Mullinahone come so close

Clonoulty-Rossmore held on in a tense finish to capture the Tipperary senior hurling championship at Thurles yesterday as Mullinahone…

Clonoulty-Rossmore held on in a tense finish to capture the Tipperary senior hurling championship at Thurles yesterday as Mullinahone's bid for a first title failed narrowly. The evenly-matched sides were level 0-7 each after 23 minutes, but Clonoulty then hit three points without reply to lead 0-10 to 0-7 at half-time.

Clonoulty retained this advantage through the third quarter, but in the 20th minute a goal by Mullinahone's Brian O'Meara levelled the scores. Clonoulty quickly responded with two points, and never lost their composure in the face of a determined late onslaught by Mullinahone, who were too determined in their pursuit of goals rather than taking their points. Aidan Butler and Michael `Bonnie' Kennedy were key figures for Clonoulty, while Mullinahone's John Leahy was ably supported by Sean Brett, Noel Leahy and Paul Kelly.