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Sunday 17th October 2004 AIB Munster club Senior hurling Championship QF Lerrig Kilmoyley 1-11 Toomevara 5-19 Kilmoyley outclassed by Toomevara The disappointment and shock on the faces of all Kilmoyley people at the end of the game was very apparent. In its four appearances in the Munster club championship, this was by far Kilmoyley's poorest display. So it was somewhat unfortunate that Toomevara played possibly their best hurling of the year. The only thing that could console Kilmoyley supporters at this stage is if Toomevara go on and brush aside all other opposition in the same manner for the rest of the competition. Unfortunately though, this is unlikely to happen even though this Toomevara team is one class outfit. Just like Kilmoyley in Thurles last year, the Tipp champions had a blistering start, but unlike Kilmoyley last year, Toomevara kept it going right to the final whistle. The fact that Toomevara had only four wides in total tells how much on top of their game they were, and although Kilmoyley did keep trying to the end, the gulf in class was very apparent. A large corwd of Toomevara supporters travelled to the game and they were very vocal in their support, even before the throw in. A crowd of about 1,300 watched the game in dry conditions, even if the field was very heavy underfoot after all the previous week's rain. But as ever, the club officials had the grounds looking splendid and had an excellently produced match programme on sale for the supporters. The Kilmoyley team showed two changes to that which started the county final two weeks before. In came Joe Murnane at wing back to replace the suspended Sean Fitzgerald, while veteran Christy Walsh started at full forward with Sean Maunsell losing out. Kilmoyley actually started brightly enough playing with a favourable breeze and were ahead inside the first two minutes from a Shane Brick free. But that was as good as it got for Kilmoyley as Toomevara turned it on for the next sixty minutes or so. Their full forward line of Michael Bevans, Paddy O'Brien and Willie Ryan helping themselves to 4-5 from play with O'Brien and Ryan scoring 2-2 each. They ran Kilmoyley's full back line all over the field and created gaps in defence where there shouldn't have been. In the fourth minute a pass from Ken Dunne found O'Brien in the corner, who found an unmarked Bevans who set up Ryan for a simple tap in goal. a couple of minutes later what should have been a free out for Kilmoyley ended up being a Toomevara penalty which was only tapped over the bar. By the quarter hour mark, all of Kilmoyley's full back line had benn booked, a sign of the extreme pressure they were under. Toomevara tapped over another couple of frees, Ken Dunne unerring from placed balls. For good measure, O'Brien broke a number of tackles to score Toomevara's second goal to leave them 2-4 to 0-1 ahead. Eoin Brislane was doing fierce damage at midfield, the Kilmoyley midfield pair unable to cope with his power and pace. Indeed it was Brislane who set up Tommy Dunne for their third goal following a good strong run from centre field. In effect that was the end of the game as a contest and the result was never in doubt following that goal. but Kilmoyley continued to hurl until the end of the half, with Shane Brick adding a few more frees. There was some ball going into the Kilmoyley full forward line, but they hadn't the pace of foot or speed of hurling to evade the defensive tackles which they wouldn't have been accustomed to. By half time both sides had added a couple more points to leave the half time score 3-8 to 0-6, with Kilmoyley facing the breeze for the second half. It was only a matter of damage limitation for Kilmoyley in the second half, but it only took Toomevara three minutes to score their fourth goal. A long delivery from Terry Dunne caught out the Kilmoyley defence and Ryan found enough space to smack the ball past Kilmoyley 'keeper Joe Walsh. Three minutes later Paddy O'Brien broke through a number of tackles to score Toomevara's fifth goal. It was most disappointing for Kilmoyley at this stage and thankfully Toomevara decided to make a number of substitutions before the end of the game to upset their momentum a little. Eoin Sheehy was introduced for Kilmoyley and won plenty of ball around the middle of the field but iit was too little too late. It was only in the last ten minutes that Kilmoyley put some sort of respectability on the scoreboard with Richard Gentleman goaling following a pass from Ollie Diggin. The same two players added further points before the final whistle to leave the final score 5-19 to 1-11.
