All too easy for Kiladangan in hunt for first Breen Cup

Podge Campion of Drom & Inch in action against Joe Gallagher of Kiladangan during the Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final at Semple Stadium in Thurles. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

KILADANGAN 1-21

DROM and INCH 0-9

Semi-finals wins don’t come much easier but Kiladangan manager Brian Lawlor believed there were mitigating factors at play in Semple Stadium yesterday evening.

The 2019 runners-up had this one wrapped and tied up long before the final whistle and could have been dreaming of a first Dan Breen Cup at half-time but for some poor shooting in the first half.

But they were far more clinical in the second half to dismiss Drom and Inch and set up their final appearance in five seasons where they will face Loughmore-Castleiney on Sunday week.

“All we wanted to do was get to a final,” said Lawlor. “Now I don’t think Drom will be happy with their performance and I think it was very evident that they had a day’s less rest and their match last week (v Borris-Ileigh) going to extra-time, that it took a lot out of their legs. Whereas our lads were a bit fresher.

“We’re very happy with the performance. We were confident we would win. We didn’t think the score would be that big of a difference but we are happy with where we are.”

Restricting Drom and Inch to just two second-half points as they vainly spent the last quarter of a game searching for goals, Kiladangan looked a class apart. They began the second half with four unanswered points to lead by 11. It was processional stuff thereafter.

“We would be very happy with our energy levels,” reviewed Lawlor. “At times, that can be our Achilles Heel - we can get to a certain level and drop off. But I thought more so than any other day that I have been in charge we maintained that energy and that intensity. We just didn’t let them settle and I think that was the difference.”

At the outset, Drom and Inch clearly intended to confuse their opponents with an abundance of positionals switches but they ended up perplexing themselves. That wasn’t apparent in the opening 10 minutes when matters were tight but their tactic of lumping ball towards the one-man full-forward line of David Collins was a failure.

Admittedly, Kiladangan’s hounding of them damaged the quality of the ball they were able to put Collins’ way and that of captain Seamus Callanan but they were a distant second in the aggression stakes. James Quigley was a force at full-back, catching two great balls one of them against Callanan midway through the half, while Willie Connors was tigerish in midfield, a shuddering shoulder in the 24th minute a statement of his intent.

A prime example of Drom and Inch’s lax attitude was shown in the 15th minute when Kiladangan were able to combine far too easy from a sideline ball to tee up Joe Gallagher for a point.

Kiladangan were not perfect, mind. Eight first-half wides told plenty about their dominance but also their profligacy. They would have been delighted to restrict Drom and Inch to just two points from play and 12 scoring opportunities but they could have been out of sight a lot earlier than they were.

Their goal in the 23rd minute was the result of a clever piece of skill from scorer Bryan McLoughney. Taking down a ball, the forward flicked the ball over a Drom and Inch defender and drove it between the legs of Eoin Collins.

That score put them seven up and three points on the bounce following a Callanan free stretched the gap to nine by the 28th minute. A Callanan free followed by a David Collins point provided some relief for Drom and Inch and the margin was down to seven - 1-11 to 0-7 - by the interval but the Kiladangan side they faced in the second half was far less charitable.

Scorers for Kiladangan: B Seymour (0-10, 9 frees); B McLoughney (1-1); P Flynn (0-3); W Connors (0-2); J Gallagher, A Flynn, T Gallagher, S Hayes, R Gleeson (0-1 each).

Scorers for Drom and Inch: S Callanan (0-7, 6 frees, 1 65); M Connors, D Collins (0-1 each).
KILADANGAN: E Collins; J Quigley, D Flannery; D McGrath; F Hayes, A Flynn, D Sweeney; W Connors, T Gallagher; B McLoughney, J Gallagher, S Hayes; B Seymour, D O’Meara, P Flynn.

Subs for Kiladangan: R Gleeson for B McLoughney, A Loughnane for T Gallagher (both 48); D Moran for D McGrath (52); M Minehan for B Seymour (54); C Kelly for F Hayes (57).

DROM and INCH: B Hogan; K Hassett, J Moloney, M Purcell; R Long; F Purcell, P Campion, L Campion; J Ryan, E Moloney; J Campion, S Callanan (c), J Maher; D Collins, M Connors.
Subs for Drom and Inch: D Butler for J Ryan (37); L Ryan for M Connors (44); T Nolan for J Maher (48).

Referee: M Kennedy (Newcastle).