Perfect from Adam Screeney sees Kilcormac-Killoughey claim Offaly crown

WIZARD: Adam Screeney of Kilcormac-Killoughey on his way to scoring a point. Pic: Tom Beary/Sportsfile

Offaly SHC Final: KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY 0-16 BALLINAMERE 1-11 

The legend of Adam Screeney continues to grow and grow, as this afternoon this diminutive magician fired 10 points, six from play, illuminating an Offaly senior hurling final that was packed full of intensity and quality throughout.

These two clubs have been the largest contributors to the Faithful County’s resurgence at adult and underage level in recent years, but while Ballinamere’s younger generation graduated into a team that came up out of intermediate in 2017 and hadn’t won a senior knockout game until this year, Kilcormac-Killoughey have been consistently strong at adult level since winning their first ever title in 2012.

Despite this, it looked for long stretches of the second half as if Ballinamere might record the shock result of the day and win a first ever Offaly SHC title for the club based just outside Tullamore, but the brilliance of Screeney was just too much for them to handle in the end.

The strong wind that blew diagonally towards the Park Avenue end of O’Connor Park favoured Ballinamere in the opening half but Kilcormac-Killoughey hurled with all the confidence and assurance that one would expect from the reigning county champions, as they worked the ball through the lines to go score-for-score with the side managed by former Laois hurler and manager Niall Rigney.

When Daniel Hand, Conor Mahon and Colin Spain got breathtaking points from play to make it 0-8 to 0-5 coming up to half-time, few would have envisaged Ballinamere making a contest of things.

Then Dan Bourke and Brian Duignan combined to set up Dan Ravenhill for a goal, and when the rain fell to mitigate the strength of the wind at half-time, the prognosis started to look a little bit more hopeful for the underdogs.

In front of roughly 5,600 supporters, equally shared between these two well-supported clubs, Ballinamere stepped up to the occasion, hurling to a standard that gave themselves every chance. Their use of the ball was precise, they didn’t hit a single wide after half-time, and successive points from Aaron Maher and Dan Bourke left them two up (1-10 to 0-11) going into the final quarter, allowing their fans to begin to dream of holding the Seán Robbins Cup for the first time.

Kilcormac-Killoughey, or more specifically, Adam Screeney, weren’t going to be denied. The teenager nailed one free and shot a magnificent point from play to level the game and while Brian Duignan matched that with a superb point of his own, that only set the stage for Screeney to rattle off another three points, including one more ‘worldie’, while also drawing a fantastic save from Mark Troy in the Ballinamere goal.

Kilcormac-Killoughey will now advance to a Leinster quarter-final tie away to St. Mullin’s of Carlow in four weeks’ time, and they will be perceived as the biggest threat to O’Loughlin Gaels retaining their Leinster title.

Scorers for Kilcormac-Killoughey: A Screeney 0-10 (0-4f), C Spain 0-2, C Mahon 0-1, T Guinan 0-1, D Hand 0-1, C Mitchell 0-1.

Scorers for Ballinamere: B Duignan 0-7 (0-5f), D Ravenhill 1-0, D Bourke 0-2, A Maher 0-2.

KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY: C Slevin; T Spain, O Mahon; J Mahon; J Quinn, B Kavanagh, E Grogan; D Kilmartin, C Spain; L Kavanagh, C Mahon, T Guinan; D Hand; C Mitchell; A Screeney. 

Subs – A Kavanagh for Hand (41m), J Screeney for Grogan (45m), P Geraghty for L Kavanagh (51m), T Geraghty for C Mahon (63m), BALLINAMERE: M Troy; C McDonald, C Burke, E Boland; J Fogarty, R Ravenhill, S Bourke; D Magner, K McDermott; D Ravenill, D Bourke, A Maher; J Maher, B Duignan, J Murphy. Subs – D Wyer for J Maher (55m), M O'Brien for Murphy (57m), J Scully for McDermott (62m) 

Referee: J Deehan.