Hopes were high that Kilmoyley might give Kerry hurling a shot in the arm by pushing Toomevara the whole way, but the game was over after just fifteen minutes when the visitors had establish a margin of 2-4 to 0-1 despite facing into a first-half wind. Man of the match Ken Dunne was unerring from placed balls and he found his inside line with regularity as Willie Ryan found the Kilmoyley net after just three minutes and then he set up the impressive Paddy O'Brien for a second to all but wrap up the tie in the 15th minute. Toomevara, with giant midfielder Eoin Brislane dominant, never allowed Kilmoyley a look in, as Shane Brick posted the Kerry's sides only scores of the opening exchanges from placed balls. Despite the heroics of Ian Brick and James McCarthy Kilmoyley were being out hurled in every department as Ken Dunne could even afford to tap a penalty over the bar, and a further goal from Tommy Dunne, saw Toomevara extended an unassailable lead of 3-8 to 0-6 at the interval. The game was put further beyond Kilmoyley's reach during the opening twelve minutes of the second period as Ryan and O'Brien added superb goals and Ken Dunne (2), Benny Dunne and O'Brien all contributed to push Toomevara out of sight. At 5-12 to 0-6 there was little consolation for a large home support that had been left stunned by the Tipperary whirlwind of the opening minutes. The Kerry champions gained some form of consolation with a late goal and a point from Richard Gentleman to close the gap to a more respectable score but Toomevara were already thinking ahead to the their meeting with the Cork champions. This was hardly the result that the game in Kerry needed considering it is already in a near terminal condition. SCORERS - TOOMEVERA: K Dunne 0-9 (0-6 f 0-2 '65's), P O'Brien and W Ryan 2-2 each, Tommy Dunne 1-1, D Kelly 0-2, Terry Dunne, B Dunne and M Bevins 0-1 each. KILMOYLEY - S Brick 0-7 (0-5 f 0-1 '65), R Gentleman 1-1, M Murnane, D Young and O Diggin 0-1 each. TOOMEVARA - J Cottrell, J Boland, T Delaney, P Shanahan, Terry
Dunne, B Dunne, D Young, P Hackett, E Brislane, K Dunne, F Devanney, Tommy Dunne, M
Bevins, P O'Brien, W Ryan. Subs: B Duff for T Delaney, K Cummins for E Brislane, D Kelly
for M Bevins, A Ryan for W Ryan. REF - D Kirwan ( Cork).
Sunday 17th October 2004 AIB Munster Club championship quarter-final Lerrig 3pm (Preview) Kilmoyley and Toomevara clashed at the same stage of last year's Munster club championship at Semple Stadium, Thurles - a great day for all Kilmoyley supporters who travelled to the game. In a game played in brilliant sunshine on the best playing field in Ireland, Kilmoyley outhurled Tipp's best for twenty minutes and led by seven points to two. But as we began to dream of an historic victory, the local boys pounced before half-time to score two soft goals and for twenty minutes after the half-time break, Kerry's champions were outhurled to such a degree that it looked more like a game of backs and forwards. Such was the gulf between the sides when Toomevara decided to turn it on. People will be asking a few questions ahead of this weekend's game - Can Kilmoyley play for the full sixty minutes? and Are Toomevara as good as they were last year? It will once again be a huge task
for Kilmoyley. The element of surprise is certainly gone after last year and Toomevara
certainly won't mind playing seven days after their county final victory last Sunday over
"The Combo" (they played the semi-final against Mullinahone only five days after
their quarter-final win). They have won six out of the last seven Tipp championships and
this year they have swept all before them - and still haven't played at their best. In the
Dunne brothers - Tommy, Benny, Ken and Terry, Eoin Brislane and captain Paddy O'Brien at
full-forward Toomevara have top class players and even if any of these are off form on the
day they have awesome strength on the bench. (Tommy Dunne didn't even play last year) While the Bookies don't feel that Kilmoyley can win (66/1 to win Munster), Toomevara were interested enough to send a delegation of officers to this years Kerry County final. The fact that the game is being played at Lerrig should be worth four or five points to the locals. And while the field itself will as always be in marvellous condition it is not the size of Semple Stadium but there is no doubt that the local climatic conditions will take some adjusting to. It would be fantastic to see strong local support at the game and it could all help to make Toomevara's job that bit more difficult. Could Sunday be the day. It has to come sometime !
