Tooreen 0-22
Killimor 1-15
Tooreen are heading back to the final four of the All Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship after a three point win over Galway outfit Killimor in Athleague last Sunday.
The Blue Devils led by Sean Kenny (on the scoring front who hit ten points for Ray Larkin's side ) ran out 0-22 to 1-15 winners to claim the title after seeing off the best that Roscommon and London had to offer before this outing.
The foundation for the win was laid by a top class performance from both Kenny and his midfield partner Fergal Boland who drove their side on from the engine room, with Boland chipping in with four points of his own on another memorable day for the club.
It was a hard fought contest throughout and Tooreen just shaded the first half going in leading 0-11 to 1-7 at the break, with Fergal Boland firing over some great scores from distance with Kenny in top form from placed balls - having to take over the duty from Shane Boland, who wasn't named in the starting 15 for his side, but did start the contest and chipped in with two points from frees before having to leave the action not long after the 20 minute mark.
Tooreen shaded the first half and led by the minimum at the break, 0-11 to 1-7. Fergal Boland illuminated the play with some remarkable scores from distance, while Sean Kenny was in good form on placed ball duty too. He had to be too, because Shane Boland – who wasn't named to start but took his place at top of the right – departed the fray after just 23 minutes due to injury, but not before scoring twice (two frees ).
Shane Boland wasn't the only early departure for Tooreen with Keeny Feeney, another who went into the game with an injury doubt hanging over him, also having to depart the action early doors.
Kevin Hanney got the only goal of the game 12 minutes in for the Galway side and that put his team into what looked like a promising 1-3 to 0-2 lead, but Tooreen reacted brilliantly and reeled off five points on the bounce to get themselves right back into the game.
It was nip and tuck on the scoreboard with Killimor again finding themselves leading by 1-6 to 0-8 on 22 minutes, but three points on the spin from Tooreen had them two up before a late score from Killimor left just the bare minimum between the sides at the turnaround.
The early stages of the second half played out like the first with both sides going at each other and the lead swapping on a number of occasions and when the Galway side went into a 1-14 to 0-16 lead with time ticking down and not much more than five minutes on the clock Tooreen held their nerve and drove for home hitting 0-6 to 0-1 down the home stretch to claim victory. Sean Kenny scored four of those points on the spin, mixing up efforts from frees with points from play.
Killimor did go hunting a goal late on, but Tooreen keeper Bobby Douglas was equal to what they threw at them and the final say on the day was left to Cathal Freeman who drove over two points in a row to seal another famous day for the Blue Devils.
Scores
Tooreen: S. Kenny (0-10 ), F. Boland (0-4 ); C. Freeman (0-2 ), S. Boland (0-2 ),E. Delaney (0-2 ) D. Huane (0-1 ), L. Lavin (0-1 )
Killimor: K. Hanney (1-4 ),E. Horan (0-7 ), S. Treacy (0-1 ), J. Broderick (0-1 ), R. Egan (0-1 ), A. Callaghy (0-1 )
Tooreen: B. Douglas; C. Henry, M. Morley, O. Greally; J. Boyle, S. Coyne, D. Kenny; S. Kenny, F. Boland; C. Freeman, D. Huane, B. Morley; S. Boland, K. Feeney, E. Delaney. Subs: L. Lavin, S. Regan, J. Cassidy, D. Harrison.
Killimor: S. O'Grady; O. McDonagh, E. Duane, S. Whelan; S. Treacy, L. Fahy, R. Porter; E. McEvoy, J. Broderick; J. O'Meara, R. Egan, A. Keary; J. Kelly, K. Hanney, E. Horan Subs: N. Muldoon, A. Callaghy, S. Kelly, C. Treacy, N. Fitzgerald.
