Sars sprint over the finish line as rejigged line-up works a treat in Munster semi
Back: The The Feakle Munster Off Shc Diarmuid Victory Over After Monkey Lawlor Craig Their Of And O`sullivan In Leahy Sarsfields Picture: ©inpho/james Club Semi Final
Sars first altered their own appearance. They then went and altered the dreadful losing sequence of Cork clubs in Munster.
Before rewriting Cork’s eight-year losing run in the Munster Club SHC, Sars rewrote their own line-up. Three personnel changes from the county final. Plenty more positional switches on to that.
A senior championship debut for goalkeeper Ben Graham. Cillian Roche put in at centre-back on his first championship start since September 8. And a first championship start of 2024 for Cathal McCarthy.
“The key word is ‘freshen’,” manager Johnny Crowley said post-match. “We said that to the lads after the county final, ‘Over the next three weeks, we’re going to freshen the whole thing’.
“[The selection] was based on their performances in training and we had two games as well. A few lads came in today and were immense.”
Graham denied Oisín Donnellan and Steven Conway first-half goal chances. But it was at the other end where management wanted the new No.1 to exert influence. They reckoned his range could give them an extra 15 yards and turn Feakle’s half-back line in the process. He ended up assisting for 1-1 in the first half alone.
Cillian Roche, with the assistance of those around him, limited Shane McGrath to two points from play. McGrath, remember, is someone who hit 1-5 and 0-6 from play respectively in the Clare quarter and semi-finals.
As for Cathal McCarthy, he is someone typically selected at corner-back and then let drift as the game opens up. Here, the Sars management went with him at midfield from the off. He finished with four from play.
There were others. Cian Darcy did an amount of galloping and line-breaking around the middle. Daniel Hogan, while not pitch perfect with his striking, was constantly busy and more than won his fair share of frees. Daniel Kearney was less pronounced, but a presence still felt. It was his hook on McGrath that paved the way for an Aaron Myers point during an important Sars burst midway through the opening half.
“We rejigged it with a lot of pace around that middle third,” Crowley continued. “You had Darcy, you had the two McCarthys, you had Hogie [Daniel Hogan], and two flying wing-backs, so that pace was there, which is great.”
That pace powered them through a devastating and decisive final quarter. That pace powered them into the provincial decider. They charged into the opening prairies of unmanned green grass and picked off points uninterrupted.
When Steven Conway, Shane McGrath, and Eoin Tuohy, after a fine piece of defensive play from Adam Hogan, rolled off three in succession to bring Feakle level at 1-17 apiece on 46 minutes, the momentum was travelling in the other direction to the breeze and billowing at Feakle’s back.
Sars summoned a response. It was faultless. They did not let their opponents raise another flag. They themselves raised eight white flags in succession.
It was a carbon copy of the Cork decider’s final quarter. Except this time it was Sars on the right side of a storming finish.
Aaron Myers, Jack O’Connor, and Cathal McCarthy rained in points from all across Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Myers’ personal tally reached 1-6 from play. McCarthy and O’Connor were tied at four apiece. Colm McCarthy and Shane O’Regan wrote their names onto the scoresheet too.
Their finish brought tumbling down a tall building of ugly and unwanted stats. The building was long overdue for demolition. A first Cork win in the Munster Club SHC since Glen Rovers’ 2016 semi-final victory. Only a second Cork win in the Munster Club SHC since 2009.
That’s the bigger picture. The bigger picture doesn’t much bother Sars. For them, history made. Their first Munster club victory, at the sixth attempt, since 2008. A first ever Munster senior final coming up in two weeks' time.
We are stating the blatantly obvious when identifying their wastefulness as a substantial no-no when coming up against Ballygunner. By the 16th minute, they had four points, eight wides, and a further effort dropped short.
A subsequent 1-3 without reply, of which Myers contributed 1-2, pushed them into a 1-7 to 0-6 advantage. That advantage was still four strong at the break.
Eoin Tuohy and a converted Eibhear Quilligan penalty brought the Clare champions level within three minutes of the restart. They were level twice more. Then Sars decided there was to be no more of the usual November unhappiness for Cork representatives in Munster.
A Myers (1-6); D Hogan (0-6, 0-5 frees, 0-1 ‘65); Cathal McCarthy, J O’Connor (0-4 each); P Leopold, L Elliott, D Kearney, Colm McCarthy, S O’Regan (0-1 each).
S McGrath (0-7, 0-5 frees); S Conway, O Donnellan (0-3 each); E Quilligan (1-0 pen); E Tuohy (0-2); E Noonan, O O’Connor (0-1 each).
B Graham; C O’Sullivan, E Murphy, P Leopold; B Murphy, C Roche, L Elliott; Colm McCarthy, Cillian McCarthy; D Kearney, D Hogan, C Darcy; A Myers, J Sweeney, J O’Connor.
S O’Regan for Sweeney (49 mins); E O’Sullivan for Kearney (56); C Leahy for Elliott (57).
E Quilligan; A Hogan, E Daly, O Clune; K Bane, C Smyth, E Tuohy; R O’Connor, E Noonan; O Donnellan, S McGrath, S Conway; O O’Connor, M Daly, P Daly.
R Beale for P Daly (48); O McGann for O’Connor (52); F Donnellan for Daly, G Hanrahan for Noonan (both 60); E Madden for Bane (62).
T Walsh (Waterford).