THE hurlers of Kilmoyley, so impressive in completing a
four-in-a-row in the county senior championship last Sunday week, face up to the might of
Tipperary champions, Toomevara, in the first round of the Munster club championship at
Lerrig on Sunday next (3.00). John Meyler was a great winner himself in his own playing days and he has infused Kilmoyley with a determination and confidence that has set them apart from all other teams in Kerry for the last four years. For sure, it’s going to be mighty hard to stop them from making it an historic five-in-a-row in the county championship next year, but John Meyler wants to see them achieving more than that. He wants to see them making their mark in the Munster club championship and he has very strong belief in their ability to do so. “Last year, we played well against Toomevara for thirty minutes in Thurles, but one or two of the lads were happy enough with that,” said Meyler. “I told them that this wasn’t just good enough. We want more from them than that. “It’s on games like next Sunday that we will be judged. It’s a serious advantage to be at home in Lerrig and, while playing at home can bring its own pressures, this is where we want to be and this is the kind of game we want to win. “It can be done. No doubt about that. Yes, it’s going to extremely difficult, but if our players want it badly enough and we get the sixty minutes we require from them, then victory for us has to be possible.” Meyler said that Kilmoyley had put emphasis on playing a higher brand of club in challenge matches this year. They had played Glen Rovers, St Finbarrs and Blackrock, of Cork, Lismore, of Wateford, and Ballybrown, of Limerick (twice), as well as a few Cork intermediate club teams. It was important to aim for higher standards all the time and the winning of the Munster Senior League last year had imbued the players with greater confidence. Sunday next would, be said, provide an exacting examination of them. Toomevara had won the Tipperary title for the sixth time in seven years on Sunday last and that was a remarkable achievement by them. Against Mullinahone in the semi-final, he said, they had put 2-19
on the board and their scores had come from everywhere. In last Sunday’s final
against Éire Óg/ Golden, they had chalked up 4-12. “It's mystifying that they haven't been able to win the club championship,” he said. “They can be lackadaisical and they don’t seem to be able to do themselves justice when they go outside of Tipperary. “No question about it, they are a very talented outfit, but not enough questions are asked of them in Tipperary and, in my opinion, they are not quite as good as previous Toomevara teams.” However, Tipperary county champions always command respect wherever they go and Kilmoyley will certainly give them that respect. At the same time, once the action begins on Sunday, Kilmoyley will go at them with a vengeance and, if Shane Brick, in particular, hits a really good day, then it could well be that Kilmoyley will pull off a major shock. There are a lot of other players on the Kilmoyley team well capable of playing with distinction at this level, with the Munster Senior League victory providing plenty of proof of what Kilmoyley are capable achieving against teams from outside the county (they beat current Cork SHC finalists, Na Piarsaigh and Cloyne, in claiming the Munster League trophy), and, win or lose on Sunday, they will most definitely let Toomevara know that they are in a game. The very best of luck to them.
Sunday 3rd October 2004
AIB County Senior hurling Championship Final Kilmoyley 3-15 Causeway 2-9 Kilmoyley's Seniors re-wrote the history books by winning their fourth county championship in a row, a feat achieved only once ever before, by the defeated finalists Causeway. But this was also a county final that will be remembered in its own right as an excellent game of hurling with both sides showing all the skills and passion expected at championship time. Despite the great rivalry between these two clubs and the importance of the prize at stake, both sides served up a very entertaining game, and whatever nerves or tension there may have been before the game began, they were quickly forgotten in this rip-roaring encounter. It must be said that the presence of Tipperary referee Willie Barrett certainly helped the game in this respect, but much credit must go to the players themselves whose only interest was winning the game and delighting their supporters. And what excitement there was following the final whistle. This victory could never compare to the first win in 2001, but it was certainly as sweet as the two since then. The team prepared in the same way it had done the previous three years - a visit to the beach, followed by mass at Kilmoyley church, then to Kilmoyley sportsfield for a chat and a cup of tea and off to the game itself. Weather conditions were not ideal in the morning with driving wind and a heavy mist of rain falling, and it was due to get worse. But the weather wasn't going to bother Kilmoyley as they had shown in the previous finals that they were capable of winning whatever the conditions. As it turned out, the day stayed dry and the stiffish breeze eventually faded also, and this also helped the game as a spectacle. Kilmoyley opted to play into the Mitchell's end in the first half facing the slight breeze. We had two players, Pat Flaherty and Sean Maunsell starting their first county final but otherwise this was a very experienced team. But as has become the norm with Kilmoyley now, they were very slow to start and Causeway were awarded a free inside fifteen seconds after a foul on John Mike Dooley which he pointed himself. Causeway had a couple of wides before they added another from play. Even at this stage Kilmoyley struggled in many positions around the field and with the possession they won, the wrong option was often taken. Even Shane Brick was off form early on and had two wides from frees. After ten