Munster Club SHC Semi-finals/Loughmore 1-15 Adare 1-10:The Tipperary champions must be feeling they are on the verge of something special. Whatever about Loughmore-Castleiney's reputation as a bastion of Gaelic football, this year will be remembered for their adventures with the small ball.
With each match, Loughmore have discovered something new about their character and form. Yesterday, on a sodden day in the Gaelic Grounds, they were once again presented with the stark choice of fading away or dramatically raising their game.
Once more they responded, stinging the Limerick champions with eight unanswered points that came just when they had looked their most vulnerable.
Loughmore were hugely impressive during that 13-minute spell and Adare, who probably felt they were poised to take control, once again found the Munster club competition to be a barren hunting ground.
The Tipperary champions now face Tulla of Clare in a novel provincial showdown. "We don't know a lot about Tulla, but Clare have tough hurlers," said Micheál Webster in the pandemonium of the tunnel underneath the Mackey stand afterwards.
"We will get ourselves right for it and we are just delighted to be in a Munster final. That was a hard game. We knew the Limerick crowd would be here in numbers. It was a big test in the second half, but the backs dug deep and, once the forwards got a few scores, we weren't going to be beaten. We can't be losing our concentration after half-time."
Whatever the quality of the Loughmore concentration, there was little they could have done about the first eight minutes of the second half. For that brief period, Adare looked to have found the measure of the Tipp men and began striking points with ease.
Michael Noonan rapped a point within a minute of the throw-in, before Diarmuid Sexton landed from distance. Noonan found the range again, this time a wonderful, long-range shot struck first time from a side-line cut. It gave Adare their first lead.
The Limerick men had grafted throughout the first half, less eye-catching than Loughmore, but arguably more effective, mining their captain Donnacha Sheehan for the scores that kept them poised at half-time, when the score was 1-5 to 0-6 to Loughmore.
Sheehan's first-half tussle in the left corner with Paul Ormond was riveting and, although Ormond hurled plenty of ball, Sheehan was sharp and full of confidence in his delivery. On 24 minutes, a snappy build-up involving Aidan O'Rahilly and Brian Foley sent Sheehan through and Loughmore goalkeeper Johnny Gleeson did well to deflect the shot for a point.
Two minutes later, he landed a marvellous point, flush against the sideline and with Ormond breathing down his neck. Shortly afterwards, Sheehan flicked a great handpass to lay Sexton on for a point and, when he was challenged late by Ormond, a half-hearted brawl broke out.
As the teams trotted towards the dressingrooms at half-time, it looked as if Adare had Loughmore figured out and the early exchanges of the second half substantiated that.
Then came the Loughmore revival. Earlier, they'd plundered a goal by bombing the long ball down on Webster. This time, they relaxed into their more intricate running game, with their minor prodigy Noel McGrath and the flying Evan Sweeney finding the space to turn and break the swarming, heftier Adare defence.
Webster played a major part in the renaissance. His attitude typified the Loughmore spirit. He showed the way when it mattered here, claiming David McGrath's low ball and spinning free for a score before winning three frees that Evan Sweeney converted.
Noel McGrath went about his business with great maturity, eye-catching here and there, but always working. Never did he seem to take a wrong decision.
On 48 minutes, Sweeney landed a brilliant point, chasing down a lost cause and firing a score off his left on the run as he was sent flying by Adare's Stephen OConnell. That left Loughmore 1-14 to 0-10 up and Adare in the deepest of holes.
The Limerick men kept hurling furiously, but despite earning a late goal when Liam Costello got his hurley to Mark Foley's long delivery, there was no way back.
The Loughmore defence is formidable. Tom King had another classy and exceptional game at left-wing back, Derek Bourke bossed the full-back position and, when Adare came pressing, the big-time experience of David Kennedy and Ormond shone through.
Both men claimed some great high ball through a mass of bodies and sent clearances down field that were as good as scores.
LOUGHMORE-CASTLEINEY:J Gleeson; A Stapleton, D Bourke, P Ormond; E Ryan, D Kennedy, T King (0-1);C McGrath, G Sweeney; E Sweeney (0-7, four frees), D McGrath (0-1), N McGrath (0-5, three frees);E Connolly, M Webster (1-1),E Stapleton. Subs:J Campion for E Connolly (60 mins).
ADARE:S O'Donoghue; S O'Connell, JP Healy, S Lavin; R Kennedy, B Foley, M Clifford; W McNamara, M Noonan (0-2);A O'Rahilly, B Foley, D Sexton (0-3); D Sheehan (0-5, two frees) L Costello (1-0),A OConnell. Subs:P Lavin for D Sexton, M Lyons for A O'Connell, N Mulvihill for R Kennedy (all 53 mins).
Referee: A Heaghney(Clare).
