Munster SHC Semi-final/ Toomevara 1-10 Mount Sion 0-11: Let's not say the conditions in yesterday's AIB Munster club hurling semi-final were "inclement" - they were vile. In these days of eco-anxiety it was perfectly possible to believe Mother Earth was angry.
So violent was the wind that howled and the rain that hammered down on McDonagh Park, Nenagh, that it made Angela's Ashes appear like a holiday brochure.
Yet, implausible as it would have seemed to the hard-core attendance of 2,122, both Mount Sion and Toomevara contrived a match which halfway through the second half erupted into an epic tussle. It included some end-to-watery-end hurling that provided a great climax with the Tipperary champions surviving to reach the provincial final.
Even though their Waterford opponents managed only one point against the wind after the break, Toomevara had to gulp hard in the fifth minute of injury-time when with one last attack ricocheting around the goal area, Mount Sion's corner forward, Micheál White - whose eye for a score had already yielded three points from play - pulled dramatically on the ball. But as it flew goalwards goalkeeper James McGrath stuck up his stick, killed the ball and cleared for the last time. Victorious manager Pat Herbert later paid tribute to the last-minute heroics.
"At that stage after 30 or 35 minutes, to suddenly get a ball like that and have to respond tells you a lot about the individual. He put his body on the line - he wasn't going to concede at that stage and that's indicative of all the players on the team."
The Tipp side deserved their win for making a slightly better fist of defending against the howling wind and having the composure not to panic when six adrift at half-time. But Mount Sion will be disappointed that they fluffed some good opportunities to add to their final total.
It was Groundhog Day for the Waterford champions.
Two years ago in the Munster final they also allowed Toomevara recover a six-point deficit and blew a chance to force a replay when man of the match Ken McGrath missed a straightforward free.
Yesterday McGrath was looking a little below-par - he had been battling a virus earlier in the week. But he notched up a good haul of six points from frees, spoiling the record slightly by missing a couple well within his range, although the more critical of these, just after Toom had levelled the match with 10 minutes to go, was into the teeth of the wind and maybe on that account too ambitious.
In the early stages of the game it was clear Toomevara would do well to limit the damage until half-time.
They were helping themselves in that regard by posing a creditable threat up front where Willie Ryan started well with two points from play in the first seven minutes and there was a sense of danger when Tommy Dunne, Michael Bevans and John O'Brien gained possession.
But at the back, although they were mounting a solid rearguard action with Paul McGrath doing some good things at corner back - including blocking a goal-bound shot in the 28th minute - there was also a series of sloppy fouls, which enabled Mount Sion to build on the scoreboard.
McGrath and his brother Eoin were creating pressure on the Toomevara half backs and White potted his three points in 13 minutes as, by the end of the half, an evenly enough contested match had swung nicely in Mount Sion's favour, 0-10 to 0-4.
The star of the second half, notwithstanding the result, was Mount Sion centre back Tony Browne. He hadn't been than prominent in the first half but once the match took on the texture of constant high balls being thrashed in on top of his defence, Browne took over.
For example in the first 100 seconds after the restart, Browne had managed to read, fetch and clear three separate attacks and he continued to work heroics as the screw gradually turned.
Toomevara were back in contention three minutes after the break. Tommy Dunne harnessed the wind to flick a long, dropping ball in on top of O'Brien, who caught it magnificently at full forward and got the goal that reopened the contest.
Immediately afterwards Eoin Brislane, whose physical presence was an important aspect of his team's second-half improvement, pointed from the left wing to reduce the margin to two. From then on, Mount Sion were gradually reeled in but having equalised going into the final quarter, the Tipperary side didn't tear away with the match.
Mount Sion replacement Jamie O'Meara helped to tighten up the defence and scores were hard to quarry. With five minutes left David Kennedy exploited a defensive slip to push Toomevara ahead and Ken Dunne pointed a free two minutes later.
The match ran on after a series of scuffles held up play but there were no further scores.
TOOMEVARA: J McGrath; D Young, T Delaney, P McGrath; Terry Dunne, B Dunne, J McLoughney; F Devaney, K Dunne (0-3, all frees); M Bevans (0-1), E Brislane (0-1), Tommy Dunne (0-1); J O'Brien (1-1), D Kennedy (0-1), W Ryan (0-2). Subs: J Delaney for Bevans (65 mins).
MOUNT SION: I O'Regan; B Flannery, A Kirwan, K Flynn; J Cleere, T Browne, C Ryan; K Stafford, R McGrath; E McGrath (0-1), K McGrath (0-7, six frees), F O'Shea; M White (0-3), S Ryan, R Murphy. Subs: M Gaffney for Ryan (half-time), J O'Meara for Cleere (43 mins), B Browne for P'Shea (54 mins), J O'Farrell for Ryan (54 mins).
Referee: D Kirwan (Cork).
