Tipperary SHC Final/ Thurles Sarsfields 1-17 Drom-Inch 0-15: In the end, it was simple. As expected, Thurles Sarsfields won the Dan Breen Cup for the first time in 31 years yesterday. But for a long period they were made to sweat by their young challengers and, perhaps, by the hurling gods.
"Richie Stakelum said it in 1987 and I am going to say it now: the famine is over," roared an emotional Ger O'Grady into the microphone afterwards.
"Redser" was captain of a team that spent the previous hour battling a troublesome Drom-Inch team and three decades of frustration. The bustling half forward did much to set the team on their way, landing two important second-half points that turned back what was building towards a spirited Drom-Inch push for glory.
Through the thick of the game, Thurles managed to preserve a one-goal lead and hurled with the heavy pressure such a precarious lead can bring. Once they pushed beyond that threshold, however, through a wonderful and unlikely point by half-back Stephen Lillis, the rest fell into place.
Wayne Cully landed a couple of great scores from distance and Richie Ruth clipped a fine score over after taking a well-weighted pass from Lar Corbett.
Lillis's appearance on the scoresheet was a surprise given his chief task was to shadow the game's most prolific attacker, Drom-Inch's Séamus Butler. The county man gave a heroic performance in keeping his team in this final. He landed eight of their nine first-half points and was wonderfully inventive and accurate throughout.
He operated around midfield from the beginning and although the Thurles defence was being troubled by the physical MacDara Butler and were vulnerable for the first 20 minutes, Drom-Inch could not convert. The nerves of the day betrayed them as they fired six first-half wides.
However, Thurles also began slowly. The scoring began, fittingly, with an O'Grady point, after he tidied up a handpass from Lar Corbett before rattling through the centre with goal on his mind. But for the next 10 minutes the teams traded scores.
Then Thurles got the break they had been waiting for. A relatively straightforward sideline cut by Cully was collected by Drom goalkeeper Damien Young but, on a treacherously greasy day, he spilled his catch and the ball crossed the line.
It was something of an injustice that Young was caught out because, overall, he had a fine game. Just before Cully's cut, he had nimbly dealt with a tricky shot by Ruth, who doubled on a lovely squared pass by O'Grady.
And just after that goal, he parried a clean and cheeky 20-metre strike by Jim Corbett, who waltzed through a crowd and chanced his luck. Then, just on the half-hour mark, he made the save of the day after Lar Corbett delivered a venomous shot on the run.
That sequence ought to have ended in some sort of Thurles score but instead, the Drom defence scrambled clear and young James Woodlock fired a point to leave them well placed at 1-7 to 0-9 down at the half-time whistle.
The second half did not live up to the promise engendered by the first. The bitter experience which Thurles acquired in losing finals in recent years stood to them and although Butler continued to chip away and Woodlock caused trouble with another fine point on 36 minutes, Thurles had an answer.
Johnny Enright, who had a great first half, steadied Thurles with a free. Eddie Enright was dropped to left-wing back and had a great influence on proceedings, tidying up the Thurles defence and opening the game up with a series of intelligent balls. Lar Corbett, too, was relieved from the corner and dug in, happy to spend the last 15 minutes at the coalface.
The contest ended in a procession of frees and, in the way of these things, the whistle went as O'Grady collected the ball. He fell to his knees and looked at the heavens as all of Thurles stampeded towards him.
THURLES SARSFIELDS: P McCormaic; B O'Sullivan, G Mernagh, T King; S Lillis (0-1), B Carroll, J Lawlor; E Enright (0-1), W Cully (1-2); J Enright (0-6, two frees, '65), G O'Grady (0-3), J Corbett; R Ruth (0-3), L Corbett, P Lawlor (0-1). Subs: S Mason for Lillis (54 mins), P Bourke for P Lawlor (56 mins), E Costelloe for Ruth (58 mins), E Walsh for L Corbett (59 mins), L Shanahan for King (60 mins).
DROM-INCH: D Young; M Costello, E Buckley, E Costello; D Kennedy, P Ryan, T Cantwell; P Butler, J Woodlock (0-2); M Butler (0-1, '65), M Butler, M Ryan; K Butler (0-1), S Butler (0-11, four frees, '65, sideline), S Callanan. Subs: P Collins for K Butler (47 mins), L Brett for Callanan, F McGrath for M Butler (52 mins), P Kennedy for P Ryan (56 mins), M Butler for Kennedy (56 mins).
Referee: B White (Clonmel).
