Super Shinrone cause sensation by eliminating four in a row seeking St Rynagh's

SHINRONE turned the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship up on its head by eliminating four in a row seeking St Rynagh's in a fiercely fought, very entertaining quarter-final in Birr on Sunday afternoon.

Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final

Shinrone 1-15

St Rynagh's 1-13

It was a sensational win for Shinrone, their biggest one in years and it has thrown the championship wide open – Shinrone's reward was a semi-final against Belmont while Kilcormac-Killoughey will meet Birr in the other one.

The draw afterwards created gasps among the crowd as it means that a new team, Belmont or Shinrone will compete in the final and there is now a huge window of opportunity for both those clubs – Belmont destroyed Shinrone in the last group game a couple of weeks ago but knockout hurling is a very different kettle of fish.

Displaying a tremendous work ethic, standing up to be counted all over the field, Shinrone were full value for their win and any other result would have been an absolute travesty. St Rynagh's fought with increasing desperation as a Shinrone win loomed into view in the second half but it was a bridge too far for them. In fact, Shinrone could have won by more as they had 13 wides and could have got a couple more goals

St Rynagh's just did not have it on the day, even though it would not have taken a lot for them to force extra time and they were very close to that. However, they won't complain one bit at this result and it has been coming all year. They were not the same relentless, potent force as the last three years, they never really convinced and the impression that they were surviving on their wits to some extent was borne out here.

Ironically their demise came on a day when they had almost their full team back on the field. Aidan Treacy and Luke O'Connor started while Sean Dolan came on as a second half sub – this trio had been out for most of the campaign but even with them on board, St Rynagh's day had come.

It would be wrong, however, to focus on St Rynagh's shortcomings. This was all about Shinrone and a truly heroic performance. Even if St Rynagh's were sitting ducks, few predicted that Shinrone would be the team to take them out. Their display in that group defeat by Belmont raised serious questions but they answered them spectacularly here.

It was such a solid, honest, hard working display by Shinrone and their tactic of playing high ball into towering full forward Ciaran Cleary yielded a great dividend. Cleary was magnificent and with five star performances also coming from Darren Crean, Sean Cleary, Luke Watkins, Killian Sampson, Adrian Cleary and Jason Sampson, Shinrone added a lot of quality to go with their work ethic.

St Rynagh's were fighting an uphill battle almost the whole way. Conor Hernon, Simon Og Lyons, Ben Conneely, Matthew Maloney and Aidan Treacy impressed at different times but their attack found it difficult to make any impression against a wound up Shinrone defence – Paul Quirke was their best forward and he was the only one to get two scores from play on a day when they couldn't break free. St Rynagh's did't score in the second half until 18 minutes in, they took Luke O'Connor off and brought him back on while the statistic that all four of their second half points came from frees says it all really – they looked very stretched on the sideline and the best team won.

Shinrone laid a powerful foundation in the first half, letting St Rynagh's know in no uncertain terms that they were in for a hell of a tough afternoon. They battled very hard in that half, playing with great honesty into the wind and using their tactic of long ball into full forward Ciaran Cleary very well.

St Rynagh's only played in fits and starts but a half time lead of 1-9 to 1-6 put them into a good position, even with the wind to face in the second half. The sides were level at 0-3 each when Paul Quirke got in for a 14th minute goal, that was there to be saved by Eamonn Cleary, whose huge puckouts and clearances were a great asset to Shinrone in the second half. A 19th minute goal from Jason Sampson, who was very good in the first half, left them trailing by 1-5 to 1-3. The sides were level at 1-6 each after 25 minutes and coming up to half time, St Rynagh's finally began to move beter as points from Gary Conneely, Aidan Treacy (free) and Luke O'Connor gave them that three point half time lead.

Shinrone's second half display earned complete respect and admiration. They had a few early misses that could have sapped their morale but they worked like men possessed and never dropped their heads. Adrian Cleary got the first point of the second half in the 9th minute and they were level, 1-9 each after 15 minutes.

It took St Rynagh's 18 minutes to get their first second half point, a Treacy free, and that is a huge tribute to Shinrone's tenacity. That gave St Rynagh's the lead but Shinrone now knew the game was there for them. Unlike other games, they were able to do it on this occasion. Four in a row from Sean Cleary, impressive sub Killian Ryan (he made a big impact when introduced), Donal Morkan (free) and Ciaran Cleary had them three points up, 1-13 to 1-10 with six minutes left.

St Rynagh's dug in as you would expect but Luke O'Connor's free was cancelled out by Ciaran Cleary, O'Conor got two injury time frees to bring it down to a point but a superb Adrian Cleary point in the 65th minute – he almost over carried the ball – got Shinrone home.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ciaran Cleary (Shinrone): Ciaran Cleary put in a huge body of work at full forward. He was worked like a horse as Shinrone stayed with their tactic of lofting in high ball out on top of him. He was hugely effective – he didn't always win the ball but it was very seldom that Rynagh's won it clean either as they occasionally moved Ben Conneely back to try and curb his influence. Cleary got three points, set up other scores and was a huge factor in their win. Michael Cleary and Adrian Cleary were also contenders.

THE SCORERS

Shinrone: Jason Sampson 1-2, Adrian Cleary, Ciaran Cleary and Donal Morkan (3f) 0-3 each, Sean Cleary 0-2, Declan Cleary and Killian Ryan 0-1 each.
St Rynagh's: Aidan Treacy 0-5 (4f) Luke O'Connor 0-4 (3f), Paul Quirke 1-1, Gary Conneely, Aaron Kenny and Gary Kelly 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

ST RYNAGH'S: Conor Clancy; Stephen Wynne, Pat Camon, Conor Hernon; Simon Og Lyons, Ben Conneely, Dermot Shortt; Matthew Maloney, Joey O'Connor; Paul Quirke, Aidan Treacy, Gary Conneely; Aaron Kenny, Gary Kelly, Luke O'Connor. Subs – Sean Dolan for Luke O'Connor (39m), Luke O'Connor for Treacy (25m), Brian Rigney for Kenny (55m), Stephen Quirke for Maloney (61m),

SHINRONE: Eamon Cleary; Darren Crean, Peter Cleary, Darren O'Meara; Killian Sampson, Michael Cleary, Dara Maher; Declan Cleary, Luke Watkins; Donal Morkan, Sean Cleary, Adrian Cleary; Paul Cleary, Ciaran Cleary, Jason Sampson. Subs – Killian Ryan for Paul Cleary (HT),

Referee – Adam Kinahan (Clodiagh Gaels).

REFEREE WATCH

Adam Kinahan had a very good game and the way in which he got the balance right between letting it run and calling frees added to a very enjoyable afternoon. Neither side could fault him much.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Killian Ryan's lead point in the 52nd minute was significant as it gave Shinrone the confidence to push on for the win.

VENUE WATCH

Birr hosted the game well with plenty of stewards and a good sized crowd.

TALKING POINT

The demise of St Rynagh's. They have been a great force of nature in the past few years but their hunger levels did seem to dip this year and it will be interesting to see what way they regroup next year – they certainly need good young players coming up out of minor ranks.

WHAT'S NEXT

Shinrone play Belmont in the semi-final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Shinrone – 13 (5 in first half); St Rynagh's – 8 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: Shinrone – 2 (Darren O'Meara and Ciaran Cleary); St Rynagh's – 3 (Dermot Shortt, Joey O'Connor and Aidan Treacy).