The first half of our dual with neighbours Loughmore ended in parity at Templetuohy on Saturday evening last. The disappearing Devil's Bit signalled the approaching rain which duly arrived shortly after the throw-in. In a cagey opening ten minutes the sides shared four points with Conor Cadell and Jack Kennedy landing two fine scores from play. An excellent Lorcan Roche point from play and a free from Kennedy had Brackens leading 0-4 to 0-2 at the first water break. A black card for Evan Sweeney in the 18th minute saw Loughmore down to fourteen men for ten minutes. Roche and Kennedy repeated their earlier trick and Brackens led 0-6 to 0-2 by the time Sweeney returned. A Conor Ryan free reduced the gap before three excellent points from play from Eanna McBride, Jack Kennedy and Conor Cadell pushed us six clear. Another Ryan free left it 0-9 to 0-4 at half-time. The second half saw a change as Loughmore pushed up and dominated possession. Brackens defended well however as Loughmore came on strong and limited them to three Conor Ryan frees in the third quarter to leave it 0-9 to 0-7 at the second water break. A fisted point from Ryan closed the gap to the minimum as Brackens struggled to get forward. An excellent Jack Kennedy free from forty yards stopped the rot before two more Ryan frees tied it up at 0-10 to 0-10. Both sides could point to a missed oppurtunity to gain full points but a draw was probably a fair reflection of an evenly contested game. Brackens now face Killenaule in the final round where a win or a draw will see them through. Loughmore face Rockwell Rovers in their final game.

Team and Scorers: Kuba Beben Martin Delaney Lorcan Egan James Bergin David O'Shea Tom Murphy Jordan Moloney Paddy Cadell Lorcan Roche (0-2) Conor Cadell (0-2) Cathal Scully Shane Bourke Eanna McBride (0-1) Jack Kennedy (0-5,3f) Dean McEnroe. Subs Used: Adrian Bourke Lyndon Fairbrother Shane Doyle