After numerous delays in the competition, Medtronic senior hurlers have qualified for the 2013 All Ireland senior hurling final with a 5-8 to 2-11 victory over CJ Sherran from Laois in Camross at the weekend.
The only downside on the day was a serious hand injury to Iarla Tannion in the second half which is expected to rule him out of the final against Cork Gardai.
The key to this victory was a four-goal haul in as many minutes at the beginning of the second quarter. Up to this stage the match was finely poised with both sides matching each other in the scoring stakes. But as the match wore on Medtronic’s greater sharpness was evident.
Points from Marc Dunne, Cathal Dervan and Dean Higgins were cancelled by Sherran rearguard in a keenly contested opening quarter before Medtronic then upped a gear. Marc Dunne fed Cathal Dervan who made no mistake from close range to put Medtronic three clear, and moments later Johnnie Glynn and Dean Higgins combined before laying off to Dervan who found the back of the net again.
Goal number three quickly followed when Dean Higgins rifled home after another good build-up. Not surprisingly this blitz caused panic in the Sherran rearguard, and more hesitancy led to a mix up in the home defence with Declan Connolly netting goal number four.
There was no way back for the Laois men as Medtronic held a 4-07-0-05 half-time lead, and early in the second half Michael Mullin bagged goal number five, and Dean Higgins added another. Sherran struck back with two goals, but Medtronic were never in trouble.
Medtronic: A Ryan, P McHugo, S Craven, M Keating, G Lally, I Tannion, K Hardiman, K Briscoe (0-2 ), D Joyce (0-3 ), D Connolly (1-1 ), J Glynn (0-2 ), D Higgins (1-4, 2 frees, 65’ ), M Mullins (1-2 ), C Dervan (2-2 ), M Dunne (0-2 ). Subs: E Cleary, G Burke(0-1 ), P Gordan, S McInerney.
