*Ronan Monahan gets away from Cathal Noonan and Ronan Keane. Photograph; Gerard O’Neill.
A FIRST intermediate final since 2020 awaits Tubber after they deservingly overcame the challenge of Killanena on Saturday.
Tubber 1-16
Killanena 0-11
Venue: Dr Daly Park, Tulla
Having lost the opening round of the championship to last year’s beaten finalists Sixmilebridge by four points, Tubber have bounced back in impressive fashion to find themselves sixty minutes away from returning to the senior ranks.
They were the superior side in Tulla on Saturday afternoon where rain was constant and the wet conditions made matters difficult for both sets of players. The climate was in stark contrast to the glorious sunshine in Scariff a fortnight ago when Killanena overcame Whitegate in a fierce battle to advance to the penultimate stage.
As the more balanced of the two sides, Tubber who had the aid of the breeze in the opening half, laid a solid foundation and had carved out a seven point advantage by the eighteenth minute.
Puckout retention was one of the many issues for Killanena in the first half, Colm Moloney had to go short as they were not winning primary possession but the netminder was not quick enough on occasion to spot attempted runs by Keith Smyth to get into space.
There was a loose approach to marking from Killanena which allowed Domhnall McMahon pick off the first score on four minutes from distance. Blaine Earley converted a free which he won himself with Senan Dunford and Ronan Monahan also pointing from play.
Two more Blaine Earley efforts and a Clive Earley score made it 0-7 0-0 until Smyth finally got Killanena off the mark on the twentieth minute.
Smyth had their second score after his free dropped short but Padraig O’Callaghan recycled the ball back to him, they had the final score of the half via Gearoid Keane in response to two points from Dunford to leave it 0-10 0-3 at half-time.
Scores from Shane Broderick and Padraig O’Callaghan inside the first two minutes of the restart lifted Killanena before Mark Earley and Seamie O’Donnell traded points. Monahan and Smyth split the posts at either end to keep five points between the sides.
Then Mark Earley struck for the all-important goal, Monahan teed him up after clashing with Cathal Noonan, an incident which required Noonan to go temporarily off as a blood-sub, Earley left the sliotar in the roof of the net leaving Moloney with no chance and creating an eight point gap with thirty nine minutes played.
From here on, both sides added four points each, a major was needed for Killanena but never looked to be on the horizon to facilitate Tubber’s return to the county final.
Going from the relegation semi-finals last season to a first intermediate semi-final since 2010 in the space of twelve months is a sign of progression for Killanena. Down the middle, their spine is very strong but they’re much weaker at the edges which ultimately will hinder their ability to prevail at the semi-final stage. They broke a lot of ball in defence but were not alert on where it was going to spill and thinking ahead as to ensure it veered away from their opponents. Keith Smyth led the way up front but needed more assistance while Cathal Noonan and Ian Macnamara stood out in defence.
Back in 2020, Tubber were contesting a third intermediate final in four years, their return to the big day would not have been predicted as a certainty when the championship began and definitely not after losing the first round. They made life difficult for their opponents and didn’t give away soft ball or space in defence, Pappy Taaffe was been solid without raising the roof at full back, Patrick O’Connor excelled particularly in the opening half at centre back, Ronan Monahan was lively throughout at centre forward with Senan Dunford punishing the loose nature of the Killanena defence with Blaine Earley and Domhnall McMahon also prominent for Pat Taaffe’s side who will without question take beating in the final.
Scorers Tubber: B Earley (0-5 3f 1’65), M Earley (1-1), S Dunford (0-3), R Monahan (0-3), D McMahon (0-2), C Earley (0-1), L O’Grady (0-1).
Scorers Killanena: K Smyth (0-6 3f), S O’Donnell (0-2), G Keane (0-1), S Broderick (0-1), P O’Callaghan (0-1).
Tubber:
1: Ronan Taaffe
2: Joey Droney
3: Pappy Taaffe
4: Fergal O’Grady
5: Domhnall McMahon
6: Patrick O’Connor
7: James Howard
8: Darragh O’Connor
9: Cathal Droney
12: Blaine Earley
11: Ronan Monahan
10: Osgar Dunford
15: Clive Earley
14: Mark Earley
13: Senan Dunford
Subs:
17: Joe Clancy for C Earley (55)
19: Lorcan O’Grady for M Earley (56)
18: Liam Clancy for D O’Connor (62)
20: Emmet Quinn for J Droney (62)
Killanena:
1: Colm Moloney
2: Ryan Keane
3: Cathal Noonan
4: Jason Keehan
5: Donal Moloney
6: Ian Macnamara
7: Ronan Keane
9: Padraig O’Callaghan
8: Michael Smyth
11: Shane Broderick
10: Seamie O’Donnell
14: Keith Smyth
15: Darren Keehan
12: Tobias O’Mara
13: Gearoid Keane
Subs:
28: Mark Flaherty for D Keehan (40)
25: Darren McMahon for M Smyth (51)
30: Martin Glynn for G Keane (51)
Referee: Kevin Corry (Sixmilebridge)
