Dicksboro 1-14 O’Loughlin Gaels 0-14
James Stephens 3-16 Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-12
DICKSBORO TOOK A STEP towards their first Kilkenny senior hurling title since 1993 as they ousted reigning champions O’Loughlin Gaels.
Martin Gaffney’s early goal proved decisive as the Palmerstown club ran out three-point winners in the second of Sunday’s semi-finals.
Gaffney struck for the game’s only goal inside the opening five minutes and Dicksboro never trailed again.
They raced into a 1-5 to 0-2 lead, and although O’Loughlin’s rallied to cut that deficit to the minimum, points from Andy Gaffney, Martin Gaffney and Bill Sheehan had Dicksboro four up at the break, 1-9 to 0-8.
Dicksboro will now turn their attention to a Walsh Cup decider against James Stephens after they pulled off a magnificent comeback to beat TJ Reid’s Ballyhale Shamrocks by 10 points.
Ballyhale led by six at the break, 1-8 to 0-5, but second-half goals from Eoin Larkin and a double from Tadhg Dwyer helped the city men into their first final since lifting the title back in 2011.
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