Clarinbridge are well aware that nothing but their best form will be good enough to claim the club’s third senior hurling title on Sunday afternoon at Pearse Stadium when they take on the might of St Thomas’ with the Tom Callanan Cup up for grabs (throw-in 1pm ).
An upset win for Jarlath Niland’s side would cap a truly remarkable year for the club, having already annexed the U12 A, U15 Féile, and Minor A titles.
The step up in class that awaits them is sizeable, but all involved know a chance like this may not come around again, despite all signs pointing to Clarinbridge being a contender for the next few years at least.
The first team to reach a decider having started the year in senior B, Clarinbridge’s title credentials became apparent when they out-fought Loughrea in a weather-battered preliminary quarter-final in Athenry, when only two Evan Niland frees were required in a 1-10 to 1-7 win.
Niland is a masterful free taker and regularly contributes double digit tallies for his team, and St Thomas’ will need to be very careful to mind their discipline and stay on the right side of referee Liam Gordon. They were good in this regard against Gort in their semi-final rout, but Clarinbridge’s lively forward line will pose an altogether different proposition.
Mark Kennedy, Gavin Lee, Cian Salmon, Niall Armstrong, and Seán Kilduff have all been consistent scorers this season, while TJ Brennan and Ian O’Brien anchor a defence that has only conceded 14.5 points on average in their six games to date. Firing in 3-18 against Craughwell in their semi-final left a marker that this is a side to be reckoned with.
What more can be said about their opponents, a St Thomas’ side that is about to play its 28th championship match in a four year spell of dominance.
Well-oiled machine
St Thomas' have lost once in this time, an opening round group game to Liam Mellows in 2019, and drawn twice. Arguably the closest the Kilchreest-Peterswell outfit came to losing a knockout game on this run was when these two clubs last met back in the 2018 quarter-finals.
Evan Niland appeared to have won it for Clarinbridge with a late ’65, but current St Thomas’ manager Kenneth Burke rescued his side with an even later leveller. A ding-dong period of extra time followed where both sides looked capable of winning, but in the end St Thomas’ scraped through on a 1-23 to 2-19 scoreline.
Their strike rate has been even higher this season, averaging almost 29 points per game over five outings, but their most impressive display this year arguably came when they held off the challenge of Cappataggle to secure top spot in group two.
Conor Cooney, James Regan, Fintan Burke, Shane Cooney, David Burke, and Eanna Burke are still pivotal cogs in their well-oiled machine, but it is perhaps their youngest forward Oisín Flannery who poses the biggest danger to Clarinbridge.
It will be an intriguing battle, but St Thomas’ should just have the edge.
The bookmakers agree, with Clarinbridge ranked as 5/4 underdogs to lift the crown with Boylesports. “St Thomas’ were ruthless when they crushed Gort with a 4-20 to 0-8 victory at Pearse Stadium to move into the Galway senior hurling championship final and are fancied to win,” their spokesperson Sarah Kinsella said. “They are bidding for a fourth title in row and we have had to cut them into 4/7 from 5/6 this week following strong support.”
