Turloughmore   2-22

Cappataggle     1-23

By Eanna O’Reilly at Duggan Park

Turloughmore withstood a late comeback from Cappataggle to secure the division one hurling league title Saturday evening in Ballinasloe. A contest which took a while to get going saw Turlough dominate three quarters of the game, before a strong comeback from Cappataggle provided a compelling finish to the contest.

An impressive first quarter performance saw Turlough build up a 1-7 to 1-1 lead. Cappataggle had the game’s first point from Cian Bowes just seconds after the throw-in, which proved to be the only time Turlough trailed on the scoreboard.

At the other end, Conor Walsh converted his first free, before Brendan Phelan registered Turlough’s first score from play. Two minute later, a long delivery was well caught by Barry Callanan, who laid the ball off to the inrushing Eoghan Conneely, who finished to the net.

Turlough soon added points from Cillian Whelan, Tom Quirke, Barry McDonagh, Phelan, and Walsh. Cappataggle’s sole response during the same period was a James Egan goal in the 10th minute. The old-fashioned high dropping ball into the square, almost extinct in modern day hurling, proved effective on this occasion, as the ball was flicked to the net by Egan.

Cappy raised their game in the second quarter, when they outscored Turlough by 0-6 to 0-4. Bowes struck three frees, while Michael Garvey, Ja Mannion, and Jack Coughlan added scores from play. At the other end, Loftus, Walsh (two frees), and an excellent long-range free from Mark Fahy kept the scoreboard ticking for Turlough.

A four-point difference between the sides at half-time was a fair reflection of the first-half. Turlough had the best of the third quarter, tallying four points in the first five minutes. Walsh (0-2, one free), Whelan, and Loftus extended their lead, while Bowes pointed two frees at the other end.

A well-worked move involving Phelan and Callanan saw the ball played inside to Whelan, who finished off Turlough’s second goal in the 37th minute. At 2-15 to 1-9 down, it looked like Cappy had a mountain to climb. However, Steven Creaven’s side refused to fold and tallied five of the next six points.

Bowes (two frees), Dan Nevin, Egan, and Mannion all registered scores to give Cappy a level of momentum which they lacked earlier in the game. Walsh’s sixth free was Turlough’s sole score during the same period.

Walsh added another free in the 48th minute, before Cappy responded with points from Oisín Finn and Bowes (free). This left the score at 2-17 to 1-16 with 10 minutes remaining, and the contest was in the melting pot.

Pictured: Barry Callanan of Turloughmore looks to get past the tackle of Cappataggle’s James Garvey. Photos: David Cunniffe.