Loughmore-Castleiney 2-19 Toomevara 1-17
He has been an intercounty star for well over a decade but John McGrath really forged his name for his club on Sunday when scored 1-13, 1-4 from play, as his Loughmore-Castleiney had five points to spare over Toomevara in the Tipperary senior hurling final at Semple Stadium.
This was the club’s fifth title in all and first time in three years that the McGrath clan were dancing in victory at the final whistle.
Now they are in search of a unique double as the club's senior footballers go head-to-head with reigning champions Clonmel Commercials this weekend hoping to complete a rare accomplishment.
John McGrath was the man who kept the hurling boat high in the water with his nine first half points seeing his side 0-12 to 0-10 ahead at the interval with young Daragh McCarthy coming up trumps for Toome with four points in this period.
That seemed to put them in pole position as they had the wind in their sails on the changeover with only a two-point deficit to overhaul.
However McGrath had other ideas and his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over himself while put in sub Paul McCahey to lash home with four minutes left to give his side a 1-19 to 0-17 lead.
It was then we saw the real Toome as Conor O’Meara buried the sliotar for a goal within 100 seconds and the big crowd were preparing for a grandstand finish.
Once again man of the match McGrath stood tall and with the clock showing an hour’s activity played, he shot home Loughmore’s second goal to wrap up victory on the day.
He was joined by his brother Noel and Brian in the winning arena after both also hurled excellently over the 60 minutes.
Erin's Own, Cargin 0-10;
Casement’s, Portglenone 0-8
(AET)
They may have had to huff and puff against a doughy opposition but in the end Cargin knew how to win a close tussle and claimed their third successive SF title after extra time in Corrigan Park on Sunday.
You had to feel sorry for Portflenone who were seeking a maiden victory at the top level but suffered just from having a little less big game nous.
The runners-up started well and even when Cargin got into their stride, they were still only a point behind 0-4 to 0-3 at the break.
Dermot McAleese quickly had the game back in the melting pot but then Cargin keeper John McNabb went forward to raise a white flag followed by another point from a free by Tomás McCann.
Portglenone fought hard for equality and when their opponents were two points to the good and seemed set for victory before two converted frees in added time from substitute Aidan McAleese meant the game was tied 0-7 each, forcing extra-time.
Port had two big chances to break to victory when Nial McKeever point put them ahead but then they had a chance of a goal which they spurned before Ruairi Hagan hacked the ball to safety.
Once Pat Shivers leveled yet again, Cargin got back their confidence and McCann’s free nudged them ahead. Port missed a few half chances before a late Eunan Quinn score provided breathing space for the winners which was enough to see them home.
Kilcoo 1-10 Burren 0-4
It’s too easy for Kilcoo in Down these days as they had nine points to spare against Burren to notch up their sixth SF title in a row and no less than 12th in the past 13 years.
The holders were always in command and they had the game all wrapped up long before Darryl Branagan got through for the only goal of the game with time almost up.
It didn’t help Burren’s cause that they lost two players, Liam Kerr and Danny Magill to red cards but even with a full complement, they were still badly outclassed.
Kilcoo now have a month to wait before facing the Cavan kingpins in a month’s time and it will not help their cause that they were not tested in this decider.
Portarlington 3-13 Portlaoise 0-13
Portarlington have taken over the mantle as top senior football club over the past five or six years and despite their best efforts, former Kingpins Portlaoise could do nothing about the outcome at O’Moore Park on Sunday.
This was a case where the three goals provided the winning margin on the way and Pat Roe will send his charges into Leinster knowing they can be a force at provincial level this year.
After losing last year’s final to St Joseph’s, Portlaoise were out for a win but were always just a shade behind the other Port side in terms of team play and score taking.
That said, Portarlington keeper Luke O’Reilly came to his side’s rescue when blocking an effort from Conor Raggett with his feet. Not to be outdone at the other end Conor Brown did really well to keep his goal intact by repulsing an effort fromColm Murphy.
Portlaoise looked to DJ White with four points from play while veterans Kieran Lillis and Paul Cahillane also raised white flags to keep their challenge very much alive.
Jake Foster, Colm Murphy and Daragh Galvin kept the scoreline ticking over for the winners and then they got the tonic of their first goal from Jake Foster who lashed home.
Portlaoise showed their mettle with immediate points from Damon Larkin and Josh Hogan but these in turn were negatived by Murphy and Foster to leave the Offaly border town 1-9 to 0-9 ahead at the interval.
The teams continued to trade points over the first fifteen minutes of the second half, the traditional moving quarter where neither team managed to lay down a telling marker.
A minute into the last quarter though it was all over as Daragh Galvin was set up to calmly palm the ball home.
With Benny Carroll getting a black card at the very wrong time for Portlaoise, it opened the way for Portarlington to take advantage with a third goal from Colm Murphy to pull the curtain down on the game as a contest.
Galway to visit New York
New York will host beaten All-Ireland finalists Galway in Gaelic Park next Spring in the quarter-finals of the Connacht SF championship. It would be one of the greatest ever surprises in the history of the GAA football championship if the exiles could come out of the glamor fixture against Padraic Joyce’s crew as victors.
Still hope springs eternal in every underdog’s heart and Tyrone native Ronan McGinley will have them fired up believing that they can use the new rules to their advantage on home turf against an outfit that only scraped home by the minimum against Sligo in Markiewitz Park earlier this year.
Elsewhere, it’s a match that could in itself grace a provincial or indeed an All-Ireland final, instead the good fans of Ulster football can look forward to a blockbuster of a preliminary round game in the Ulster SF championship with the meeting of holders Donegal against league Champions Derry in Ballybofey next April.
If that is indeed a tough draw for both sets of management teams and squads, Kieran McGeeney’s All Ireland winning group in Armagh must have been relieved to come out against arguably the weakest team in the province, Antrim and will probably be looking at the likely semi-final joust with neighbors Tyrone, should they as expected get over Cavan in their quarter final clash.
For the winners of Donegal and Derry, there is the chance to progress against Monaghan who are in the weaker side of the draw with Fermanagh and Down.
In Leinster where Dublin haven’t lost since going under to Meath in 2010, the talk will be the earlier rounds where Meath should overcome Carlow with Westmeath getting a bye into the quarter finals alongside the four semi-finalists from this year.
They will face Kildare in the quarters, with Mickey Harte’s Offaly drawn against Meath or Carlow, Dublin against Wicklow or Longford with Louth facing either Laois or Wexford.
Beaten All-Ireland finalists and current Connacht kingpins Galway head to New York, with Roscommon taking the shorter journey across the Irish Sea to face London in Ruislip with the home counties heavily favored to advance to the semis.
On the other side of the draw, Kevin McStay’s Mayo take on Sligo in the quarters, with Leitrim ready to go toe-to-toe with the winners at the penultimate stage.
Once again there will be no Cork and Kerry Munster Final in ‘24 with both sides likely to meet up at the semi stage, should John Cleary’s squad get past Limerick at the quarter stage of the competition.
This year’s beaten Munster finalists Clare take on either Waterford or Limerick as they bid to make back-to-back finals.
