Camross weather early storm before pulling clear of Rosenallis
Tom Cuddy shows his joy as Camross progress to the senior hurling final following the defeat of Rosenallis on Sunday Photo: Denis Byrne
THIS was a more comprehensive win for Camross than the scoreline might suggest. Granted, Rosenallis made them work for it, particularly in the opening half, but two goals either side of the interval ensured there was only going to be one winner.
Playing with the aid of the breeze in that opening half Rosenallis would have been a little worried that they needed more on the scoreboard at the break after Darren Drennan’s 28th minute goal gave Camross an unexpected 1-6 to 0-7 lead at the interval.
Tomas 'Mossy' Keyes opened the scoring from a free after 90 seconds, but Rosenallis soon settled and hit five of the next six points. David Dooley was proving particularly influential, converting a pair of frees before Donnchadh Hartnett, Charlie Friel and another Dooley effort from a 65 helped Rosenallis move three clear.
Although Liam Delaney responded with Camross's first score from play after being picked out by Ciaran Collier, Rosenallis continued to dictate matters. Fiachra C. Fennell produced one of the scores of the half after winning possession deep in defence before charging forward and splitting the posts, while an excellent team move ended with John Lennon feeding Dooley for his fourth point of the opening period.
At that stage Rosenallis led 0-7 to 0-3 and looked firmly in command.
However, they failed to add to their tally during the closing 11 minutes of the half and Camross took full advantage.
Keyes nailed three successive frees to close the gap before turning provider for the game's opening goal. After cutting through the Rosenallis defence, he slipped the ball to Darren Drennan, who finished clinically to the net.
That burst of 1-3 without reply transformed the contest and handed Camross a 1-6 to 0-7 lead at the interval.
The second half could hardly have begun any better for the eventual winners.
Within seconds of the restart, a long delivery from Eoin Gaughan broke kindly for Keyes and the Camross attacker made no mistake, blasting to the top corner for a second goal.
To their credit, Rosenallis responded immediately. Conor Cosgrove showed tremendous strength to burst through the defence before firing past Tadhg Doran and suddenly the gap was back to just two points.
Camross, though, had found their rhythm.
Odhran Phelan and Keyes kept the scoreboard ticking over, while Ciaran Collier and James Cuddy also chipped in as the lead gradually stretched.
Dooley continued to battle for Rosenallis and added further scores from both play and placed balls, but every time they looked capable of mounting a comeback, Camross found another answer.
Eoin Gaughan landed an excellent long-range free before Zane Keenan added his first score. Oisin Bennett also got in on the act as Camross began to take control of possession and territory.
A Keyes effort rattled the crossbar as Camross sensed the chance to finish strongly, and further scores from Phelan, Gaughan and Keenan ultimately put daylight between the sides.
Rosenallis refused to throw in the towel and grabbed a late goal through John Lennon after Hartnett's initial effort had been brilliantly saved by Doran, but it proved no more than a consolation score.
The result was built on Camross's resilience during a difficult first half and their clinical response after the break. Having trailed by six points and faced a significant wind disadvantage, they showed both patience and composure to gradually wrest control of the game and ultimately march into the final with six points to spare.
Camross: Tomas Keyes 1-6 (0-6fs), Darren Drennan 1-0, Odhran Phelan, Eoin Gaughan (0-1f, 0-1 65) and Zane Keenan (0-1) 0-2 each, Oisin Bennett, Liam Delaney, Ciaran Collier and James Cuddy 0-1 each.
Rosenallis: David Dooley 0-8 (0-5fs, 0-1 65), John Lennon and Conor Cosgrove 1-0 each, Donnchadh Hartnett, Charlie Friel, Fiachra C-Fennell 0-1 each.
Tadhg Doran; Conor Mortimer, Darragh Duggan, Aaron Carroll; Eoghan Cuddy, Cathal Cuddy, Tom Cuddy; Eoin Gaughan, Liam Delaney; Tomas Keyes, Ciaran Collier, Odhran Phelan; Darren Drennan, Gearoid Burke, James Cuddy.
Subs: Zane Keenan for Burke (36m), Oisin Bennett for Drennan (44m), Dwane Palmer for Delaney (temp – 49-53m), Dwane Palmer for Phelan (57m), Daniel Delaney for Collier (60m), Ben Deegan for J Cuddy (62m).
Stephen Kelly; John Maher, Diarmuid Dooley, Oran Gorman; Jimmy Hyland, Fiachra C-Fennell, Colin Bennett; Charlie Friel, Matthew Bennett; Donnchadh Hartnett, David Dooley, Conor Cosgrove; Jack Friel, Paddy Keating, John Lennon.
Subs: Sam Somers for Lennon (temp – 29-30), Paul Maher for J Maher (32, inj), Sam Somers for J Friel (38m), Tommy Keating for Hyland (47m), Brian Fitzpatrick for P Keating (56m).
Alan Doheny (Castletown)
