Throwback Thursday: Newtown never backed down on their way to Munster glory 

IT’S 18 years since Newtownshandrum came from six points down to beat Thurles Sarsfields 1-16 to 0-13 in the semi-finals of the Munster Club Senior Hurling Championship at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

The fixture had the makings of an upset, and Bernie O’Connor’s players navigated it perfectly despite a rough start to the game.

“I am pleased,” he told The Echo after the game. “I suppose we did it in reverse today when we had a bad first half and came into it where as normally we seem to scorch and then go easy.”

Despite seeing the game plan torn apart and his side trail 0-7 to 0-1 inside 12 minutes, O’Connor was confident of a comeback.

“I was never worried because all we needed to do was re-organise and once we were level with them at half-time we were happy with that situation.”

The panel was well used to those games at that stage in their careers, especially Ben O’Connor.

The Cork star was just after winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles with a group held up as one of the greatest to ever wear the red jersey. The forward’s status was backed up by his performances for Newtownshandrum during the club’s run in the 2003-04 club championship.

Everyone knows what happened, and how Newtownshandrum became the undisputed best side in the country after beating Antrim side Dunloy 0-17 to 0-6 in the All-Ireland final. Their attempt at defending their crown ended at the semi-final stage of the 2004 Cork Senior Hurling Championship.

It was almost like everything caught up with the panel one afternoon, as they were beaten 1-14 to 0-14 by Cloyne.

The players and management team used the winter to rebuild and they returned to the summit of Cork hurling by getting the better of Castlelyons, Bride Rovers, St Finbarr’s, and Cloyne.

The draw for the Munster Club Senior Hurling Championship paired Newtownshandrum with Thurles Sarsfields, one of the most successful sides in the Premier County. That reputation was to come, back then they were just happy after ending 31 years of hurt in the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship.

That meant that the provincial arena was a novelty to those wearing blue and white, whereas Newtownshandrum were well used to cross boarder bouts.

What suited Bernie O’Connor and his players had the month break between the victory over Cloyne in the final of the Cork Senior Hurling Championship and the opening round of the Munster championship.

Newtownshandrum had more than enough time to reset and turn their attention to the fixture against Thurles Sarsfields, who survived a marathon encounter with Lixnaw in the quarter-finals of the Munster championship.

They survived, despite conceding 3-8 to the side from north Kerry, and had to travel to Cork two weeks later.

Newtownshandrum line-up: 

P Morrissey; GD O’Mahony, B Mulcahy, D Gleeson, D Murphy, P Mulcahy, P Noonan, AT O’Brien, Jerry O’Connor, D Mulcahy, John O’Connor, C Naughton, Jerry O’Mahony, J Bowles, B O’Connor.

Things started dreadfully for the Cork champions as Thurles Sarsfields led by six points with just 12 minutes played, and the post stopped Johnny Enright from extending their cushion with a green flag.

Once Ben O’Connor starting finding the target, Newtownshandrum found their collective rhythm.

His work was complimented by the accuracy of John O’Connor, Jerry O’Connor, and Cathal Naughton, and they helped make it a drawn game at half-time.

The back-line was also delivered by stopping Thurles Sarsfields from scoring for 12 minutes. Then Jerry O’Connor hit the back of the net and swung momentum towards Newtownshandrum.

The bench made a massive contribution to the win, with reports singling out the work done by John Paul King and Alan T O’Brien.

Everyone did something – the forwards raised white flags and the backs stopped Thurles Sarsfields from getting a goal.

They even denied Lar Corbett, a player who would win Hurler of the Year in 2010, any impact on the semi-final.

Despite the finish and the six-point cushion, everyone knew that Newtownshandrum had to work for the result. Their entire playbook had been scuppered by a seemingly impossible-to-read team that was enjoying a history-making adventure.

“We saw them playing and you wouldn’t think a lot of them against the Kerry side but then again maybe they underestimated the Kerry and we didn’t see them at their best,” was Bernie O’Connor’s closing statement on the semi-final.

Newtownshandrum went on to face Ballygunner in the Munster final and they won 0-16 to 1-12 at Semple Stadium.

Ben O’Connor was the hero once again for his side as he scored 0-6 during his time on the pitch in Tipperary.

The Cork champions went into the Christmas break with two trophies in the cabinet and a chance to win a second All-Ireland title. It wasn’t to be as they came up short against Galway champions Portuma on St Patrick’s Day.

While the immediate thought was of disappointment at the end of the long season, Newtownshandrum were still Cork and Munster champions after another memorable year.