Kiladangan withstand Roscrea rally to open championship with hard-earned win

FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship - Group 3 - Round 1

Kiladangan 2-23

Roscrea 0-21

2023 county champions Kiladangan survived a spirited second-half comeback from Roscrea to claim a hard-earned 2-23 to 0-21 victory in the opening round of Group 3 of the FBD Insurance County Senior Hurling Championship at Cloughjordan on Saturday evening.

The Puckane men looked to be cruising after a dominant opening half, making full use of a gale-force breeze to establish a commanding 1-18 to 0-9 interval lead. Billy Seymour was in outstanding scoring form throughout, finishing the afternoon with a personal tally of 0-9.

However, Roscrea produced a superb response after the restart. With the elements at their backs, they cut the deficit to just three points by the end of normal time before Kiladangan found another gear in stoppage time, finishing with an unanswered 1-2 to secure the two points.

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The opening exchanges were evenly contested, with the sides level at 0-3 apiece after five minutes. Lee Loughnane struck twice alongside a point from Jack Lee for Roscrea, while Sean Hayes, Billy Seymour and Tadhg Gallagher replied for Kiladangan.

With the strong wind proving a significant advantage, Kiladangan soon began to take control and looked content to shoot from distance. Seymour, Brian McLoughney and Darragh O'Dwyer all found the target to open daylight between the sides, although Shane Fletcher and Luke Cashin kept Roscrea in touch from placed balls.

Further scores from Alan Flynn, Gallagher and Seymour stretched the advantage before the game's first decisive moment arrived on the quarter-hour mark. Seymour split the Roscrea defence with a perfectly weighted pass for McLoughney, who finished clinically to the net and extended Kiladangan's lead to 1-9 to 0-6.

Kiladangan dominated the remainder of the half, outscoring their opponents 0-9 to 0-3. Seymour continued to dictate proceedings with four more points, while Willie Connors, Hayes, Gallagher and O'Dwyer also raised white flags.

Roscrea remained heavily reliant on the accuracy of Luke Cashin, who added two frees, while Evan Fitzpatrick chipped in with a point, but they still trailed 1-18 to 0-9 at the interval.

Given they now had the aid of the breeze, Roscrea's task was far from impossible and they resumed with five unanswered points through Shane Fletcher, Darragh Tynan, Evan Fitzpatrick and two booming efforts from Alan Tynan to breathe fresh life into the contest.

Darren Moran finally ended Kiladangan's lengthy scoring drought in the 41st minute, but Roscrea continued to pile on the pressure. Fletcher and two more Cashin frees narrowed the gap further before Seymour and McLoughney briefly steadied Kiladangan with important scores of their own to leave it 1-21 to 0-17 entering the closing stages.

The gauntlet was thrown down by Roscrea, who refused to go away. Four unanswered points, including three from the outstanding Cashin, reduced the deficit to just three points at 1-21 to 0-21 as normal time expired and set up a grandstand finish. A lengthy stoppage for a head injury, however, halted Roscrea's momentum at a crucial stage.

When the pressure came on, Kiladangan showed their experience. Seymour landed two invaluable points before Sean Hayes sealed victory with a goal deep into stoppage time as the 2023 county champions began their championship campaign with a deserved victory despite Roscrea's brave second-half fightback.

This was a solid opening-round victory for Kiladangan, who looked every bit the finished article during a dominant first-half display before showing the composure required to weather Roscrea's comeback.

Billy Seymour was their standout performer, but he was well supported by Brian McLoughney, Sean Hayes, Darren Moran, David Sweeney and Tadhg Gallagher, all of whom made significant contributions.

Roscrea, meanwhile, will take plenty of encouragement despite the defeat. Their second-half display showed the character within the side and, had they converted that pressure into goals, the outcome may well have been different.

Luke Cashin was outstanding with nine points, while Alan Tynan, Shane Fletcher, Lee Loughnane and Evan Fitzpatrick also impressed in a performance that deserved more than defeat.

Scorers: Kiladangan: Billy Seymour (0-9, 0-4f), Sean Hayes 1-4, Bryan McLoughney 1-2, Tadhg Gallagher 0-3, Dara O’Dwyer, Alan Flynn, Darren Moran, Willie Connors all 0-1 each.

Roscrea: Luke Cashin (0-9, 0-4f), Shane Fletcher 0-4f, Alan Tynan, Leigh Loughnane, Evan Fitzpatrick all 0-2 each, Darragh Tynan, Jack Lee 0-1.

Kiladangan: Barry Hogan; Darragh Flannery, David Sweeney, Johnny Horan; Darren Moran, Alan Flynn, Dan O'Meara; Dara O'Dwyer, Tadhg Gallagher; Willie Connors, Sean Hayes, Conor Byrne; Bryan McLoughney, Joe Gallagher, Billy Seymour.

Subs used: Paul Flynn for Johnny Horan (45); Tom Boland for McLoughney (59); Neil Cahalan for Byrne (59).

Roscrea: Enda Moloney; Conor Booth, Michael Campion, Aidan Booth; Darragh Tynan, Conor Phelan, Conor Sheedy; Alan Tynan, Dan Ryan; Lee Loughnane, Evan Fitzpatrick, Luke Cashin; Shane Fletcher, Conor Dooley, Jack Lee.

Subs used: Glenn Loughnane for Conor Phelan (37); Sam Dooley for Jack Lee (43).

Referee: Conor Doyle (Silvermines)

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