Kilkenny SHL- Thomastown well tested but still prevail against Clara

Defending county champions Thomastown maintained their unblemished record in the senior hurling league, but not before surviving a huge fright with Clara on Sunday evening.

The win assures Noel Doherty’s side of a place in the league decider in a few weeks time even if they had to show all their experience as they dug out a three point win over a gallant Clara side.

It was a thrilling affair from start to finish and Thomastown needed three second half goals to turn the tide after Clara led by five points at the break.

Rory Glynn and Conor Hoyne in particular caused huge bother for the Thomastown rearguard while Conor O’Shea and Chris Bolger also nabbed goals. It was only when Colm Treacy got his second major in the final few minutes that the winners put the seal on a three point success.

It was a short journey to Gowran for both clubs and it was end to end activity right from the off with Clara notching three points in as many minutes with Rory Glynn and Conor Hoyne giving them an ideal start.

Thomastown battled back well and with Robbie Donnelly, Stephen Donnelly, John Donnelly and Peter McDonald all pointing the South Kilkenny outfit were level at 0-5 apiece heading towards the halfway mark of the opening half. Stephen Donnelly also had a couple of big chances for goal during this timeframe but Clara stopper Kevin Nolan denied the Kilkenny star.

Clara then retook the advantage on the scoreboard with quickfire efforts from Paul Cody, Chris Bolger, Conor O’Shea and Conor Hoyne.

The up and down nature of the contest continued when Thomastown had their purple patch with Robbie Donnelly levelling up the game before Peter McDonald and Stephen Donnelly made it 0-11 to 0-9 in Thomastown’s favour.

Clara had a brilliant end to the half with Conor Hoyne and Rory Glynn levelling up matters before Chris Bolger blasted in a cracking goal two minutes before the break.

With Bolger and Hoyne adding to the point tally afterwards, it was Clara who were very much in control as they went into the interval with a 1-14 to 0-12 advantage.

Thomastown didn’t take long to work their way back into the game though with a Robbie Donnelly point directly from the throw-in followed by Luke Connellan finishing precisely to the net after Rory Connellan and Colm Treacy combined before setting the young forward clear.

Rory Glynn then pushed the Clara lead back out to three points but three on the spin from John Donnelly, Stephen Donnelly and sub Daithi Barron meant it remained all to play for.

When Conor O’Shea grabbed Clara’s second goal in the 48th minute, it appeared as if the big shock was on the cards.

Thomastown upped their performance level in the final 10 minutes or so however with a flicked goal from Colm Treacy firstly bringing them back level before they edged back in front with points from Robbie Donnelly, Stephen Donnelly and Daithi Barron. Clara remained in the game ’til the end with back to back Conor Hoyne frees and points from play by Liam Ryan and Dara Glynn leaving nothing between the sides with the finishing line in sight.

Colm Treacy then pounced for his second goal of the game and although Liam Ryan and Joe Power replied with points for Clara, the side in Maroon ended up running out of road as two of the Donnelly’s, Stephen and Robbie put the icing on the cake with a pair of insurance efforts that saw Thomastown run out 3-23 to 2-23 winners at the end of a fantastic game of hurling.

Teams and Scorers

Thomastown - Robbie Donnelly (0-8, 0-3 frees, 0-2 65s); Colm Treacy (2-1); Stephen Donnelly (0-5); Luke Connellan (1-1); John Donnelly (0-4); Peter McDonald, Daithi Barron (0-2 each).

Clara - Conor Hoyne (0-11, 0-7 frees, 0-2 65s); Chris Bolger (1-2); Conor O’Shea (1-1); Rory Glynn (0-3); Dara Glynn, Liam Ryan (0-2 each); Joe Power (0-1, free); Paul Cody (0-1).

Thomastown - Diarmuid Galway; Peter Connellan, Ned Kirwan, Oisin O’Reilly; Brian Staunton, Eddie Donnelly, Zach Bay Hammond; Robbie Donnelly, Peter McDonald; Naoise Dempsey, John Donnelly, Luke Connellan; Stephen Donnelly, Rory Connellan, Colm Treacy.

Subs: Daithi Barron for Dempsey, 37 mins; Alex Cass for R Connellan, 62 mins.

Clara - Kevin Nolan; Paddy Bolger, Shane Staunton, Harry Boyle; Jack Langton, Matt Kenny, Martin O’Connell; Dara Glynn, David Langton; Paul Cody, Rory Glynn, David Barcoe; Conor Hoyne, Chris Bolger, Conor O’Shea.

Subs: Liam Ryan for Kenny, 44 mins; Luke Lawlor for P Bolger, 52 mins; Joe Power for D Langton, 54 mins; Conor Cody for Boyle, 60 mins; Lester Ryan for Hoyne, 60 mins.

Referee - David Hughes.