Talented Drom & Inch prove too good for Kiladangan in county minor A hurling final
A talented Drom & Inch side proved much too good for North champions Kiladangan as they claimed their second ever FBD Insurance County Minor A Hurling Championship title and their first since 1998 following a one-sided contest played at a wet Templederry last Saturday afternoon.
FBD Insurance County Minor A
Hurling Championship Final
Drom & Inch 1-22 Kiladangan 1-7
Blessed with plenty of talent - including three players on this year’s Tipperary minor team and one from the 2018 side - it was a powerful second quarter which helped the Mid champions to put daylight between the teams.
Trailing by two points after twenty minutes Drom & Inch scored eight unanswered points during that second quarter which helped them to secure a 0-11 to 0-5 half-time lead.
That breathing space helped the Mid men to stay clear of any threat from Kiladangan during the third quarter and once Jimmy Mullen scored a goal in the 50th minute there was never any doubt about the destination of the title.
There was no stopping the Drom & Inch attack where Tony Cahill produced a man of the match performance with seven points from play. Paudie Kinnane chipped in with two more points while John Campion excelled at midfield and combined well with his partner Darragh Kennedy who finished joint top scorer along with Cahill including five points from placed balls.
The Drom & Inch defence was rock solid with their team captain, Fintan Purcell, using all of the experience gained from his journey with last year’s Tipp minor team.
Lorcan Campion was a classy full-back while the remainder of the Drom & Inch defence covered themselves with glory in reducing the Kiladangan attack to just 1-2 from play. Indeed, Colm Callanan made a string of good saves in the Drom goal.
OPENING POINT
It was John Campion’s opening point after fifty seconds that set the ball rolling. Paudie Kinnane was the main target at right corner-forward, but for the moment the Kiladangan defence coped well thanks to the work of John O’Meara, Conor Culhane and Conor Byrne and by the sixth minute Shane Gleeson had levelled the game with a free.
With heavy rain falling throughout much of the opening minutes the potential to score was reduced, but Darragh Kennedy landed a '65 to give Drom the lead after eleven minutes. Five minutes later Sean Hayes levelled when his first time ground shot from fourteen metres whizzed over the bar after the Drom defence looked uneasy under pressure.
A Shane Gleeson free in the 17th minute gave Kiladangan the lead, but Tony Cahill levelled a minute later. From there Kiladangan began to display their worth with the North champions throwing the ball around with confidence as Paul Seymour and Darragh Butler scored a point each.
But then the wheels began to fall off the wagon as Drom appeared to have found a higher gear with Lorcan Campion and Fintan Purcell in charge at the hearth of their defence and up front the forwards combined to score eight points unanswered points in as many minutes - the first came from Paudie Kinnane followed by one from Jack Lillis before Darragh Kennedy gave the Mid side the lead with a free.
Further scores arrived through Tony Cahill, Kinnane, Ben Stapleton and Cahill found space to record two more scores which increased the lead to five before Cahill scored his third approaching half-time (0-11 to 0-5).
NO LET UP
There was no let up from the Mid men AT the commencement of the second half as Darragh Kennedy stretched the lead with a free before Brian Moore became Drom’s fifth forward to score following a fine pass from John Campion.
Shane Gleeson replied with a '65 in the 37th minute ending a sixteen-minute spell without a score for the North men, but Darragh Kennedy replied with a free a minute later. Kiladangan’s accuracy let them down on occasion, but Gleeson made amends with a free in the 45th minute.
That strike would represent Kiladangan’s last score for some time and Drom & Inch continued to make hay and three more unanswered points, which arrived courtesy of Cahill and Kennedy (two), had the Mid champions within sight of the finish line.
As if a ten-point lead was not enough, Drom pressed on again when a move commenced by James Kennedy in his own half led to continued support by Darragh Kennedy and John Campion before Jimmy Mullen put the ball in the Kiladangan net.
Kiladangan refused to give in and in one of their late attacks they saw Drom goalkeeper Colm Callanan deny Sean Hayes at the expense of a '65. Gleeson’s effort dropped short and Drom cleared before two more Cahill points stretched the margin to fifteen with six minutes on the clock. Seconds later Darragh Kennedy and wing-back Mike Fitzpatrick added more scores, but despite the deficit Kiladangan had their moment when Conor Culhane was in the right place to steer home a goal which put a better picture on the scoreboard.
It was all over bar the shouting at this stage as Drom & Inch were about to end a twenty-one year spell without the title which was sealed by an injury time score from Ben Stapleton.
MATCH DETAILS
Drom & Inch: Colm Callanan, James Kennedy, Lorcan Campion, Andy Mullen, Jack Ryan, Fintan Purcell, Mike Fitzpatrick (0-1), John Campion (0-1), Darragh Kennedy (0-7, 0-5 frees), Jimmy Mullen (1-0), Ben Stapleton (0-2), Brian Moore (0-1), Paudie Kinnane (0-2), Tony Cahill (0-7), Jack Lillis (0-1). Subs: Paul Mullen for J Ryan (7th), Diarmuid Brennan for Lillis (h/t), Ethan Blake for J Kennedy (58th), Donnacha Barry for P Kinnane (58th).
Kiladangan: Niall Cahalan, Stephen Mulvihill, Cathal Ryan, Jack McGrath, Darragh Ryan, John O’Meara, Conor Culhane (1-0), Conor Byrne, Darragh Butler (0-1), Aodhan Ryan, Eoin McGrath, Shane Gleeson (0-4, 0-3 frees, 0-1 '65), DJ McGrath, Sean Hayes (0-1), Paul Seymour (0-1). Subs: Mathew O’Gorman for A Ryan (50th).
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Newcastle).