Kiladangan drop to Intermediate as Swans survive

Carrick Swan 1-18

Kiladangan 0-17

Kiladangan’s three year stay in second tier of Tipperary club hurling was ended on Saturday as they were defeated by Carrick Swan in the County Premier Intermediate Relegation final in Templetuohy.

The pressure was on both sides, particularly South senior champions Carrick Swan and the prospect of dropping down to the intermediate grade inspired them to deliver their best performance of the county campaign to date.

The Swan also had the outstanding player on the field in Gavin O’Halloran. His total of ten points was hugely significant, three from play, but his overall play was superb, driving the team on and helping to keep the vital momentum going.

After losing a number of close encounters in the group stages, the Swan needed a bright start, and they couldn’t have asked for a quicker one. They won a free from the throw-in and Gavin O’Halloran pointed. Early pressure saw Kevin Lanigan double the lead and even though Shane Gleeson from a free had Kiladangan’s opener in the fourth minute, Swan continued to have the upper hand.

Gavin O’Halloran restored the two-point lead and in the sixth minute the constant Swan pressure was rewarded with a cracking goal. Cory Ryan skinned the Kiladangan defence with a run up the right wing and his inch-perfect pass found the unmarked Dean Waters, who gave Darragh Egan no chance with a blistering shot.

Kiladangan were rattled and weren’t helped when they lost their centre-half back Jonathan Horan to injury. Swan maintained their impetus, tackling and harrying with intensity and were first to nearly every breaking ball, and it was no surprise when they went seven points clear, midway through the half, with two points from Billy Murphy.

Ruairi Gleeson had Kiladangan’s first point from play in the fifteenth minute and Shane Gleeson added another. Aaron Dunne replied for the Carrick side, as the scoring went tit-for-tat over the following ten minutes. Swan points from Danny O’Hanlon and Cory Ryan were matched by two from Ruairi Gleeson before Gleeson’s third in five minutes brought the margin back to five points. The North side might have been closer but for a save from Swan goalkeeper Kieran Lonergan to block a Ciaran Kelly shot, and then at the other end Gavin O’Halloran pointed from play to give Swan a six-point cushion at the break, 1-9 to 0-6.

Two Kiladangan points in the first two minutes of the second half, from a Shane Gleeson free and Neil Cahalan from play, were a warning sign to the Swan. And even when Aaron Dunne had their opener, Kiladangan hit back with four in a row, three Shane Gleeson frees and one from Paddy Coen to make it a single point game, 1-10 to 0-12, eleven minutes into the half.

Gavin O’Halloran, from a 65, had Swan’s second point of the half in the 42nd minute but Shane Gleeson from a tight angle brought it back to the minimum. This was a challenge for a Swan team that had failed to see out any game in the county series to date. But with their senior status on the line, they responded in magnificent fashion - and none more so than Gavin O’Halloran. In the space of four minutes, they emulated Kiladangan with four points without reply, all from O’Halloran.

The equally impressive Ruairi Gleeson stalled the Swan scoring with a point, and when Martin Minehan and Ciaran Kelly added further points, the Swan lead was back to two points again with eight minutes to go.

But again, the Swan rallied to confirm their superiority, and outscored Kiladangan three points to one over the final stretch – full back Stephen Hahessy bursting forward from defence to point in style, followed by a Gavin O’Halloran free and 65, to a solitary reply from Shane Gleeson.

Player of the Match: Gavin O’Halloran (Carrick Swan)

Carrick Swan: Kieran Lonergan (7); Danny Walsh (7), Stephen Hahessy (0-1, 8); Dean Kiely (6), Dale O’Hanlon (6), Scott Hogan (7), Billy Murphy (0-2, 7); Aaron Dunne (0-2, 7); Ryan Waters (6), Eric O’Halloran (6), Kevin Lanigan (0-1, 7); Gavin O’Halloran (0-10, 4f, 3 ‘65s) 9); Dean Waters (1-0, 7); Danny O’Hanlon (0-1, 7), Cory Ryan (0-1, 6).

Subs: Gerry Walsh for R Waters, Jamie Holloway for Lanigan, Shane Torpey for Dale O’Hanlon.

Kiladangan: Darragh Egan (7); Jack McGrath (7), Shane Seymour (7), Darragh Ryan (6), Jim Minehan (6), Jonathan Horan (6), Ronan Ducie (6), DJ McGrath (7), Darragh Flannery (7), Darren Ryan (6), Ruairi Gleeson (0-5, 9); Martin Minehan (0-1, 7); Shane Gleeson (0-8, 5f, 8), Paddy Coen (0-1, 6), Ciaran Kelly (0-1, 6).

Subs: Neil Cahalan (0-1, 7) for J Minehan, Aidan Ryan (6) for Darren Ryan; Paddy Gallagher (6) for Horan, Eoin Meagher (6) for Coen, Eoin Kelly (6) for Ducie.

Referee: Kevin Jordan (Thurles Gaels).