Late McEvoy winner as Gaels stun Shamrocks

FIVE turned out to be an unlucky number in Kilkenny again as reigning champions Ballyhale Shamrocks were dumped out of the championship courtesy of a late goal by Niall McEvoy in a thrilling second semi-final at Nowlan Park yesterday.

Four-in-a-row was the record held jointly by this Ballyhale team and a Carrickshock combination of the 1940s. But five proved one too many and it must have been with a sense of déjà vu that Ballyhale players James Cha Fitzpatrick, TJ and Eoin Reid, Michael Fennelly and Henry Shefflin (on crutches on the sideline) saw this particular drive for five crash in the closing moments.

But no one can say it was an undeserved victory for O’Loughlin Gaels. They hurled well throughout, absorbed the concession of some psychologically damaging goals, and still managed to come out on top and halt history in its tracks again. When O’Loughlin Gaels look back on this game the critical contributions of midfielder Maurice Nolan and corner-forward Danny Loughnane will be the abiding images. Perhaps not as lauded as some of the other giants that stepped onto this field yesterday but Nolan with a five-star midfield performance (including four points from play) and Loughnane playing what many observers said was his greatest ever game for the Gaels, more than punched their weight.