Kiladangan 1-21 Kilruane MacDonaghs 2-18
Wilie Cleary is apparently partial to throwing a few darts - and he hit the bullseye to earn Kilruane MacDonaghs a replay in the Tipperary SHC final.
Having led for most of the match, Kilruane fell two behind in the last 10 minutes only to move one ahead in injury time though two quickfire scores from Kiladangan left them chasing an equaliser with time almost up.
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But former Tipperary forward Seamus Hennessy forced a free for Cleary to slot over the leveller from some 50 metres in the fifth minute of added time, ensuring another day out next weekend.
“The boys tell me he throws darts every second night, he is a very good dart thrower,” explained Kilruane manager Liam O’Kelly. “I have had huge confidence in him for the past two years and he has been our go to man in those two years.”
The long-serving Hennessy, who has an unfortunate history with injury, had been deployed in something of a Peter Canavan-type role having been withdrawn in the first half and then reintroduced in the final quarter.
“I wanted to start Seamus,” said O’Kelly. “A county final and who bigger to go to and be a leader than Seamus. He did 20 minutes and had a good input, made the first score.
“I pulled him after 20 minutes and brought him back on for the last 20 and he won the free, Willie put the ball over the bar and it was history after that.”
Kilruane, appearing in their first final since 1986, for the most part made light of their inexperience against a Kiladangan side that were champions two years ago and in the final the year before that too.
They weren’t led until the 52nd minute with Jerome Cahill’s superbly taken 16th minute goal, after he was picked out by Niall O’Meara, giving them a buffer from there to half-time, by which time they led 1-9 to 0-9.
They could have pushed it out to five in the 41st minute though Thomas Cleary was cynically dragged back by David Sweeney with a goal on - a pointed free was the eventual outcome - and when Bryan McLoughney flashed over three points for Kiladangan the sides were suddenly level.
But O’Meara and Cahill linked up brilliantly again, the latter finishing his second goal with even more aplomb than his first to put Kilruane back in control.
Kiladangan went in front for the first time in the 52nd minute, however, as Aaron Morgan spilled possession coming out of defence, allowing Paul Flynn to whip the loose ball to the net.
MacDonaghs were dithering while the favourites’ experience was starting to show but in a frenetic closing few minutes, the lead changed hands twice more, with Kiladangan seemingly robbed of the opportunity to kill the game after Willie Connors’s hurley was pulled by Sean McAdams with only the goalkeeper to beat.
A pointed free from McLoughney was the eventual outcome in what Kilruane would probably cite as poetic justice following the Cleary and Sweeney incident earlier in the half.
They could have cried foul over a McLoughney point in the 49th minute that appeared to sail wide but O’Kelly wasn’t going there afterwards.
“I don’t have a view on it, it is done, over with so we move on,” he said. “I am not going to cry over spilt milk, I don’t operate that way. I respect Kiladangan, they are a quality side.”
Kiladangan selector Sean O’Meara admitted that his side had looked nervous.
“What it’s from, I don’t know,” he said. “There was a huge momentum behind Kilruane this week, whether that had an effect on them or what, I don’t know but we were a little bit nervy.
“We dropped a lot of ball, stuff that we would normally have a straight ball into the hand and gone, we fumbled it.
“It’s not just that we were poor on the ball, it’s pure workrate from Kilruane and they deserve great credit for it.”
Underdogs rarely win replays but O’Kelly wasn’t indulging that, pointing to life’s unpredictability and the tragedy of Dillon Quirke earlier in the campaign, when the Tipperary star lost his life after collapsing while in action for Clonoulty-Rossmore against Kilruane in August.
“You can ask me that next week. I can’t comment on that as it is unknown territory for me. There is no rulebook on how to deal with that.
“I commented on that before in relation to our good friend, we all wore black armbands today in recognition of Dillon Quirke with the number 11 on it.
“There was no rulebook in how to deal with Dillon Quirke and there is no rulebook for today but by God we’ll come back fighting next week, there is no doubt about that.”
KILADANGAN: Barry Hogan; David Sweeney, James Quigley, Darren Moran; John O’Meara, Alan Flynn (0-1), Declan McGrath (0-2); Tadhg Gallagher (0-1), Tom O’Meara; Joe Gallagher (0-1), Sean Hayes, Paul Flynn (1-4); Bryan McLoughney (0-10, 0-8f), Billy Seymour, Willie Connors (0-2).
Subs: Dan O’Meara for Seymour (28), Darragh Flannery for Moran (35), Jack Loughnane for Tom O’Meara (46), Darragh Butler for John O’Meara (57).
KILRUANE MACDONAGHS: Paidi Williams; Aaron Morgan, Jack Peters, Eoin Hogan; Niall O’Meara (0-2), James Cleary, Kieran Cahill; Sean McAdams (0-1), Mark O’Neill (0-1); Willie Cleary (0-10, 0-9f), Seamus Hennessy, Cian Darcy (0-2); Thomas Cleary (0-2), Jerome Cahill (2-0), Kian O’Kelly.
Subs: Conor Cleary for Hennessy (21), Conor Austin for O’Kelly (30+2), O’Kelly for Conor Cleary (41), Hennessy for O’Neill (48).
REFEREE: Kevin Jordan (Thurles Gaels).
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