Champions Ballyhale avert shock as they finally hit top gear

FIVE minutes into the second-half of the second Kilkenny SHC semi-final in yesterday’s double-header at Nowlan Park, it looked like a shock (pardon the pun) was on the cards as Carrickshock took a surprise if well-merited one-point lead.

However, far from giving the underdogs the boost they’d need to drive on, it seemed to leave them transfixed, while the champions suddenly became transformed.

Where heretofore Ballyhale had appeared lethargic, now they came alive. Inspired by the Reid brothers TJ and Eoin up front, with county stars Cha Fitzpatrick and Henry Shefflin displaying their unquestionable class, Michael Fennelly heroic, a dominant defence anchored by Eamonn Walsh and Aidan Cummins, they went on the rampage.