minutes Kilmoyley still hadn't scored and Causeway stretched their lead to three points. It took Kilmoyley another three minutes to open their account with a good effort from wing forward Tom Murnane. Just when Kilmoyley felt they were easing themselves into the game, Dooley collected the ball forty metres out, ran towards goal and fired a left handed shot past Joe Walsh in the Kilmoyley goal. It was thought that this score should have kick started Kilmoyley's challenge but Causeway added another score from play after a defensive lapse to extend their lead to six points. Despite not scoring, Kilmoyley were applying more pressure on the Causeway goal but all the efforts were saved and cleared. Eventually all Kilmoyley's pressure did pay off because in the next few minutes they were to bring themselves right back into the game. Shane Brick drove a 21 metre free past six players to the back of the net after a foul on Richard Gentleman. Three points followed from Tom Murnane, Micheal Regan and Richard Gentleman. The Kilmoyley supporters must have been pleased at this stage, for despite being outplayed for most of the half and losing at one stage by six points, they were now level. But Causeway weren't finished yet and added two points before the break to lead at halftime by 1-6 to 1-4.. Causeway introduced Eoin O'Neill for the second hald but Kilmoyley sent out the same fifteen. The game resumed at a great pace and Kilmoyley opened their account with a great Micheál Regan point from the sideline in front of the stand after a good pass from Sean Fitzgerald. But a minute later the Kilmoyley supporters must have been doubting the outcome when Causeway goaled again, squeezing the ball into the corner of the net to leave four between the sides again. But Kilmoyley's experience did not allow them to panic and a great individual point from Darren Young reduced the gap to three. Joe Walsh did well to come off his line to deny Dooley a goal while Shane Brick added another fromplay after a defensive error. At this stage kilmoyley were hurling much better but could still not get enough scores. The introduction of legend Christy Walsh at full-forward was to change the game. For with his first touch, fifteen seconds after being introduced he shoved the ball over the goal line after Tadgh Flynn failed to clear a high ball. It was similar to his introduction as sub in the semifinal when he also scored an important goal from close range with his first touch. From here on in, Kilmoyley would not relinquish the lead, and within a seven minute period a four point deficit had been transformed into a three point lead following another couple of points from Christy Walsh and Shane Brick. But the outcome was still in doubt when Causeway's 21 metre free was saved on the line by Padraig Regan and in the following melee, Kilmoyley's Sean Fitzgerald received a red card with twelve minutes to go. But Kilmoyley re organised themselves, with Sean Griffin coming on as a blood sub for PR. Indeed for the next five minutes it looked as if Kilmoyley had the extra man and it was Causeway who were at sixes and sevens. Tom Murnane intercepted a pass to add another point for Kilmoyley and Shane Brick pointed a free to extend the lead to five points. Causeway reduced the deficit with a pointed free but Christy Walsh scored his second point almost immediately. Causeway pointed again, but Shane Brick killed off the game with another great solo effort, when he ran through the heart of the Causeway defence (like Moses through the Red sea), and sent his shot into the top corner of the net. Shane Brick added two more frees to finish the game and sent Kilmoyley's supporters into raptures. For not only had Kilmoyley equalled Causeway's four in a row, but also joined Ballyduff with twenty Senior titles. It was a great Kilmoyley effort and all players certainly played their part in this victory, from Joe Walsh's vital block early in the first half to Micheál Regan's two points at corner forward. Of course Christy Walsh played a huge part when introduced, and newcomer to the club Pat Flaherty followed a solid first half performance with a great second half display. At centreback James McCarthy was solid all through the game, while at midfield Richard Gentleman and Maurice Murnane got through a lot of work throughout the game and also added a few scores when needed.
Sunday 5th September 2004 AIB County Senior hurling Championship Semi-final Austin Stacks park Kilmoyley 4-10 St. Brendan's 3-9 For
the first time in twenty one years Kilmoyley overcame the challenge of parish rivals St.
Brendan's in the Senior county championship to reach its fourth County final in a row - a
feat only repeated twice ever by other Kilmoyley teams (1962-1965 and the teams from 1889
to 1895 that competed in seven finals in a row, winning four). But Kilmoyley certainly had
to work hard for this victory, and it was only in the final five minutes that victory was
assured. For St. Brendan's put up a very brave battle right to the end, and while they
were awarded a dubious penalty at the very end to close the gap to four points, the
victory could so easily have gone the other way. But for years in Kilmoyley, we heard the
laments and "what if's" and the "there's always next year" scenario -
but not any more. This Kilmoyley team can certainly dig deep into its reserves for victory
and it seems to just about do enough on the day to win. For it's fair to say that
Kilmoyley have been disappointing overall in this year's championship, even if there have
been many brilliant scores. Let's hope that we can stay that one gear ahead of Causeway in
the final. It will be the first ever meeting between these two sides in a county hurling
final and it is one that will certainly get the imagination going. Kilmoyley are
bidding to emulate the four-in-a-row feat of the '79 - '82 Causeway team and also to match
Ballyduff with the most number of championship wins of 20. But that's another day's work.
