U-14 A hurling Mid Champions. For only the fifth time in our history we can lay claim to this title. Eire Og were the first to bring the title to the parish in 1978 when they defeated Durlas Og under the captaincy of Pa Delaney before going down to Ballingarry at the second last. Two years later in 1980 Michael Larkin collected the trophy following victory over Holycross before Kilruane tripped us up at the penultimate fence. We then waited nineteen years before Tommy Kennedy accepted the trophy. A Jim Bob Quinn piledriver edged us past Burgess in the semi-final brefore Carrick Swans denied us final glory. Tomas Hamill was the winning captain in 2008 but once again we failed at the second last as Toomevara advanced at our expense. Perhaps that we now have joint captains in the guise of Dylan Quinlan and Cormac Bourke it will provide the extra spurt required to achieve the ultimate glory. One step at a time. This was a cracking game of hurling between two very good sides. Having won the toss Durlas Og elected to play with the strong breeze which blew towards their home town. A tough twenty five minutes ahead for Brackens but they took to the task with great discipline, energy and an amount of hardwork. They completely overpowered their opponents all over the field and raced into an early 0-4 to 0-2 lead with points from Jamie Ormond (3) and a mighty Dylan Quinlan free from 70 metres. All six backs were defending with great heart while the forwards never allowed the Thurles backs to walk out unchallenged. Then a beautiful ball from Kyle Whelan found Jamie Ormond in space and he made no mistake with a sweet finish. And within a minute Brackens work ethic once again paid dividends as Sean Purcell refused to give up on a ball, eventually whipping it across the goal where Ciaran O'Shea was on hand to billow the net. Another free from Jamie had us nine up (2-5 to 0-2) but Durlas Og were in no mood to lie down. Having already made three great saves Cormac Bourke was eventually beaten by Keith Loughnane who also tacked on two points to close the gap to four before Jamie had the last score of the half. (2-6 to 1-4). Any thoughts of cruising into port on the strong breeze were quickly dispelled as Durlas Og came out spitting fire. Four unanswered points closed the gap to the minimum and they were dominant all over the field. The previous fifteen minutes now read 1-6 to 0-1 and we looked in real trouble. A great point from play from Jamie steadied the ship before a slip from Dylan Skehan in the Reds net gifted the ball to Ciaran O'Shea who tucked away his second goal to give Brackens some much needed breathing space. (3-7 to 1-8). Another Thurles point closed the gap to four before a Jamie free put it back out to five. Cormac Bourke made three more great saves before sub Leelan O' Donoghue finally got one past him to leave just two in it in injury time. It was heart stopping stuff at this stage and just when we needed a score up stepped Kyle Whelan to fire over a great point. Two more frees into the heart of the mixer were repelled by some more great defending before Tom McGrath's whistle finally ended our twelve year wait for glory. Well done to all involved on a magnificent display both on and off the field. Brackens showed great calm when it was needed most and this display will give them great heart as they head in to the county series. Can't wait. Brackens Abu.

Team and Scorers: Cormac Bourke Billy Collier Robert Crampton Dayle Hogan Robert Lee Dylan Quinlan (0-1) Tom Corcoran Josh Quinlan Jack Marnell Jamie Ormond (1-7) Kyle Whelan (0-1) Sean Purcell Aodhna Barrett Ciaran O'Shea (2-0) Cian Sheedy. Subs Used: Padraig O'Shea Sean Walsh

Mid Tipperary U-14 A Hurling Champions 2020