Martin Comerford
KILKENNY SHC FINAL
O'Loughlin Gaels 0-19 Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-12
O’Loughlin Gaels came strong in the second-half to defeat Ballyhale Shamrocks and win their fourth Kilkenny senior hurling title at Nowlan Park today.
It was a victory built on the foundations of a very solid defence as they limited the influence of players like Henry Shefflin and Colin Fennelly and held Shamrocks scoreless for the final 10 minutes of the match.
There was little between the teams in a tight and tense first-half with a TJ Reid goal helping the Shamrocks into a 1-7 to 0-8 half-time lead.
The Gaels grew stronger the longer the second-half progressed, and three frees in a row from Mark Bergin saw them draw level – 1-10 to 0-13 by the 38th minute.
The teams were level again on two subsequent occasions, but when Gaels substitute Sean Bolger edged his team 0-17 to 1-12 ahead they never looked back and finished with a real flourish.
CLARE SHC FINAL REPLAY
Ballyea 2-14 Clonlara 1-14
Ballyea created history today by winning the club’s first ever Clare Senior Hurling Championship.
Just like the drawn match, there was little between them and Clonlara for most of the contest, but Ballea found a finishing kick when it was needed most.
They had heroes in the shape of Clare county footballer, Gary Brennan, and Niall Deasy, who both scored first-half goals.
That gave Ballyea a 2-5 to 0-8 half-time lead, but Clonlara struck back in the second-half with a goal from John Conlon levelling the game.
The teams were level on two more occasions in the second-half, but Ballyea came on strong in the closing minutes as points from Niall Deasy, Damien Burke, and Tony Kelly clinched a famous victory.
MAYO SHC FINAL REPLAY
Ballyhaunis 2-13 Tooreen 1-13
Keith Higgins was the game-winner for Ballyhaunis as he scored an impressive 1-9 in a man of the match performance.
Just like the drawn game, there was little between the teams, but it looked like Tooreen might edge it when they led by two points with five minutes left.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, as Higgins scored a late goal that won Ballhaunis their third consecutive club title and third consecutive final win over Tooreen.
