The senior club hurling semi-final between Ballyhale Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels last weekend left the ‘Gaels men disappointed as the Shamrocks pushed forward into the final against James Stephens.
After a very interesting and exciting senior championship so far, this match was a disappointment. Instead of witnessing the fury and passion that we have seen in other games this year, this match was more of a slow burner with the ‘Gaels men throwing in the towel in the closing minutes of the game.
In the opening minutes Paul Kelly scored the first point of the game for O’Loughlin’s after a pass from Martin Comerford and it looked as though the O’Loughlin’s side were very sharp. That was quickly followed by another pointed free taken by Mark Bergin.
However, the Shamrocks were not asleep and after five minutes of play, they broke through the O’Loughlin’s defence and TJ Reid managed to put Shamrocks on the scoreboard with a soft goal through the legs of keeper Ollie Blanchfield, completely nullifying the great start O’Loughlin’s had.
Mark Bergin stepped up and scored a great point keeping hopes high.
However, the mighty Shamrocks proved why they were favourites as Mark Aylward and Shefflin scored two successive goals. The goals displayed cracks in the O’Loughlin’s defence and the strength and speed of the Shamrocks forwards who now looked every bit the champions they are.
They went on to score two more points, making the score 3-3 to 0-3 after 17 minutes of play.
What followed was a fairly dull five minute period in which both teams seemed to slow down gears. Mark Bergin converted two frees and both Shefflin and TJ Reid put two points over the bar.
However, in the last seven minutes of the first half O’Loughlin’s came back into the game and managed to get within four points of the leaders before the short whistle.
Peter Dowling scored a magnificent goal from just inside the posts after an inspirational run by Brian Dowling. Brian Hogan and substitute Mark Kelly both put two classic points over the bar.
At the half time whistle, O’Loughlin’s had done most of the hurling and had really kept the Shamrocks at bay.
However by using Paul Kelly as an extra mid-fielder O’Loughlin’s reduced their scoring power, and the result was a lot of missed chances and a lot of pressure on their backs.
The score at half time was Shamrocks 3-5, O’Loughlin’s 1-7.
The restart began with a point from both sides and even after three minutes, it was clear that the O’Loughlin’s side was becoming unsettled.
Compared to the Shamrocks team who had not even hit second gear but were still accurate with their passing and winning most of their possession from the puck-outs, O’Loughlin’s were scrappy and made bad choices.
The first 20 minutes saw both teams put points over the bar. O’Loughlin’s gathered themselves once again and got within three points of the leaders.
Then, just as the game looked close, Shamrocks once again stepped things up a notch. Shefflin and Michael Fennelly scored two points and Brendan Costelloe put the ball in the back of the net after a rebounded shot from the goalkeeper.
Shefflin, now playing at full forward, put another two points over.
Both Martin Comerford and Peter Dowling stepped up again, Martin scored a point from the left hand side of the pitch and Peter added another great goal to his tally from in front of the posts. But in general, the game, at this stage, had died and O’Loughlin’s slowed their pace and dropped out of the game in the final minutes allowing Shamrocks another fairly uncontested goal. The final score was 5-16 to 2-12 to the reigning champions.
Whilst O’Loughlin’s gave a good performance, the Shamrocks never even got into gear. The ‘Gaels made simple mistakes which kept them at a distance from the clean cut and clever Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Teams:
Ballyhale Shamrocks: James Connolly, Alan Cuddihy, Aidan Cummins, Tom Coogan, Paul Shefllin, Eamonn Walsh, Bob Aylward, David Hoyne, Michael Fennelly, TJ Reid, Henry Shefflin, Colin Fennlly, Patrick Reid, Eoin Mark Alyward. Sub used: Bernard Costello.
O’Loughlin Gaels: Ollie Blanchfield, Brian Kelly, Andy Kearns, Eddie Kearns, Alan O’Brien, Brian Hogan, Niall McEvoy, Brian Dowling, Alan Geoghegan, Danny Loughnane, Peter Dowling, Mark Bergin, Paul Kelly, Martin Comerford, Maurice Nolan. Subs used: Sean Dowling, Mark Kelly, Niall Bergin.
