Corn Phadraig Senior B Hurling Final – Dungarvan CBS 1-22 St.Joseph’s Tulla 1-15

Dungarvan CBS 1-22 St Joseph’s Tulla 1-15 (AET) – Corn Phadraig Final

Report by Tomás McCarthy

Dungarvan CBS got their hands on the Corn Phadraig after a spicy contest against St Joseph’s of Tulla at Golden on Saturday afternoon. The Waterford school had to absorb the physicality brought to the table by the Banner men before eventually wriggling free and sprinting clear in the second period of extra time.

Patrick Curran rose to the occasion once again and finished up with a staggering 1-15 to his name at the close of business. Although he was pinned down for the first thirty minutes, he sparkled when switched to full forward and also harried the opposing backs to win back possession.

St Joseph’s had the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half but Dungarvan were awarded a penalty after two minutes when Darragh Lyons was brought to ground. Cormac Curran accepted the responsibility but rose the sliotar too high and his shot was saved by Dan Vaughan. Some sharp Tulla shooting at the other end established a seven point gap (0-8 to 0-1) by the twenty minute mark. Dungarvan spurned a couple of good chances but they settled down before the break. Darragh Lyons made a difference when pressed into defensive duties and they outscored their opponents by three points to one for the remainder of the half to trail by 0-9 to 0-4 at the short whistle.

With the wind in their favour, they chipped away at that five point lead. They pared it down to two before Patrick Curran conjured up a moment of magic. On 50 minutes, Colin Dunford supplied the delivery and Curran plucked the ball from the sky before he emphatically dispatched to the bottom corner. They were in command for the first time and they added two more points to lead by 1-12 to 0-12 entering the dying embers of the contest. Kevin Daly led a stout Dungarvan defence but there was a late twist in the tale. They conceded a 21 metre free in front of the posts in the final minute and although Eoin Tuohy’s rasper was blocked, Con Smyth followed up to force extra time.

Tulla had a pep in their step and early points from Oisin Donnellan and Steven Conway got them off to the perfect start in the first period of ten minutes. Dungarvan were facing the elements and a two point deficit but they dug in. A hat trick of frees from Curran and an Aaron Donnelly single gave them a 1-16 to 1-14 at the change of ends.

Colin Corbett’s sixth successful free reduced the arrears to the minimum on the resumption but the Déise students managed to steer clear of danger. Despite shooting 21 wides, the Dungarvan attack had come to terms with the aggressive approach from their opponents and the dam burst in that second period of extra time. Three points in rapid succession finally broke Tulla’s resolve as Dungarvan ran out convincing victors.

Scorers:- Dungarvan CBS: P Curran 1-15 (10f), R Donnelly, A Donnelly, C Dunford 0-2 each, D Lyons 0-1.

St Joseph’s Tulla: C Corbett 0-6 (6f), C Smyth 1-1, E Tuohy, O Donnellan, S Conway 0-2 each, J O’Brien, M Lynch 0-1 each.

Dungarvan CBS: G Power, C Culloo, K Daly, M Cronin, K Barron, K Looby, J O’Donnell, C Dunford, C Curran, R Donnelly, M Harney, C Breathnach, D Lyons, J Morrissey, P Curran.

Subs: A Donnelly for Morrissey (41), J Morrissey for Barron (74).

St Joseph’s Tulla: D Vaughan, M Perrill, J Noonan, E McMahon, E Tuohy, N Bolton, C Cooney, O Donnellan, C Smyth, D Chaplin, M Lynch, D Kearney, J O’Brien, C Corbett, S Conway.

Subs: J Nelson for Kearney (50), M Daly for McMahon (60).

Referee: John McCormack