St Thomas’ and Loughrea will contest the Galway senior hurling final after both clubs recorded convincing wins over Sarsfields and Clarinbridge respectively in the semi-final double header at a windswept Pearse Stadium on Sunday.
Both winners played against the wind in the first half, laid the platform for success with solid scoring in the opening quarter, retook the lead early in the second half, kept a clean sheet, and never really looked like losing.
One might think then the upcoming final, a repeat of the 2012 decider that gave St Thomas’ their first title win, is winnable for each side - especially since Loughrea remain unbeaten after seven outings. St Thomas’ have never lost a senior final, though, and while that record will surely come to an end one day, few would back against Kenneth Burke’s team this time around.
On Sunday St Thomas' were worthy 2-19 to 0-15 winners over Sarsfields. They led by 0-4 to 0-2 after eight minutes, which allowed them to absorb Sarsfields’ purple patch of seven unanswered scores. Conor Cooney, as always, was a reliable target man for St Thomas’ and his four points towards the end of the half ensured they only trailed by three.
Darren Murphy and Kevin Cooney both showed flashes of their talent for Sarsfields, but critically they were unable to find the net, something which St Thomas’ managed early in the second period when Victor Manso got in behind the defence. Although his first effort saved, he fired in the rebound to make it 1-10 to 0-13.
St Thomas’ kept the scoreboard ticking over thereafter, with Cooney, Oisín Flannery, Manso and Darragh Burke all on target before Éanna Burke fired in a goal that ended any glimmer of a hope for Sarsfields.
Shane Cooney continued his return to the fold with more second-half minutes and could have a bigger part to play in the decider. He may well be needed, as Loughrea’s attack is a potent one.
Loughrea scored three goals in their 3-13 to -16 win over Clarinbridge, and only for the heroics of net minder Aaron Bindon, that tally could have been doubled as Mark McManus and Joseph Mooney were denied at close range.
McManus still ended up with two to his name, with the first coming just before half-time when Clarinbridge led by four and were threatening to open up a sizeable lead.
Evan Niland incredibly scored all but two of Clarinbridge’s 16 points, while Loughrea had a much more balanced approach with Tiernan Killeen, Dylan Shaughnessy and Anthony Burns supplementing Neil Keary’s free-taking expertise.
Loughrea’s pace through the middle was a constant threat, and when Killeen powered through and picked out Mooney for their second goal, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Clarinbridge. Niland put up stubborn resistance, though, to get his team back within a goal, but when McManus was presented with another opportunity, he flicked a shot to the net to seal Loughrea’s place in the final on November 20.
