Kiladangan edge feisty Under 21 semi-final

GAA: North Tipperary Under 21 ‘A’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Kiladangan 1-17

Nenagh Eire Og 2-13

Report: Liam Hogan in Nenagh

Two late frees from Shane Gleeson helped Kiladangan come from behind to claim a deserved win over Nenagh Eire Og in a sometimes-feisty North Under 21 ‘A’ Hurling semi-final on Sunday.

Gleeson’s final free in added time was the pressure one. Fifty metres out and very close to the side-line under the covered stand, his shot was accurate as the corner forward brought his tally to an impressive 1-7 on a day better equipped for the fireside. Thankfully, the weather remained dry and fog free as a huge crowd witnessed the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly.

Two players were sent off with Kiladangan’s Conor Culhane the first to go. He was booked firstly in the eleventh minute and three minutes into first half added time he was involved in an altercation with Nenagh’s Sean Moylan. After consulting his umpires, referee Peter Carroll gave the Nenagh man a yellow card as was about to issue a second yellow to Culhane, but the Kiladangan man decided to take matters further when striking out at Moran in front of the referee leaving Carroll with no option but to dismiss the Kiladangan wing forward with a straight red card.

The dismissal occurred at a time when the game threatened to boil over, not helped by a more than sufficient number of mentors and officials, from both sides, entering the fray. There was no need for so many as the referee had the situation under control. As a result, there may be a need for keeping mentors outside the barrier if this trend continues, but thankfully the game settled down for the second half but yet some mentors continued to trawl the field.

Kiladangan played with fourteen men until the 44th minute when Nenagh lost Cian O’Farrell to a second yellow card offence.

Troubles aside, this was a very good game and the effort by the players clearly demonstrated the interest in keeping the under 21 grade alive. There were so many fine individual performances with Jack McGrath, John O’Meara, Darragh Ryan, Stephen Mulvihill and Conor Byrne very prominent for the winners.

Bill Cleary rose to prominence in the second half while Neil Cahalan, Shane Gleeson and Sean Hayes caught the eye up front for the winners. Paul Seymour truly excelled in the Kiladangan goal and his three saves inside thirty seconds, early in the first half was crucial as Nenagh were the better side at that stage.

In front of him, full back DJ McGrath was having a great battle with Nenagh’s ‘Ben West. West was Nenagh’s best forward and potentially the best attacker in the game, but he needed support in the scoring stakes with Aidan O’Connor also catching the eye while Seamus Cottrell came good on the placed ball front while Sean Moylan, Cian O’Farrell, Conor Hennessey, Cian Connolly, Taurai Shayanewako and Sam O’Farrell never gave up in front of Diarmuid McTiernan who had a good game in goal.

Before the game, a minute’s silence was observed for former Kiladangan player Paddy Coen who died two weeks ago.

The game began in whirlwind fashion as Conor Byrne’s free after forty seconds had Kiladangan in front before Seamus Cottrell equalised in similar fashion. After Ben West gave Nenagh the lead, the home-side had Kiladangan in trouble, but Paul Seymour stood firm, making three great saves, the final one yielding a 65 which Cottrell converted. A quick response from Neil Cahalan left the minimum between the teams but Nenagh had the upper hand in terms of scoring chances as Cottrell (free) and Aidan O’Connor from play had the Blues two in front after nine minutes.

Conor Byrne replied with a free and seconds later Kiladangan enjoyed a stroke of luck when Shane Gleeson availed of a defensive blunder in the Nenagh goal area before steering home. The goal appeared to give the holders a sense of confidence and they began to find the target as Byrne with a side-line ball, Sean Hayes from play and Byrne from a free had the margin out to four after eighteen minutes.

Throughout the next eight minutes the teams went score for score, commencing with a Conor Hennessy ninety metre free before Shane Gleeson replied likewise from a very acute angle. Neither side gave much away as the point-for-point tango continued with Ben West scoring two, either side of a second Gleeson free to leave the sides level at 1.8 apiece

The scoreline remained the same as the half hour passed and with both defences holding the firm the game stopped in the third minute due to an altercation which resulted in Conor Culhane’s dismissal. When play resumed, the action continued for another three minutes before Nenagh capitalised on loose marking by the Kiladangan rear-guard, leaving Seamus Cottrell to find an unmarked Aidan O’Connor inside the cover before giving Paul Seymour no chance. It was level terms at the break, 1-8 each.

There was no let up once the second half began as Sam Farrell’s point had Nenagh in front before Sean Hayes levelled. Hayes won a free in the next attack which allowed Shane Gleeson to convert, with the same player adding a point from play as Kiladangan began to build a lead which was enhanced by further scores from Neil Cahalan and Bill Cleary. At the other end, Cottrell reduced the margin to three before Gleeson replied with a similar score to make it 1-14 to 1-10 with twenty minutes remaining.

Another Cottrell free reduced the deficit but Nenagh’s problems increased when losing Cian O’Farrell to a second yellow card in the 44th minute. When play resumed, Stephen Mulvihill had Kiladangan four in front and the lead might have increased had Shane Gleeson made good of a goal chance, but Dermot McTiernan did well to save. A goal at that stage would have sent the Nenagh packing but instead they responded very well thanks to two unanswered frees by Cottrell in the 53rd & 56th minutes.

Two minutes later, Ben West fired home a goal when meeting the rebound after a splendid Seymour save from Jack McLoughlin. Nenagh were in front, and it seemed to be the right time to take the lead, but Kiladangan fought back, and Shane Gleeson had them level with a close range free a minute from time.

It was a nail-biting finish, and sub Darragh Tucker almost scored a goal with his first touch before one more Shane Gleeson free proved to be the winner for the holders who take on Borris-Ileigh in the final next Saturday.

Player of the Match: Paul Seymour (Kiladangan)

Kiladangan: Paul Seymour (8); Cian Ryan (7), D J McGrath (7), Jack McGrath (7); Darragh Ryan (7), John O’Meara (7), Stephen Mulvihill (0-1, 7); Conor Byrne (0-4, 2f, 1 s-cut) 7), Darragh Butler (6); Conor Culhane (6), Bill Cleary (0-1, 7), Aidan Ryan (6); Niall Cahalan (0-2, 7), Sean Hayes (0-2, 7), Shane Gleeson (1-7, 0-6f, 7).

Subs: Darragh Tucker (n/r) for A Ryan (56); Ryan Gillick (n/r) for Mulvihill (63).

Nenagh Eire Og: Diarmuid McTiernan (7); Billy Moran (7), Liam Heffernan (7), Sean Moylan (7); Cian O’Farrell (7), Conor Hennessy (0-1f, 7), Cian Connolly (7); Taurai Shayanewako (7), Sam O’Farrell (0-1, 7); Seamus Cottrell (0-7, 6f, 1 65) 7), Brendan Long (6), Philip McIntyre (6); Aidan O’Connor (1-1, 7), Ben West (1-3, 8), Sean Phelan (6).

Subs: Mason Cawley (6) for Long (30); Jack McLoughlin (6) for McIntyre (47); John O’Reilly (n/r) for Moran (56).

Referee: Peter Carroll (Burgess).