On Sat 7th Oct 2017, four boys entered the hallow arena of the Croke Park Handball centre with dreams as big as the alley in which they were about to play. However, what left the fortress of Handball after the battle was done, was four young men brimmed with confidence and invaluable experience that they can now take with them into their Handball careers as adults.
In the first game, Galway took off to a roaring start taking a comprehensive lead of 16-2 over their Tipperary counterparts. Mulkerrins on the right took some superb shots off the backwall and his retrieval skills were second to none. O’Conghaille on the other side of the court was exemplary as a left-hand side player, he dominated his space and made some excellent kill shots when they were needed. Through sheer skill and determination, the Tipperary duo of Prentice and Cahill were not going down without a fight. With grit and tenacity, they fought back hard and done their best to take the game. Alas, it was not to be and the first game finished 21-11 to Galway.
In the second, keeping that fighting spirit, Tipperary soared to life and grasped a 13-6 lead over Galway in the early stages of the game. Cahill seemed to cover every inch of the court as he and Mulkerrins locked horns in every battle, with rallies lasting a lifetime and Mulkerrins pushing his body to dive for every ball he could. Prentice and O’Conghaille were the pillars of the game as both men showed incredible displays of strength and athleticism. Tipperary saw the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and maintained their early lead taking a victory of 21-13.
The third and final game of this saga was one full of suspense, surprise and skill of an un-paralleled level. To say that this game unfolded into a grudge match would be an understatement. Tipperary, still sailing on their winning form, burst into the lead with a staggering start of 12-0. Yet, when Galway got their chance at serving, boy did they take it. They came back to 12-7 in a string of blistering rallies and it looked like there was no stopping them. Tipperary found themselves in a position of serving twice, yet only making one Ace, such was the pressure of Galway’s tenacity. As the crowd roared and the tensions ran high, Galway chased the game down faster and faster, until Tipperary took the serve again on a score of 13-8. With Tipperary winning 17-11, Galway found themselves in service, now was the time for a comeback of titanic proportions. A comeback that almost came to fruition. On the ropes, Tipperary found themselves serving for the game 3 times, before finally synching the win with a score of 21-16.
Though Tipperary took the win today – the real winner of the day was Handball. With this calibre of players competing in the minor championship it is a telling and exiting glimpse into the senior championship for the next decade.