Kilmoyley haven't beaten Causeway in the championship since 1988 when Causeway were then
champions. Kilmoyley only made one change to the team that defeated Ballyduff in the quarter final, introducing Ollie Diggin for Patrick Flaherty. There were doubts over the fitness if Ian Brick before the game but he started in his usual number 4 position on John Egan. Brendan Blackwell who was a major doubt for St. Brendan's during the week with a shoulder injury lined out at right half back. The game of course was played as a curtain raiser before the second semi-final between Causeway and Ballyheigue. In fairness to the county board they only charged €10 to see both games. Experienced intercounty referee Ger Harrington of Cork took charge of the game and allowed no niggly play into the game. When it, did he penalised it immediately. The game started at a hectic pace and it was St. Brendans that settled earlier with John Egan scoring two early frees because of some indiscipline on Kilmoyley's part. Kilmoyley replied with a good point from play from wing back Sean Fitzgerald to reduce the deficit. But it was really all St. Brendans at this stage, as they hassled and harried Kilmoyley's players all over the field for possession. The game was levelled shortly after with a good score from Maurice Murnane after Richard Gentleman was denied a goal with a good save. But St. Brendan's went in front again with a good score from play, and doubled the lead with another Egan free. Kilmoyley's defence was under real pressure at this stage but with Ian Brick and James McCarthy hurling well, many opportunities were thwarted. But Kilmoyley's midfield and forwards were not playing well at this stage and a number of frees were conceded, another of which was converted by Egan to stretch the lead to three points. But the Murnane brothers, Maurice and Tom brought Kilmoyley back into the game with two points and one point respectively, one of Maurices being a free from halfway.
It was like there was no halftime break for the Kilmoyley boys for they continued to hurl with more heart and gusto after the interval. And within three minutes Darren Young blasted the ball to the net again following a good line ball from Sean Fitzgerald. The Kilmoyley forwards were given absoluteley no space by their markers and as a result did not score for the next twelve minutes or so. St. Brendans edged in front with a point from John Egan, but Kilmoyley super sub Christy Walsh had an immediate impact when he tapped the ball to the net following good work from the other sub Sean Maunsell. A pointed free edged Kilmoyley further ahead but St. Brendans replied with two points of their own to reduce Kilmoyley's lead to the minimum. The game was delicately poised at this stage with less than ten minutes to go. Following a good solo by Colin Harris, Kilmoyley were awarded a 21 metre free following a late tackle. Up stepped Shane brick with a ten metre run to the ball to bury it to the back of the net to score Kilmoyley's fourt goal. It was a risk to take but one that paid off, as Kilmoyley were to hold their lead to the end. St Brendans had to reply at this stage but they were wide from Egan but up popped Richard Gentleman to increase Kilmoyley's lead. Shane Brick and Micheal Regan stretched the lead to seven with time almost up. St Brendans pushed Mike Casey forward and he was awarded a penalty with time up. Eamonn Corridon blasted it to the net but the ref blew for full time to leave Kilmoyley winners by four points. So despite all the hype and tension before the game, both sides served up a very exciting game with plenty of good, hard hurling with lots of excellent scores. It was certainly great value for money for the supporters who were only charged €10 to see both games. Complements to the County Board. The final with causeway will probably be a similar affair with plenty at stake for both sides, but the pressure will be on the boys in maroon as they try to stop Kilmoyley matching their four-in-a-row.
