St. ThomasÕ hit the jackpot

St. Thomas’ 3-11Loughrea 2-11

STEPHEN GLENNON AT PEARSE STADIUM

A hat-trick of Richard Murray goals. A tour de force display by David Burke. A superb team performance from the victors. And a memorable climax to a rousing Galway senior decider. That just about sums up this remarkable St. Thomas’ county title win – the club’s first, the parish’s eighth – at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

Yet, in years to come, other tales from the 2012 county final are sure to be engraved in local folklore around Peterswell and Kilchreest, never to be forgotten, iconic as Peterwell’s significant seven-title haul between 1889 and 1907. And deservedly so. For, despite the inclement weather conditions – and the tardiness of this fixture – this spectacle was fit for the sporting gods.

Approximately 6,500 spectators turned up to pay homage to two outstanding teams and while Loughrea – unbeaten in the championship up to this point – may feel they fell short of the mark on this occasion, St. Thomas’ produced the kind of hurling that, quite simply, wins county finals.

No doubt, it was breathtaking to watch – diamond cut and incisive – with the fluency of their movement leaving Loughrea chasing twilight shadows for long periods. With less than 10 minutes remaining, the victors led by nine points and it looked as if they would see out this historic event relatively comfortably.

They didn’t, though as Loughrea made them sweat by hitting an unanswered 1-3 in the dying minutes to peg it back to a single goal before St. Thomas’ goalkeeper Patrick Skehill had to be at his very best to deny Johnny Maher from a close range injury-time free. It was a furious, frantic, frenzied finish, albeit one Thomas’ have become somewhat used to after disposing of reigning champions Gort under similar circumstances in the semi-final.

That Loughrea almost realised the unimaginable – at least, it looked that way for over 50 minutes – speaks volumes for their late efforts but, in truth, this county decider was all about St. Thomas’ once Murray netted the first of his three goals in the opening 90 seconds.

Notably, it was Thomas’ two most influential players on the day who combined, with David Burke pulling crisply to find Murray. Rounding Loughrea full-back Damien McClearn, he deftly dispatched the sliotar to the opposition net. The red and blue clad areas of the stand erupted.

In many respects, the score set the tone for the game, not only in terms of the contributions Burke and Murray would make, but in that McClearn has always been the rock the Loughrea defence has been built on – impenetrable – and earthquake Murray had cracked him. The dial on the Richter scale was fluttering.

While Loughrea did gain parity by the 20th minute, St. Thomas’ were succinctly cutting their way through the layers of rock and stone and laying foundations of their own, on which they would post a performance of some substance.

Points from 2012 championship top scorer Conor Cooney (2), David Burke, Bernard Burke and Kenneth Burke had them 1-5 to 1-3 to the good before a speculative Murray 25th minute effort was spilled into the net by Loughrea custodian Nigel Murray, who was left cursing his luck and the wet conditions.

Loughrea captain Gavin Keary and Cooney (free) traded points in the closing minutes of that opening period and, at the interval, a wind assisted St. Thomas’ were 2-6 to 1-4 ahead. Although fortune played its part in the lead, on the balance of play, it was undoubtedly merited. 

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.