All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship semi-final
St. Gall’s (Antrim) v Aronmore/Maree (Galway)
Parnell Park (2.00)
Having conquered Ulster the task doesn’t get any easier for Antrim champions, St. Gall’s as they head to Parnell Park on Sunday to face Oranmore/Maree of Galway. Aronmore/Maree have been regarded as under achievers in Galway for some time but they put that notion to bed with a comprehensive win over Kilconieron in the Galway final.
They had nine points to spare over Rahoon/Newcastle in the semi-final and clearly carry a big scoring threat. Big players stand up on the big days and they don’t come much bigger than Gearoid McInerney and Niall Burke, the two Galway men heavily influential for Oranmore/Maree who impressed in every sector of the field.
Eight minutes in they led 0-6 to 0-0 as Rahoon/Newcastle struggled desperately to get to the pitch of the action. Niall Burke fired his side’s first three scores, a one-handed point from play sandwiched between two frees before Ross Malone fired over a simple score to make it four.
Credit to Rahoon/Newcastle who fought back in both halves but in truth that was more down to Oranmore/Maree taking their foot off the gas with John Burke and Gerry McInerney’s men showing exactly why they are favourites to earn promotion to senior ranks.
GALWAY FINAL REPORT COURTESY CONNAUGHT TRIBUNE
Oranmore/Maree show little mercy in clear cut final win
Oranmore/Maree 3-19
Kilconieron 1-11
WE are baffled no more. Oranmore/Maree hurlers finally shattered their reputation as under-achievers when crushing surprise packets Kilconieron in a one-sided Galway Intermediate showdown at Duggan Park on Saturday.
It had been perplexing why a club with access to a rising sporting population, led by two Galway senior players and with plenty of quality back up talent, remained marooned in the intermediate ranks. Well, Oranmore/Maree’s day of liberation has at last arrived.
Though appearing in their first county final since losing narrowly to Kiltormer in 2001, Oranmore/Maree had been knocking on the door to achieving a breakthrough over recent seasons and you could see that they had the potential to compete at a higher level. But this had been said about them before, leaving their team with still plenty to prove in 2018.
With a high-profile team management – led by former Galway star Gerry McInerney – put in place last winter, it was clear that Oranmore/Maree, tired of their ‘nearly men’ status, were going to leave nothing to chance this year and, as it transpired, they proved a cut above the rest throughout the campaign.
Coming into a county final burdened with the mantle of strong favourites brings additional pressure, but Oranmore/Maree thrived in this environment on Saturday as they flew out of the starting blocks in romping to a 14-point victory over a Kilconieron outfit which was beaten all over the field.
Though every team is entitled to bouts of wishful thinking, even some of their own supporters wouldn’t have expected Kilconieron to reach the final. Their achievement was in getting so far, but this was one challenge too many for their largely young squad although they should benefit from the experience, tough as it was.
Trailing by 1-5 to 0-2 after just 10 minutes, Kilconieron were already on the backfoot as they struggled to cope with Oranmore/Maree’s greater athleticism, intensity and quality. Their defence was under pressure from the off while, at the other end of the field, only one of their starting forwards managed to find the mark from play.
In contrast, Oranmore/ Maree had no shortage of scoring options and if impressive duo, Niall Burke and Sean McInerney, did most of the damage, they had plenty of support in Alan Burke, who wasted no time in getting to the pitch of the battle, Padraic Keane and Ross Malone. Overall, they performed to a higher standard, with hardly a weak link in their ranks.
REPORT COURTESY OF CONNAUGHT TRIBUNE
Connaught final
Oranmore/Maree 1-20
Tooreen (Mayo) 1-15
THIS Connacht intermediate club hurling final showdown may not fall under the heading of epic,. but what Oranmore/Maree and defending provincial champions Tooreen served up in this thoroughly entertaining decider in Athleague on Saturday was nothing short of absorbing from start to finish.
To synopsis, Oranmore/Maree started like a bullet train racing through Continental Europe before Tooreen uprooted the tracks to derail the Galway holders’ efforts. The fare was tough, physical and uncompromising and this was reflected in Tooreen being reduced to 13 men by the close of business.
And yet, despite their numerical advantage, Oranmore/Maree had it all to do against a driven Tooreen outfit that were only outscored by a single point in the second period. The hunger and will to win they showed was a credit to the 2017 Connacht champions’ commitment and ambition.
However, nothing should be taken from Oranmore/Maree who led from the outset of this contest. To the fore in this respect was Galway’s Niall Burke as he concluded the day with 1-10 to his name, 1-5 from play. Ross Malone, who was on fire in the opening half, and Alan Burke also contributed three points apiece while Sean McInerney hit two.
Indeed, where Tooreen, trained by Galway’s Nigel Shaughnessy, relied on the free-taking of Shane Boland and Sean Kenny, Oranmore/Maree were better at generating their scores from play, despite the Mayo champions deploying a sweeper – even when they went down to 14 men.
The crucial score from the victors’ point of view though was in first half-injury time when defender Alan Bannon found Malone and, while his shot for potentially his fourth point from play fell short, the in-rushing Niall Burke was on hand to flick the sliotar to the net to give his side a 1-9 to 0-8 interval lead.
Had that goal not manifested itself, it could have been a very different Oranmore/Maree dressing-room at half-time, particularly after they allowed a five-point eighth minute advantage to slip when Tooreen remarkably drew level at 0-8 apiece just before the break.
Tooreen, the Mayo and reigning Connaught champions certainly put it up to the Galway men despite going down to 13 men before running out of steam and losing by five but that performance shows that Oranmore/Maree are not unbeatable and if St. Gall’s can bring their A game to the table on Sunday then they won’t be far away.
Oranmore/Maree joint captains, Niall Burke and Gearóid McInerney, raise the Connacht Intermediate Cup aloft after defeating Toureen of Mayo in the provincial decider in Athleague on Saturday. Photos: Brian Harding.