Friday 6th August 2004 AIB County Senior hurling Championship QF Austin Stacks park Kilmoyley 2-17 Ballyduff 2-8 It took almost tweve months for Kilmoyley to get a chance to show that last year's semi-final victory over the same opposition was no fluke. Although Kilmoyley were far from their best, the same too could be said for Ballyduff. Kilmoyley approached the game with a number of injury worries, but on the night only one failed to make the first fiteen (Eoin Sheehy with a broken hand). There was certainly a lot of hype and tension leading up to the game and on the night a large crowd of around 3,000 turned up to witness what everyone hoped would be a memorable occasion. Unfortunately, the game was a disappointment in many ways although there were some exciting passages of play. For one, the standard of hurling was generally poor with many passes going astray and plenty of missed pick ups. And also Ballyduff, once they conceded the first goal midway through the second half dropped their heads and Kilmoyley coasted to victory (although the nine point winning margin does flatter Kilmoyley). But in many ways it is hard to blame either set of players for this. This pairing for this tie had been known for five months and as they say time can play tricks on you. Nerves were also very evident on the field from both sides, but in the end it was Kilmoyley who held theirs to progress to the semi. As is often the case with championship hurling in Kerry, the sun shone brightly down towards the Horan end and Kilmoyley chose to face it in the first half playing into a slight breeze. Kilmoyley started brightly enough putting the first point on the board with a free from Shane Brick. But Ballyduff were using their usual "pressure" game and it certainly worked for a period in the first half when Kilmoyley failed to get in the first pickup or good pass. Colin Harris was fouled just inside the Kilmoyley half and Shane Brick added a second long range free. But Ballyduff levelled matters a few minutes later. Kilmoyley hit a ten minute purple patch and scored five unanswered points, all bar one coming from Shane Brick. Despite this, it was obvious that the Kilmoyley forwards were not linking up well and were under immense pressure from the Ballyduff backs. Ballyduff came back into the game and were particularly threatening down the left side of attack where Bobby O'Sullivan and Thomas O'Rourke causing difficulty. Sean Griffin was introduced at corner back for Brendan Harris and this helped steady matters slightly. But a Liam Boyle goal left only the minimum between the teams, but another point from Shane Brick gave Kilmoyley a two point advantage at half time. It was Ballyduff that started the second half on the up with two points from full forward Mike Hennessy to draw the game level. But midfielder Joe Murnane pounced on a poor defensive clearance to edge Kilmoyley in front by a point again and Shane Brick added another free shortly after to restore the halftime lead. But Ballyduff brought themselves backon level terms again with two points from Thomas Rourke and Joe Bunyan. At this stage Sean Maunsell was introduced to corner forward to spice up proceedings and his introduction had an immediate effect with points coming from Darren Young and Shane Brick (free).Then in the 42nd minute Sean set himself up for a fine goal when he caught a high ball and blazed the ball to the net, all after a poor Kilmoyley sideline ball. The lead was stretched with another free and a good point from play from Shane Brick. It was at this stage that mike Hennessy received a secomd yellow card and that was effectively the game over as far as Ballyduff were concerned. Kilmoyley's final score was another goal from Sean Maunsell in the 60th minute, almost a duplicate of his first. Ballyduff did score a consolation goal at the very end. So in the end a satisfying win for the champions, although they were by no means a nine point better team. It has to be said that referree Willie Barrett and his team of officials did a good job, and while there were plenty of yellow cards handed out (on both sides) the game was by no means dirty.
Sunday 19th September 2004 County Minor hurling Championship Quarter-final, Ardfert Kilmoyley 1-10 St. Brendan's 1-7 Once again an under age team in Kilmoyley upset the odds when the minors of Kilmoyley defeated favourites St. Brendans in this quarter final game played at Ardfert. Kilmoyley were due to play Ballyheigue in the North Kerry championship but this game was caleed off giving priority to the county championship. Conditions were very breezy in Ardfert and Kilmoyley lined out with a very young team - many of whom were on the under 16 team that defeated St. Brendans in the County League final. Kilmoyley played with the breeze in the first half and with the midfield of Edward Fitzgerald and Raymond Young playing well Kilmoyley notched nine points and limited their opponents to just two. But would a seven point half time lead be enough. As expected, St. Brendans came more into the game in the second half with the aid of the breeze. Kilmoyley could only manage one point for the first twenty minutes and held a two point advantage facing into the closing ten minutes as St. Brendans scored 1-3. But as St. Brendans pushed for victory, up popped Jason Harrington from the forty to score the all important goal to give Kilmoyley a five point cushion. With Seanie Murnaen and Declan Ryan hurling well at full back and centre back respectively, Kilmoyley limited St. Brendans to just two points in the final ten minutes to hold out for a deserving win. Kilmoyley will now meet a joint Ballyduff/Causeway outfit in the semi-final next week. Whatever happens in that game, trainer Maurice Fitzgerald and his selectors should be well pleased with this win and who knows what might happen !
