Leinster SH Final: In their AIB Leinster hurling semi-final, James Stephens were lucky to get to half-time in one piece before impressively closing out Oulart in the second half.
Yesterday, at Portlaoise, the Kilkenny champions played it the other way around and just about emerged with the narrowest of wins and a first provincial title in 23 years.
The first half looked like a procession for all the impact UCD were having, but as the match unfolded the role of a cyclonic wind became clear. James Stephens harnessed the elements effectively in the first half-hour to lead by 10 at the break.
At that stage any neutrals in the crowd of around 5,000 would have been as fearful of death from boredom as from exposure on an icy afternoon in O'Moore Park, but the second half warmed the cockles of the heart as the Dublin champions tore into their apparently hopeless situation and gradually melted away their double-digit deficit.
But in the end it was James Stephens who dug out the crucial score, with David McCormack slotting the winning point in the last minute of normal time.
Whereas the students had little luck all afternoon, the winners deserved their success because they were more economical and held their nerve with the match having turned so comprehensively against them.
UCD were aggrieved by the match officiating, particularly in the second half when a 43rd-minute shot that clearly looked to have drifted wide was rewarded with a point, and when Brendan Murphy seemed to be tugged back in the square but no penalty was given. Another point in the first half had already been protested.
Manager Babs Keating was scathing about the officials afterwards.
"That was as bad a display of refereeing as I've ever seen," he said. "We had a penalty claim turned down and a point that I thought was wide. I've been harping on about the quality of umpires all of my life.
"I said inside in the dressing-room that I've no problem about losing, but it's awful unfair that we burst our arse all year and have umpires that are not up to the job."
The grievances may have been legitimate, but to be fair to the winners, within a minute of the disputed point the referee overlooked a tug on a James Stephens player's jersey well within the sort of range from which Eoin Larkin had been effortlessly scoring all afternoon.
Furthermore, the shooting statistics indicate that UCD cut their own throat, with 12 wides as against their opponents' solitary lapse in the first half.
Credit, however, to both teams for what turned out a great match, Leinster's "best final in years" according to provincial chairperson Nicky Brennan.
UCD started the match looking nervy and sustained a bad blow before the throw-in. Captain Mick Fitzgerald had to withdraw with a leg injury and the defence was hit by his absence at centre back as well as his leadership.
Complicating matters was the presence on the James Stephens 40 of Eoin Larkin, who has been accumulating outsize totals and Man of the Match awards since the club began their run. Yesterday he was faced by fellow county man Brian Hogan, an emergency switch to centre back, and the scores continued to flow.
For the second match in succession Larkin hit 1-7, all but one in a rampant first half. His gallop was halted after the break when a shrewd switch brought Eamon Ryan back from full forward and he had greater success, albeit with the wind by now driving UCD forward.
But in the first half Larkin gave a tour de force, punishing fouls with his faultless free-taking and drifting into space onto the end of a long ball from Peter Barry to place a shot coolly beyond Marty White - who during the match made a couple of desperately needed saves to keep his side alive - in the UCD goal.
That pushed the lead to 1-4 to 0-2. The students began to lose their grip on the match. Their touch had been fretful and striking erratic, and any time they managed to thread ball through to their menacing full forwards, the Kilkenny club's full-back line was virtually impenetrable.
Leading by 10 at the break, 1-10 to 0-3, James Stephens needed only to stay awake, it seemed. But the wind had its say and UCD, far from having thrown in the towel, enthusiastically reached for the possibilities offered.
Bryan Barry and Stephen Lucey turned the tide at centrefield, and, with Ryan giving the half backs solidity, a barrage of ball began to pepper the James Stephens defence. Andrew Smith stepped forward to take advantage.
The Galway corner forward became UCD's main strike threat, dispatching frees and finishing a fine move between Murphy and impressive replacement David Carter to clip home a goal in the 41st minute, which capped a remarkable, unanswered 1-4 in the space of 10 minutes.
Smith also set up Redmond Barry for the point that tied the match at 1-12 each with just a minute left on the clock.
Although it was David McCormack who decided the match, UCD still had the chance for a further foray but Francis Cantwell blocked Murphy to see his team home by a fraction.
JAMES STEPHENS: F Cantwell; D Cody, M Phelan, D Grogan; P Butler, P Larkin, P Barry; J Tyrrell, B McEvoy (0-1); J Murphy (0-2), E Larkin (1-7, six points from frees and one a 65), G Whelan; E McCormack (0-1), R Hayes (0-1), D McCormack (0-1). Subs: J Mernagh for Butler (45 mins), J Murray for Murphy (49 mins).
UCD: M White; R Kirwan, D O'Connor, E Campion; D Walton, B Hogan, C Ryan; B Barry, S Lucey; P Morrissey (0-1), B Phelan, R Barry (0-2); A Smith (1-6, four points from frees), E Ryan, B Murphy (0-1). Subs: C Everard for C Ryan (28 mins), D Carter (0-2) for Kirwan (half-time), J O'Connor for Morrissey (half-time).
Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath).
