Mellows minors fall away late on as Turlough make most of reprieve

Turloughmore   1-18

Liam Mellows    1-10

Having produced a Houdini act in the closing stages of the drawn game, Turloughmore took full advantage of their reprieve as a powerful final quarter saw them deservedly claim the Pier Head Minor A hurling title after a hugely entertaining replay with Liam Mellows at Kenny Park on Sunday.

While an eight point winning margin might suggest a hammering, Turloughmore really only took a decisive grip on the contest in the closing 15 minutes, having been in possession of the lead for less than a minute in a first half that was lit up by a fantastic Liam Mellows goal in injury time by Adrian Morrissey.

That score gave the city side a three point lead at the break, and given the tenacity of their defensive display in that opening period it looked likely that another nail-biting finish would ensue.

Turloughmore’s Conor Shaughnessy, however, had other ideas and he quickly rifled over three points from play before nailing three crucial frees to haul his side level and eventually into the lead. 

Once Liam Mellows struggled to get Morrissey involved, their scoring unfortunately dried up completely and they failed to raise a flag over the closing 15 minutes, their misery completed by the late dismissal of Colin McDonagh, who also saw red in the drawn game. Turloughmore took full advantage of their opportunities, with Brian Callanan grabbing 1-2 late on to seal the club’s sixth minor title, their first since 2007.

Indeed, this was the second minor final replay in a row for this talented crop of Turloughmore youngsters, having lost a thrilling 2012 decider to Tommie Larkins. Twenty-two of this year’s panel were involved in that heart-wrenching loss, and the experience obviously stood to them as they closed out the contest in emphatic style. 

For a Mellows side who gave their all, there was no shame in defeat, and they had fine displays from Adrian Morrissey, Mark Hughes, Kevin Lee, Cathal Reilly, and Stephen Barrett.