Saturday 6th November 2004 County U21 hurling Championship Final, Austin Stack Park As the scoreline suggests, Kilmoyley were comprehensively beaten in this U21 final played inprefect weather conditions before a small attendance at Austin Stack park Tralee. From early on it was evident that Lixnaw were more up for the game, with the Kilmoyley players less inclined to make the extra effort that their their opponents were making. Kilmoyley's team showed one change with Edward Fitzgerald replacing Jason Harrington. The first score came from Lixnaw after five minutes, when Cillian Fitzmaurice's speculative lob from the wing found the top corner of the net. A minute earlier, the Kilmoyley defence stopped a 20 metre free and cleared to safety. But following the goal, Lixnaw continued to dominate winning far more possession than Kilmoyley despite the best efforts of Brendan Harris, Eoin Sheehy and Patrick Flaherty. Kilmoyley's other more experienced players did not get into the game and the enthusiasm just wasn't in their game on the day. Indeed many of the Kilmoyley players seemed more interested in arguing with the referee than winning the game. Lixnaw added a number of pointed frees to stretch the lead and Kilmoyley's only response was three Tom Murnane first half frees. Kevin McCarthy was substituted after twenty minutes and replaced by Sean Young at corner forward. Sean Maunsell won some possession at corner forward but couldn't make the room to get his shot in. But the supply of ball into the fullforward line was meagre with John Griffin and Paudie Lyons dominating. At half time the score line read Lixnaw 1-7 to Kilmoyley's 0-3. Kilmoyley needed a big improvement in performance in the second half, but it started with an immediate free to Lixnaw following a rash challenge. It took Kilmoyley ten minutes to register its first score of the half - another pointed free. Up to that point Kilmoyley hadn't even penetrated the Lixnaw defence such was their domination out the field. With Micheal Conway winning good possession and setting up fellow forwards Lixnaw added four points to cushion their lead. But captain Pat Flaherty, who tried whole heartedly right to the end scored a good point and followed with an excellent goal to only leave six points between the teams with ten minutes still to play. Eoin Sheehy and Brendan Harris continued to defend well and curbed a number of attacks, and so too did John Maunsell who switched to midfield at this stage. But in the end there wasn't enough fire power up front by Kilmoyley and Sean Maunsell was well marshalled by Lixnaw captain Pat Corridon throughout. Going into the final five minutes, Lixnaw continued to hold their advantage and with time running out they added 1-2 without reply to but a better reflection of the game on the scoreboard. At the final whistle, Kilmoyley could have no complaints as the better team won. It was unfortunate that Kilmoyley didn't play up to scratch but they can gain some comfort from the achievement of reaching the final in the first place, and the experience will stand to them in time.
Monday 25th October 2004 County U21 hurling Championship Semi-final, Ballyheigue KILMOYLEY are through to the County Under 21 Hurling Final after a hard fought one-point victory over Ballyduff at Ballyheigue on Monday afternoon. This was an excellent match played at real championship pace with the sides level on a number of occasions. In fact, it took a late Sean Maunsell goal to separate the teams. Ballyduff looked to have done enough leading by two points going into added time but up popped Maunsell to flick the ball to the net and send Kilmoyley through to the final, meaning heartbreak for Ballyduff. Kilmoyley opened brightly with a free from Tom Murnane followed by a Sean Maunsell point from play before Ballyduff replied with a point following a quick free from Joe Bunyan to Barry O’Grady. Murnane and Bunyan both added points from frees for their teams before Kilmoyley struck for their first goal scored by Padraig Sullivan whose long delivery ended up in the net with the Ballyduff ‘keeper unsighted. This seemed to spur Ballyduff into action and they rattled off four points in succession. Mikey Boyle scored a beauty from play and Joe Bunyan added two more from placed balls with Barry O’Grady adding another from play. Kilmoyley responded well with sterling work being done by Patrick Flaherty and Sean Maunsell in attack yielding two frees which were both converted by Tom Murnane. However, Joe Bunyan was proving deadly accurate from placed balls and he added two more points before half-time to leave the scores level at 1-5 to 0-8. The second half started just like the first with Kilmoyley on the attack and Patrick Flaherty getting a nice point from play but Ballyduff upped the tempo of their game with Ally O’Connor excellent at the back and Giles O’Grady and Joe Bunyan getting on top at midfield. Another beauty from Mikey Boyle followed by three more placed balls from Joe Bunyan (one from a ‘65) left the score at 0-12 to 1-6. Kilmoyley
responded well with a goal from Sean Maunsell. This was quickly followed by a Darren Young
point to give Kilmoyley the lead once more but at this stage Kilmoyley were reduced to 14
men with John Maunsell receiving his marching orders for a second yellow card offence.
