Kilkenny SHC: Paddy Deegan shows attacking prowess, Ballyhale Shamrocks march on
Paddy Deegan
He’s known for being part of the Kilkenny senior hurling team’s defensive unit, but Paddy Deegan showed the attacking side to his game is just as strong as he helped his club O’Loughlin Gaels drive into the quarter-finals of the county championship.
Deegan lined out at full-forward, scoring five points in the process, as the Gaels blew Rower-Inistioge aside by 3-25 to 0-21 in their first round game.
Three of those scores came in the opening quarter, which the city side ended with a 0-8 to 0-5 lead. By half-time they were 1-14 to 0-9 in front, the goal coming from Owen Wall.
Deegan’s link-up play came to the fore in the second half as he teed up team-mates Wall and Conor Kelly to raise more green flags as O’Loughlin’s showed too much for a Rower side best served by Jack Walsh (0-9) and county man Richie Leahy (0-3).
County champions Ballyhale Shamrocks are also safely into the quarter-finals, but had to battle against a dogged Graigue-Ballycallan to get there. James O’Connor’s side were wayward in their shooting in the early stages of their game, hitting 10 wides in the opening half alone, but managed to retrain their sights and take control.
A string of points from the likes of Brian and Eoin Cody and TJ Reid helped, before Reid turned provider and set up captain Colin Fennelly for the game’s opening goal. Graigue had time to respond before the break, Sean Ryan grabbing the goal that left them four behind at the break (1-13 to 1-9).
Ballycallan took the game to Shamrocks in the second half. Led by Sean Ryan they managed to get back on level terms inside the last 10 minutes (1-19 to 1-19), but two goals in quick succession from Joe Cuddihy and Colin Fennelly helped Shamrocks on their way to a 3-23 to 2-20 victory.
It was a close call as Dicksboro survived a late Lisdowney rally to move into the championship quarter-finals. With 10 minutes left on the clock an Andy Gaffney point meant the ’Boro had a seven-point cushion on last year’s intermediate champions (1-19 to 1-12), but Lisdowney weren’t about to throw in the towel. A run of points from Niall Brennan, Aidan Tallis (free) and David O’Carroll saw them creep closer, before O’Carroll struck for a goal that left the bare minimum between the teams approaching injury-time.
The Boro were quick off the mark in the first half, with points from Shane Stapleton and Bill Sheehan helping them into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead, but with Tallis and Brennan driving their side on Lisdowney were just two points behind at the break (0-10 to 0-8). A Sheehan goal helped Dicksboro jump into a double score lead by the 40th minute (1-15 to 0-9), but Conor O’Carroll’s goal showed Lisdowney wouldn’t go down without a fight. They kept that attitude right to the end, searching for the equaliser, but Dicksboro held on for the narrowest of wins on a 1-19 to 2-15 scoreline.
The final place in the quarter-finals was picked up by Tullaroan, who beat Erin’s Own (Castlecomer) by 2-22 to 4-11 on Sunday evening.
Despite scoring two goals through Jack Buggy and John Dowd, Erin’s Own trailed by 1-14 to 2-3 at half-time, Tullaroan’s big score coming from Martin Keoghan. The ’Comer men lifted their game in the second half, helped by another Buggy goal and point from Conor Fogarty, but Tullaroan were never in trouble as they kept ahead of their rivals.
Bennettsbridge were crowned league champions thanks to a 0-19 to 0-16 win over Clara. Nickey Cleere was the scorer in chief for the winners, hitting eight frees, while county star Liam Blanchfield helped himself to four points. In a tight game the sides were level seven times in the first half, but the steady hand of Cleere helped Bennettsbridge into a 0-10 to 0-9 half-time lead. There was a double blow for Clara, as defeat also came with the loss of Lester Ryan to injury.
The Shield spoils went to James Stephens after they edged out Mullinavat in an entertaining game. A solid first-half performance paved the way to a 2-21 to 1-15 success for the Village, who stormed into a five-point lead in as many minutes. Mullinavat’s main scoring threat, John Walsh, got his side going with a goal, but they trailed by 2-14 to 1-8 at the break, the Stephens goals coming from Andy Parsons and Cian Kenny. With Eoin Guilfoyle accurate form from frees, the city side maintained a healthy lead until the final whistle.
The championship quarter-finals will be played next weekend.
Mullinavat v O’Loughlin Gaels, Bennettsbridge v Shamrocks, Clara v Tullaroan, James Stephens v Dicksboro.
Erin's Own v Graigue-Ballycallan, Lisdowney v Rower-Inistioge.
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