Shefflin tips the balance

Ballyhale Shamrocks 0-21 Kilcormac-Killoughey 1-14

Can Kilkenny hurling supporters really take another retirement? It was a thought that lingered throughout a rumbustious second half in Portlaoise that contained a bit of everything; silk, steel, quality and calamity.

Ironically, the player whose name was on everyone’s lips with that giant retirement question mark hanging over his head, Henry Shefflin, was the one who ultimately engineered victory. Perhaps realising that a muddy field in December was no platform to bow out upon, the 10-time All-Ireland medallist got better as the game grew older and tipped the balance in Ballyhale’s favour with some extra-time heroics.