Hartley stars as De La Salle College dethrone Harty Cup champions Nenagh CBS
Mark Hartley’s perfect free-taking, scoring eight from eight, was a key difference.
The Harty Cup champions are out, eliminated by 10 points from Mark Hartley and a dogged defensive performance from De La Salle, Waterford.
Nenagh CBS battled to the very end but once Eoghan Doughan’s close-range free was blocked by Adam Regan and the subsequent 65 rebuffed, De La Salle’s victory was confirmed.
Hartley’s perfect free-taking, scoring eight from eight, was a key difference. Nenagh couldn’t match that success rate amid wind and rain in Bansha.
While De La Salle employed an extra defender, Hartley and Conor Tobin kept them motoring up front. Their impressive defence was led by excellent performances by Adam Dawson, Fiacra Cooney, Jack Power, and Colm Hartley as the spare man.
They carried the benefit of a strong wind in the first half but Nenagh got off to the better start.
Straight from the throw-in, Billy O’Brien fed Doughan for the opener. The All-Ireland minor winners combined again when O’Brien was fouled for a Doughan free.
But while De La Salle were able to get off as many shots against the wind (13) as with it, Nenagh only mustered six shots in the first half. They were guilty at times of playing high balls to outnumbered attackers.
De La Salle had four points in a row from Mark Hartley (two frees), Colm Hartley (free), and Adam Regan after great work by Dawson and Tobin.
A Doughan free only briefly interrupted their momentum as the Waterford school added the next three. Another Dawson turnover led to a Mark Hartley point from the sideline.
Tobin burned his man with an electric turn of pace for the next. Then, Mark Hartley’s sensational control under a puck-out resulted in a free which he converted.
Doughan and Mark Hartley traded frees to leave it 0-8 to 0-4 at half-time.
It was Mark Hartley again, who twice extended that lead to five in the opening minutes of the second half with one each from play and a free.
Doughan began to get some support on the scoresheet with a monster point from corner-back Gavin McGrath and a curler from substitute Emmett Jones.
They traded the next four points but Nenagh were left to regret some costly wides as they never got closer than three away from De La Salle.
Joe O’Dwyer registered despite being fouled but Ollie Fives cancelled that out with his first touch after being sprung from the bench.
Mark Hartley drilled over two frees to extend De La Salle’s cushion to five by the 57th minute before Austin Duff and a Doughan free brought it back to a one-score game.
In the first of four added minutes, De La Salle worked a smart point for Tobin from a short puck-out for extra safety.
A Doughan free made it a nervy finish but De La Salle were resolute to the very end.
M Hartley (0-10, 8 frees); C Tobin (0-2); C Hartley (free), A Regan, O Fives (0-1 each).
E Doughan (0-8, 7 frees); G McGrath, J O’Dwyer, A Duff, E Jones (0-1 each).
R Nolan (Ballygunner); A Dawson (Ballygunner), F Cooney (Ballygunner, joint-capt), A Furlong (Roanmore); J Power (Ballygunner), C O’Sullivan (Ballygunner), P Power (Ballygunner); R Jacob (Passage), C Power (De La Salle); C Hartley (Ballygunner), M Hartley (Ballygunner), R Doherty (Mooncoin); S Power (De La Salle), C Tobin (Ballygunner), A Regan (Mount Sion, joint-capt).
O Fives (Ballygunner) for Furlong (45), E Burke (Roanmore) for S Power (53), J Shanahan (Erin’s Own) for Jacob (60).
E Sherlock (Kiladangan); C Grace (Burgess), D McKelvey (Silvermines), G McGrath (Kiladangan); D Fogarty (Kiladangan), B O’Donnell (Silvermines), L O’Callaghan (Portroe); P Ryan (Borris-Ileigh), B O’Brien (Nenagh Éire Óg); D Treacy (Silvermines, capt), E Doughan (Moneygall), S Cleary (Kilruane MacDonaghs); J O’Dwyer (Burgess), B O’Meara (Kilruane MacDonaghs), A Duff (Toomevara).
P Hackett (Toomevara) for O’Meara (36), E Jones (Nenagh Éire Óg) for O’Callaghan (39), E Garrigan (Nenagh Éire Óg) for Treacy (56).
J Murphy (Ballylanders).
