Reeling in the Years- Triumphant ’Town take All-Ireland title
2013 All-Ireland Junior club hurling final- Thomastown 2-17 Fullen Gaels 2-14
They scaled the heights to become All-Ireland champions, but Thomastown gave themselves an extra challenge or two before making it to the top of the junior club hurling tree.
Their toughness provided a silver lining to the day, but the men from Grennan had to overcome several tough hurdles posed by Fullen Gaels before they could savour success at a rain-soaked Croke Park on Sunday.
The Kilkenny club may have been expected to coast their way to the final whistle, but their Manchester opposition clearly hadn’t read the script. The Gaels were a dogged foe for most of the 60 minutes, running their rivals close – but they could never get the edge needed to take control of the game.
The turning point, as far as Thomastown were concerned, came within minutes of the restart. Having seen a three-point lead get wiped out when Alan O’Neill flicked a Robbie Power 65 inside the far post, the Kilkenny side could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel.
Instead, they increased their efforts and hit back in impressive fashion.
Michael Donnelly sent them on their way, the young centre-forward converting a vital 35th minute free that edged ’Town back in front.
Their next move was to reinforce that lead in style. Peter O’Hanrahan sent a booming free dropping towards the Canal End posts. The sliotar dropped on the right side of the square, where Thomas O’Hanrahan pounced. He saw a gap and went for it, sending a looping shot that finished inside Tom Goulding’s right post.
Thomastown were on a roll now, but made sure to keep the Gaels pegged back in their own half. Dessie Walsh chipped in with a point, Darren Burke adding another when he latched on to a surprisingly low Goulding puck-out and put the sliotar over the bar. In the space of eight minutes Paul Treacy’s side had pushed seven points in front (2-15 to 2-8) and seemed destined for victory.
Thomastown - D McGarry, S Mahony, S Lanigan, B Murphy, B Whelan, P O’Hanrahan, R O’Hara, D Walsh, D Lanigan, S Waugh, M Donnelly, D Burke, T O’Hanrahan, J Farrell, D Waugh.
Subs: A Burke for D Waugh, E Tennyson for Murphy, D Prendergast for D Burke.