Thomastown hammer Mullinavat to reach Kilkenny decider

Robbie Donnelly of Thomastown. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Kilkenny SHC semi-final: Thomastown 1-27 Mullinavat 0-12

Thomastown cruised to the final of the St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship, beating a below par Mullinavat in UPMC Nowlan Park on Sunday afternoon.

No matter the outcome, the result was going to end a barron spell at senior level for one of the sides. Mullinavat’s last senior final appearance came 81 years ago while the winners haven’t reached the showpiece match since 1988.

Sharp-shooter Robbie Donnelly was to the fore as Thomastown dominated proceedings from start to finish with the game virtually over as a contest at half-time (0-16 to 0-7).

Thomastown made a blistering start, racing into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead after 11 minutes. Robbie and John Donnelly, Peter McDonald and Colm Treacy all found the target with John Walsh the Mullinavat sole scorer.

Thomastown continued their dominance for the remainder of the half with the All-Ireland Intermediate Champions winning the key battles in every area of the field.

Stephen Donnelly opened his account in the 13th minute to stretch the advantage to five (0-8 to 0-3) with the full-forward’s influence becoming more impactful as the match progressed.

The winners transition from defence to attack was seamless throughout and five points including three from Robbie Donnelly and a second score of the match from Colm Treacy cancelled out a John Walsh free to put daylight between the teams at 0-13 to 0-4 after 23 minutes.

Mullinavat struggled to find the rhythm which saw them beat the same opposition in the shield final a few weeks earlier, with handling errors and failure to win puck-outs a constant theme.

Thomastown’s control continued in the second half and stretched their advantage to 0-20 to 0-8 by the sixth minute with Rory and Luke Connellan scores from the centre of the field, the eye-catching points of that period.

The result was put beyond all reasonable doubt midway through the second period as substitute Thomas O’Hanrahan proved to be the most alert player deep inside the Mullinavat half, batting the sliotar to the net following a dangerous dropping free from Robbie Donnelly (1-22 to 0-10).

The day wasn’t without a setback for Thomastown though with goalkeeper Diarmuid Galwey carried off due an injury picked up in a collision in the second half.

But, on the day, the teams were worlds apart as late scores from Luke Connellan and Thomas O’Hanrahan sealed a comfortable victory for Thomastown who now go in search of their first county title since 1946 when they face O’Loughlin Gaels in the decider.

Scorers for Thomastown: R Donnelly (0-10 / 0-9 frees / 0-1 65), T O’Hanrahan (1-2), S Donnelly (0-4), P McDonald, C Treacy, J Donnelly, B Staunton, L Connellan (0-2 each), R Connellan (0-1).

Scorers for Mullinavat: John Walsh (0-7 / 0-5 frees), O Knox (0-3), M Malone, W O’Dwyer (0-1 each)

THOMASTOWN: D Galwey; P Connellan, J Burke, N Kirwan; B Staunton, E Donnelly, Z Bay Hammond; J Farrell, P McDonald; R Donnelly, L Connellan, J Donnelly; R Connellan, S Donnelly, C Treacy.

Subs: N Dempsey for E Donnelly, D Prendergast for P McDonald, T O’Hanrahan for R Connellan, P Barron for D Galwey, J Holden for S Donnelly.

MULLINAVAT: S Fitzpatrick; B Dempsey, T Aylward, R Davis; I Duggan, P Dempsey, G O’Connor; A Mansfield, J Gahan; M Malone, J Walsh, C Walsh; O Knox, G Malone, B Phelan.

Subs: W O’Dwyer for C Walsh, P McDonald for R Davis, P Gahan for B Phelan.

Referee: Michael O’Sullivan (Shamrocks Ballyhale).