Tulla laid siege to the Killaloe goal and came very close to levelling the game but Trevor Vaughan’s effort rebounded off the upright.
Seamus Gleeson, Trevor Howard and Pat Vaughan stood out in the winner’s defence while Willie Neary, John Cusack and Shane O’Brien also made considerable contributions to the game.
For a disappointing Tulla side, Eugene Cooney, Paul, Brian and Aidan Lynch did best.

Smith O’Brien’s: Mark McInerney; Michael Flynn, Seamus Gleeson, Paul McKeogh (captain); Trevor Howard, Pat Vaughan, Shane Tuohy; Willie Neary, Brian McInerney; Brian McKeogh, Pat Ahern, Kevin Walsh; John Cusack, Shane O’Brien, Seánie Conway.
Subs: Liam Walsh for B McKeogh (45 minutes); Micheál Ryan for Conway (55 minutes).
Scorers: John Cusack (0-7, 0-6f), ; Seánie Conway (1-0), Willie Neary, Shane O’Brien, Kevin Walsh (0-1) each.
Frees for: 12; wides: 11; 65: 1
Bookings: Pat Vaughan (50 minutes).
“We had to dig deep in the second half and we knew at half-time that it would be like that. We knew there was more in Tulla. They got three scores when the second half resumed and in other years, we might have caved in but there is a bit of resilience there this year,” Brendan Foley, Smith O’Brien’s.

Tulla: Philip Brennan; Eugene Cooney (captain), Seán Torpey, John Brennan; Cian McInerney, Mark Quinn, Paul Lynch; Brian Lynch, Declan Murphy; Conor O’Halloran, Michael Murphy, Eanna Torey; Cathal Dinan, Andrew Quinn, Aidan Lynch.
Subs: Brian Quinn for O’Halloran (37 minutes); Ray Stewart for Dinan (41 minutes); Trevor Vaughan for E Torpey (50 minutes).
Scorers: Ray Stewart (1-1), Andrew Quinn (0-3, 0-2f); Aidan Lynch (0-2), Eanna Torpey (0-1).
Frees for: 8; wides: 10
Bookings: Seán Torpey (14 minutes); Eanna Torpey (24 minutes).
“We were awful nervous starting and I don’t know why. A team with our experience should have been a lot better at the start. It cost us in the end. We are in big trouble now. We won’t be playing again until August. It is going to be hard to keep fellas together,” Jim McIneney, Tulla manager.
Referee: Ger Lyons, Ruan.