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TREACYS TRIUMPH
by Seán Flynn
(THE IRISH WORLD)
Sean Treacys 1-11 Robert Emmetts
0-5
Sean Treacys are London's senior hurling champions
for 2002. In a clash that was far from pretty in conditions
that were downright ugly, Emmetts failed to catch fire
and thereby let their rivals run away with the game
well before half time.
On any other day, a margin of seven points at the interval
might have been daunting but hardly insurmountable.
Sunday's weather however meant that Emmetts, playing
into a breeze heavy with rain in the first half, soon
found themselves all at sea. If this was the side that
beat Father Murphys twice to get to the final, there
was little evidence of it on display. That's not to
fault Emmetts however; they can only be blamed for not
getting to grip with the conditions as well as their
more experienced rivals.
Ruislip's pitch experienced the same problems as many
of Britain's race courses over the past weeks: hard
ground suddenly gets a heavy watering and the water
stands creating a greasy and dangerously slippy surface.
On watching one player slide helplessly on for ten feet
after a tackle, one wag on the sideline remarked that
it was more like figure-skating than hurling.
Getting the first scores on the board was crucial and
with the likes of Timmie Moloney up front it was always
going to be a safe bet that the Tipperary man would
ensure keep the points coming. Not to be outdone, Mick
O'Hara also got his name on the board in the first quarter.
Emmetts found themselves knocking on a locked door
on the half-forward line and Man of the Match Ciaran
McCarthy held the key in the centre of Treacys half-back
line. Incidentally, McCarthy is one of two Treacys players
who now hold senior championship winner's medals having
played in the victorious Brendans footballing side.
Treacys eight first half points only saw one in reply
from the increasingly beleaguered Emmetts with Colum
Buckley -who had a disappointing day - trying to spare
his side's blushes.
The second half started out much as the first had ended,
Timmie Moloney scored a point and Emmetts continued
to shoot wide.
Referee Mattie Maher ran a tight ship throughout the
game which was just as well as conditions threatened
the very fabric of the game which was often reduced
to frantic hacking and slashing contests.
As I said, not a pretty sight, but no fault of the
players who struggled valiantly to eke out some shadow
of the game's beauty from the driving rain and numbing
wind.
At the end of the day, Treacys found chaperones for
the Emmetts forward line and that was where the winning
of the game was. Emmetts failure to make more of the
wind in the second half was also significant and the
brace of wides shot by their forward line is where Aughrim
was well and truly lost.
Liam O'Connell's goal around the beginning of the final
quarter sealed Emmetts fate.
The men in the blue and gold were fighting to the end
but points from Buckley, Harrington and Harty were small
consolation.
Sean Treacys:
J Connelly; S Quinn, D Toland, O Fitzgerald; K Heaney,
K McCarthy (0-1), R Dalton (capt); C Murphy, C Heaney;
C Durack, M O'Hara (0-1), S O'Rourke (0-2); B Shortall,
T Moloney (0-6f), L O'Connell 1-1.
Robert Emmetts: Mark Kearney; Pat O'Keeffe, Gavin
O'Mahoney, Ultan McGuckin - capt(0-1); Chris McGovern,
Declan Hogan, Phil Campbell; Pat Jordan, Sean Lake;
Danny Harty (0-1), Kieran McGaughey, Paul Cashman; Cormac
Collins, Colum Buckley (0-2, 0-1f), Gordon Harrington
(0-1).
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