Late flurry sees Kiladangan to victory

GAA: FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship Group 4

Kiladangan 1-18

Éire Óg Annacarty 0-9

Report: Michael Brophy in Dolla

Kiladangan dug deep in the last ten minutes to pull clear of Éire Óg Annacarty on Saturday evening and secure the first win by any team in Group 4 of the County Senior Hurling Championship so far.

The North side led 0-12 to 0-9 as late as the 53rd minute when Bryan McLoughney scored the first of an unanswered closing 1-6, in a clash played in squally showers throughout.

Éire Óg had closed the gap to one point in the 40th minute, but erratic shooting meant they couldn’t draw level and the West side closed with nine second half wides.

Starting with twelve wides of their own in the first half, Kiladangan’s inaccuracy slowly disappeared during the second, and manager Darragh Egan will be pleased with the manner they picked off their scores down the closing stretch.

He’s also slowly reassembling his key forces. Willie Connors, starting first championship game of the season, was instrumental in Kiladangan’s dominant closing act but did hobble off with an injury before the final whistle. Meanwhile, Sean Hayes returned to the forward line while the returning Declan McGrath entered the fray after twenty minutes for the injured Jack Loughnane.

Kiladangan could have put this game out of reach in the first fifteen minutes, scoring the first four points but also hitting a string of poor wides. Sean Hayes scored two of his three-point tally in that period, with Alan Flynn also striking over from long range after a quickly taken side-line ball.

Éire Óg’s confidence grew after an inspirational opening score from Conor O’Brien. The always energetic Daniel Kelly scored one either side of another Alan Flynn point to close the gap to two.

It was Kiladangan that always had the greater striking options in attack, however. Bryan McLoughney and Willie Connors each picked off scores from narrow angles, while Paul Flynn scored his first of the game. Two Aidan Griffin frees kept Éire Óg in touch at the interval (0-8 to 0-5).

Kiladangan spurned two good goal chances after the break, with McLoughney denied by the post and Paul Flynn by Daragh Mooney. Billy Seymour widened the gap to four, but Éire Óg had the better of the next ten minutes without showing sufficient reward on the scoreboard.

Paudie Bradshaw, Aidan Griffin and a long range free from Mooney closed the gap to one, but they would only score once more in the last twenty minutes before the half time whistle was blown.

Kiladangan’s ball wasn’t sticking in the forward line for long periods, but their dogged work rate eventually paid off. Willie Connor punished an Éire Óg turnover to point his second and that was quickly followed by Tadhg Gallagher’s first. The West side were struggling to stem the tide with Mooney saving a powerful low shot from Sean Hayes.

But Kiladangan’s attacking class eventually prevailed in the last ten minutes, with Connors and Paul Flynn the key driving forces from the half-forward line. Connors controlled exquisitely to set up McLoughney for his third point, and Tadhg Gallagher powered through the middle third to pick off another score. The gap was extended to six points in the 55th minute when Paul Flynn scored from long range.

Flynn set up Joe Gallagher for two more quick-fire points, before a rapid passing move set up the only goal of the game in the last minute of normal time. Connors and Tom O’Meara linked up before finding Bryan McLoughney, who finished low past Darragh Mooney.

While Kiladangan’s attack shone intermittently, their defence was robust throughout and didn’t yield a notable goalscoring chance to Éire Óg. Conceding just 0-27 across over 120 minutes of hurling so far, the North side has a strong foundation on which to build their effort to reclaim the Dan Breen Cup.

Player of the Match: James Quigley (Kiladangan)

Kiladangan: Barry Hogan (7); Fergal Hayes (7), James Quigley (8), John O’Meara (8); Darren Moran (6), Alan Flynn (0-2, 8), David Sweeney (6); Jack Loughnane (6), Tadgh Gallagher (0-2, 7); Sean Hayes (0-3, 7), Joe Gallagher (0-3, 7), Willie Connors (0-2, 8); Billy Seymour (0-1, 6), Paul Flynn (0-2, 8), Bryan McLoughney (1-3, 0-1f) 8).

Subs: Declan McGrath (7) for Loughnane (20); Tom O’Meara (6) for Seymour (44); Dan O’Meara (NR) for Moran (57); Conor Byrne (NR) for Connors (60+1).

Éire Óg Annacarty: Daragh Mooney (0-1f, 8); Paul Downey (7), David Fox (6), Mickey Bradshaw (7); Brian Fox (6), Conor O’Brien (0-1, 8), Tom Fox (7), Paul Devlin (6); Daniel Kelly (0-2, 8), Seanie Ryan (6); Paudie Bradshaw (0-1, 7), Donal O’Dwyer (6), Cian Mooney (6); Dinny Crosse (6), Aidan Griffin (0-3, 2f, 7).

Subs: Kevin Fox (0-1, 7) for C Mooney (37); Paidi O’Dwyer (6) for Crosse (45); Pat Aherne (NR) for Kelly (57); Connie Bradshaw (NR) for Griffin (57).

Referee: Joe Leahy (Moyne-Templetuohy)