Kiladangan 1-21
Kilruane MacDonaghs 2-18
IT APPEARED AS if Bryan McLoughney was on the cusp of being the hero once again for Kiladangan in a Tipperary senior hurling final.
Two years after his famous last-gasp goal delivered a momentous hurling breakthrough for the club in the 2020 final, the sharpshooter slotted over the 63rd minute free here at Semple Stadium that edged his team in front 1-21 to 2-17.
It was his tenth point of the day, eight of those occurring after half-time and that statistic was indicative of the pronounced impact McLoughney had in shifting the momentum of this game in favour of his Kildangan team.
But there was to be another twist in the tale of this Tipperary final, veteran Kilruane player Seamus Hennessy winning the 64th minute free that gave Willie Cleary the opportunity to hold his nerve, just like he had done all afternoon, and nail the placed ball that sends these north divisional neighbours to a replay.
That round two meeting will likely take place next weekend, Munster club duties requiring a Tipperary outfit to travel to Walsh Park on Sunday 6 November to take on the All-Ireland kingpins Ballygunner.
It was an outcome that left both with plenty to ponder. Outsiders Kilruane MacDonaghs made much of the winning, three in front at the break, and energised by two superb goals in the game from Jerome Cahill. The second of those in the 47th minute pushed them 2-11 to 0-14 clear, Cahill’s finishing sublime as he profited from the creativity of Niall O’Meara to assist him.
Yet Paul Flynn again stood tall for Kiladangan in a scoring sense. He finished with 1-4, despatching a goal in the 52nd minute and fuelling the energy resources of his team in the finale.
McLoughney and Cleary both finished with returns of 0-10 apiece, figures to capture their assured striking. The final quarter was thrilling stuff as the match exploded to life on a Thurles afternoon of fine autumn sunshine.
The Kilruane MacDonaghs playing crew had no experience of this occasion yet their early hurling was not compromised by nerves. They knocked over the first two points of the game courtesy of Thomas and Willie Cleary, while Cahill cracked home the game’s opening goal in the 16th minute.
He shot splendidly to the net, a strike that engineered by Niall O’Meara’s alertness to supply him close to goal instead of tapping over a point. Cahill played with number 30 on his back rather than number 11, a reminder of the tragic passing of Dillon Quirke in Kilruane’s first game of this campaign when they met Clonoulty-Rossmore.
The goal was the foundation for Kilruane’s first-half superiority. They deserved to be in front at the break but the lead should have been more sizeable than 1-9 to 0-9. The wide count was skewed in their favour, 9-4, and illustrated how accuracy eluded them at crucial stages.
The third quarter was a battle for supremacy between free-takers Cleary and McLoughney. It was 1-11 to 0-11 in favour of the MacDonaghs by the 40th minute, then a trio of McLoughney points wiped out that advantage and left the teams deadlocked. There was an element of fortune in one of those scores, the Kilruane protests failing to prevent the awarding of a point. TV replays confirmed their argument was legitimate.
The forecast was variable late on as to who would win this. Cahill’s goal put Kilruane in the driving seat, Flynn’s strike wrestled back momentum for Kiladangan.
A Flynn point in the 56th minute left Kiladangan in control at 1-18 to 2-13 and yet Cian Darcy’s point the 61st minute had Kilruane ahead 2-17 to 1-19.
It was that sort of gripping conclusion, Declan McGrath and McLoughney restoring Kiladangan’s position of dominance before Cleary wrapped up the scoring for the day.
All square and a second instalment now beckons.
Scorers for Kiladangan: Bryan McLoughney 0-10 (0-8f), Paul Flynn 1-4, Willie Connors 0-2, Declan McGrath 0-2, Alan Flynn 0-1, Tadhg Gallagher 0-1, Joe Gallagher 0-1.
Scorers for Kilruane MacDonaghs: Willie Cleary 0-10 (0-9f), Jerome Cahill 2-0, Cian Darcy 0-2, Niall O’Meara 0-2, Thomas Cleary 0-2, Sean McAdams 0-1, Mark O’Neill 0-1.
Kiladangan
1. Barry Hogan
5. David Sweeney, 3. James Quigley, 4. Darren Moran
2. John O’Meara, 6. Alan Flynn (captain), 7. Declan McGrath
8. Tadhg Gallagher, 9. Tom O’Meara
11. Joe Gallagher, 10. Sean Hayes, 14. Paul Flynn
13. Bryan McLoughney, 12. Billy Seymour, 15. Willie Connors
Subs
19. Dan O’Meara for Seymour (28)
26. Darragh Flannery for Moran (34)
18. Jack Loughnane for O’Meara (45)
17. Darragh Butler for John O’Meara (57)
Kilruane MacDonaghs
1. Páidí Williams
12. Aaron Morgan 3. Jack Peters, 7. Eoin Hogan
6. Niall O’Meara, 2. James Cleary, 4. Kieran Cahill
8. Sean McAdams, 9. Mark O’Neill
10. Willie Cleary, 13. Seamus Hennessy, 15. Cian Darcy
18. Thomas Cleary, 30. Jerome Cahill, 14. Kian O’Kelly
Subs
24. Conor Cleary for Hennessy (20)
5. Conor Austin for O’Kelly (inj) (31)
14. O’Kelly for Conor Cleary (39)
13. Hennessy for O’Neill (47)
Referee: Kevin Jordan