This seemed to open up the game and Ballyduff scored a good goal when Mikey Bowler
recieved the ball, broke two tackles and finished to the net. At this stage, it seemed
that Ballyduff would go on to finish off the game but they missed a number of late scoring
chances which were to prove costly. To Kilmoyley’s credit, they never died and as the
game entered added time, Kilmoyley gained possesion through Eoin Sheehy who laid it off to
Patrick Flaherty who was blocked on his way through but passed to Sean Maunsell who
finished the ball to the net to win the match as the referee Pat Sheehy blew for full-time
from the resultant puck-out. Ballyduff — PJ Gorman, Kevin Connolly, Patrick Donegan, John Hussey, Mikey Bowler, Ally O’Connor, Pat Moran, Joe Bunyan, Giles O’Grady, Graham Guerin, Aidan Boyle, Mikey Boyle, Martin Griffin, Barry O’Grady, John McCarthy
INTERMEDIATES Sunday 31st October 2004 Intermediate hurling Championship semi-final, Caherslee Kilmoyley Dr. Crokes |
KILMOYLEY TEAM Joe Walsh, Brendan
Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Joe Murnane, James McCarthy, Colin Harris, Maurice
Murnane, Richard Gentleman, Tom Murnane, Shane Brick, Pat Flaherty, Micheal Regan, Christy
Walsh, Darren Young.
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy, Colin Harris, Maurice Murnane, Richard Gentleman, Patrick Flaherty, Shane Brick, Tom Murnane, Sean Maunsell, Darren Young, Micheal Regan. subs: Sean Griffin (blood sub for Padraig Regan (37)), Christy Walsh (1-2) for Sean Maunsell (38), Ollie Diggin for Micheál Regan (50), Padraig O'Sullivan for Patrick Flaherty (59), Joe Murnane for Richard Gentleman (60), Pat Deenihan for Colin Harris (64).
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald (0-1), James McCarthy ,Colin Harris, Maurice Murnane (1-3, 0-1 free), Joe Murnane, Ollie Diggin, Shane Brick, Micheal Regan (0-1), Richard Gentleman (0-1), Darren Young (1-0), Tom Murnane (0-1). subs: Sean Maunsell (for Joe Murnane), Christy Walsh(1-0) for Ollie Diggin, Padraig O'Sullivan (for Micheal Regan), Eoin Sheehy (for Colin Harris) Ref: Ger Harrington - Cork
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy (0-1), Colin Harris, Maurice Murnane, Joe Murnane, Patrick Flaherty, Shane Brick, Tom Murnane, Richard Gentleman, Darren Young, Micheal Regan. subs: Sean Griffin (for Brendan Harris), Sean Maunsell (for Patrick Flaherty).
Kilmoyley Team Aidan McCabe, Michael Fitzgerald, Seanie Murnane, James Godley, Niall Young, Declan Ryan, Garvan O'Connor, Edward Fitzgerald, Raymond Young, John Carmody, Jason Harrington, Joseph O'Sullivan, Andy McCarthy, John McCarthy, Jake Doherty. subs : Jason Fealy, Adrian Royle
Kilmoyley Team Aidan McCabe, Declan Ryan, Brendan Harris, Sean Murnane, Padraig Sullivan, Eoin Sheehy, Joseph Sullivan, Edward Fitzgerald, Tom Murnane, Darren Young, Patrick Flaherty, Raymond Young, Kevin McCarthy, John Maunsell, Sean Maunsell. subs : Sean Young (K. McCarthy), Jason Harrington (S Young), John Carmody (R Young)
Kilmoyley Team Aidan McCabe, Declan Ryan, Brendan Harris, Sean Murnane, Kevin McCarthy, Eoin Sheehy, Joseph Sullivan, Padraig Sullivan, Tom Murnane, Darren Young, Patrick Flaherty, Raymond Young, Jason Harrington, John Maunsell, Sean Maunsell. |
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So after twenty minutes the game was still deadlocked, and it was
real edge of the seat stuff at this stage no one could have predicted the final ten
minutes of the half. St. Brendans had a point disallowed for being handpassed, but they
replied immediately with a goal following a poor Kilmoyley clearance. There was a real
sense of excitement in the crowd by now and an upset was certainly on the cards. The lead
was increased following another free and St. Brendans found themselves seven points to the
good after a Kilmoyley defensive error allowed St Brendans corner forward Darren Dineen in
for his second goal. The Kilmoyley of old would certainly have not recovered from such a
battering but John Meyler's men have gained a composure that doesn't see them panic. And
this was vital, for two minutes later, Shane Brick who up to now had been well
marshalled by Eamonn Corridon popped up on the left wing for a great point. This was
followed by a great goal by Maurice Murnane who made a great run from midfield, was given
a pass from brother Tom to blast the ball to the net to leave the halftime score 2-6 to
1-6 in favour of the boys from Ardfert.