Defeat by Kilshannig spells end of the road for Fethard

Kilshannig 0-18 Fethard 1-12

Cork’s Kilshannig produced a barnstorming second half performance on Saturday afternoon to bring the curtain down on Fethard’s AIB Munster Club Junior Hurling Championship campaign.

The Avondhu outfit rattled off eight points without reply to turn this semi-final on its head, leaving a very committed but at times wasteful Fethard to ponder what might have been.

The Barrack Field in Fethard was well and truly bursting at the seams and brimming with anticipation for what was easily its biggest home match in decades, with the Fethard GAA club pulling out all the stops as outstanding hosts. The anticipation was met with tremendous effort from the home team, who seized the initiative early on to race into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after ten minutes.

Key man Danny Barry had successful frees either side of points from Ryan Walsh and Matt Coen. Kilshannig’s sole response was a free from Paddy Walsh. Jack Quinlan, Charlie Walsh and Noah O’Flynn were commanding in defence right from the throw-in, aggressive in the tackle and forcing Kilshannig into wayward shooting.

The breeze into the Rocklow Road goal was stiff throughout and highly favourable, with puckouts continually landing on the twenty-metre line. The wise old sages in the stand speculated it being at least a six or seven-point advantage. After fifteen minutes Matt Coen raced through and flicked home a brilliant rebound goal to reinforce the theory. Coen’s tussle with full back Colm O’Shea was the battle of the day, with no quarter asked or given between the pair.

Unfortunately, the Tipperary champions went a full fifteen minutes without raising another flag, and during that window Kilshannig’s Paddy Walsh put three frees over the bar, with two more going close. Instead of building on their lead Fethard were clinging onto it, and needed midfielder Joedy Sheehan’s injury-time point to send the teams to the dressing rooms on a half-time score of Fethard 1-6 Kilshannig 0-4.

KIlshanning looked like a team reborn on resumption. Paddy Walsh continued to carry the fight to the Fethard men with four points in-a-row in the second half’s opening minutes. Danny Barry replied with a free for Fethard, once again finding the range after failing from a couple before half-time.

Walsh’s scores by now had sprung his fellow players to life and Jack Twomey powered into the game, scoring two in as many minutes. Substitute Eamon O’Hanlon, a towering presence in the half-forward line, fired over moments later as Kilshannig mounted attack after attack.

Twomey then levelled in the 43rd minute, having gathered position in front of two Fethard defenders. Kilshannig were running riot up top as the game entered the final fifteen minutes, the Twomey and Walsh combo scoring at will. Walsh had two more successive points to propel Kilshannig two clear, but an inspirational score from the touchline by Danny Barry breathed fresh life into the “Blues”.

Barry added another free a minute later when Mark Neville was hauled down but the final ten minutes belonged to Kilshannig, who closed it out with three from the Twomey brothers (two from Jack), and a massive, long-ranger from centre back Bill Curtin.

Fethard substitute Jack Davey pointed, but it was immediately cancelled out by a great team score that was sent over the bar by the impressive Andy Hourigan. Mark Neville and Danny Barry made it a one-score game at the death, but Kilshannig held firm and they march on to the final against Caherline of Limerick on November 28.

The tale of the tape points to two major factors in this game: the north Cork men’s better use of the breeze and, just as in the first half, Fethard going almost 17 minutes without a score.

Notwithstanding their difficulty in finding scores, Fethard battled admirably throughout and had a big say in this competition. For them, unfortunately, the result did not match the occasion, but the Fethard faithful can look back with immense pride on a historic year, one that saw the club end a 76-year wait for hurling county final glory.

Kilshannig: David Kearney, Conor Murphy, Colm O’Shea, Eoghan Burke, Kieran Twomey (0-1), Bill Curtin (0-1), Darragh O’Sullivan, Andy Hourigan (0-1), David Guiney, Colin Ruby, Tom Cunningham, Jack Twomey (0-4), Ryan Croweley, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Paddy Walsh (0-10 7f).

Subs: Damien Murphy for David Guiney (half-time), Eanna O’Hanlon (0-1) for Colin Ruby (half-time), Shane Lyons for Ryan Crowley (54 mins).

Fethard: Brian Delahunty, Rory O’Mahony, Darragh Spillane, Liam Kiely, Jack Quinlan, Noah O’Flynn, Charlie Walsh, Joedy Sheehan (0-1), Luke Lacey, Conor Neville, Ryan Walsh (0-1), Mark Neville (0-2), Gavin Neville, Matt Coen (1-1), Danny Barry (0-6 5f).

Subs: Micheál Quinlan for Luke Lacey (45 mins), Keenan Ahearne for Gavin Neville (54 mins), Sam Coen for Ryan Walsh (injured, 55 mins), Jack Davey (0-1) for Micheal Quinlan (injured 58 mins).

Referee: Eoghan O’Leary (Clare).