Slick Thurles Sarsfields beat Moycarkey-Borris to win Tipperary SHC title

Tipperary SHC final: Thurles Sarsfields 1-19 Moycarkey Borris 1-11Fairytales can be heartless. They suck you in and spit you out. Moycarkey-Borris had waited 42 years to return to the Tipperary senior hurling final, but the dream was just too heavy. From beginning to end only one outcome looked likely.For Thurles Sars it was their 37th title, but they had lost a couple of finals in recent seasons, and it was nine years since their last title. For a club with their history, not winning had grated on them for too long.Their hurling was slick and smart and all over the field they had an edge. Thurles built a seven-point lead inside 15 minutes and after that their advantage never slipped to a number that threatened danger.Eoin Purcell, the man of the match, scored the Thurles goal after 11 seconds, and whatever nerves they must have felt simply dissipated. Instead, Moycarkey were left to cope with a game that was moving faster than they could manage. They landed just point in the opening quarter and in the whirlwind of Thurles pressure they replaced one of their corner backs after just 16 minutes. Their gallant firefighting never entirely put out the blaze.READ MORE“Unfortunately or fortunately whichever way you want to put it when you put on a Sarsfields jersey there’s expectation on you every year,” said Padraic Maher, the Thurles Sars manager. “And when you don’t win, and it keeps going and going, and there’s no cup coming back the expectation grows and the jersey can weigh heavy on some lads.”Thurles Sarsfields' Paul Maher is challenged by Max Hackett of Moycarkey-Borris. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho If that is the case, there was no trace of it here. Purcell racked up 1-3 before half-time, Aidan Stakelum landed a couple of points from wing forward and they moved the ball with such thoughtfulness that they had a flood of shooting opportunities.To their credit, Moycarkey steadied themselves as the half wore on and they manufactured a terrific goal seven minutes before the break. Joe Maher made a direct run from the wing, played a one-two with Joe Egan, and rifled the return pass to the roof of the net.That briefly cut the deficit to five points, but with the aid of the wind Thurles kicked again and they were seven clear at the break, 1-12 to 1-5.Moycarkey needed a fast start to the second half, and though they scored the first two points, Thurles responded with the next three and by the three quarter mark Thurles had stretched their lead to nine. Paul Maher, their corner back, surged down the wing, and after a couple of intricate passes the ball came back to him. From near the sideline he hit a shot that cannoned off the post and over the bar and even though there were 15 minutes to go it already felt like the coup de grace.“We didn’t probably play to our best and we probably weren’t allowed either,” said Denis Kelly, the Moycarkey manager. “They got the early goal, which was a killer and then they’re a good team to sit back and soak up pressure and get you on the breaks so it was tough.“They kept the scoreboard ticking throughout whereas we struggled to get our scores and that was the difference in the finish. I’m disappointed for the lads but it was a great experience for them too, their first time in a county final for 42 years.”Moycarkey had been direct in their approach and it sometimes worked. Jack Hayes and Max Hackett picked off three points and their veteran forward Kieran Morris caused a fuss every time he got his hand on the ball, but the goals they needed in the second half never materialised.THURLES SARSFIELDS: P McCormack, P Maher (0-1), D Maher, H Fogarty, K Loughnane, Conor Stakelum, Cian Stakelum, D Rossiter (0-1), E Murray (0-2), A McCormack (0-4f), D Stakelum, A Stakelum (0-2), K Rossiter (0-2), P Creedon (0-2), E Purcell (1-4). Subs: S Maher for Fogarty (32 mins); J Armstrong for Cian Stakelum (51); R Maher (0-1) for Creedon (52); T Maher for McCormack (54); R Stapleton for Rottier (59).MOYCARKEY-BORRIS: R Shelly, K Hayes, T Hayes, T Ryan, P Molloy, E Hayes, K Cantwell (0-1f), S Walsh, N Heffernan (0-1), J Maher (1-1), J Egan, D Costigan, J Hayes (0-3), K Morris (0-2f), M Hackett (0-3). Subs: P Melbourne for Ryan (16 mins); K Cummins for Molloy (38); R Darmody for Heffernan (47); K O’Reagan for Hayes (52); B Maher for T Hayes (60); B Flanagan for Walsh (63).Referee: C O’Donovan.