Limerick SHC: Two second half goals ensure final spot for champions Doon in tense affair against Ballybrown

FINAL SPOT: Tommy Hayes Doon, fighting for possession against Mikey Gavin Ballybrown in the SHC semi-final. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Limerick SHC semi-final: Doon 2-21 Ballybrown 0-14

Two second-half goals in less than two minutes help ensure reigning champions Doon will face Na Piarsaigh in a repeat of last year’s Limerick SHC final on October 19.

Matters had been tight in Kilmallock’s Fitzgerald Park up until those scores. The teams were tied three times in the second half and indeed level before Eddie Stokes 45th minute goal. Having claimed a puck-out, Darragh O’Donovan found him in space own the left wing and his low strike was too good for Ballybrown Cian Hederman.

Dean Coleman was integral to teeing up Kevin Maher for the second goal and the remainder of the game was owned by Doon. Aside from an Aidan O’Connor free, the outstanding scores all came from Derek McGrath’s side.

Two of them were Adam English frees on an afternoon where he provided 10 points, seven of them from placed balls. Indeed, at one stage it appeared to be a shootout between him and Aidan O’Connor, whose final contribution came to 12, two from play.

Ballybrown simply didn’t offer enough outside of O’Connor’s marksmanship – 40 minutes of hurling had been played before they managed a point in the Doon half of the field that wasn’t an O’Connor free.

In the opening period, their only point apart from O’Connor’s frees came from his fellow countyman Colin Coughlan and he produced that within his own half. Yet they had the advantage at half-time, 0-8 to 0-7, after finishing the half with three points on the bounce.

O’Connor and English had exchanged frees in the first nine minutes, two apiece. Doon went ahead for the first time in the 13th minute when Stokes struck a point. In a drab enough half, Doon’s lead was doubled by the 20th minute but O’Connor’s free-taking was the stand-out characteristic in the closing 10 minutes.

Scorers for Doon: A. English (0-10, 7 frees); E. Stokes (1-2); K. Maher (1-1); D. Coughlan (0-3); P. Ryan, D. Coleman, C. O’Donovan, D. O’Donovan, C. Ryan (0-1 each).

Scorers for Ballybrown: A. O’Connor (0-12, 10 frees); C. Coughlan, L. Doolan (0-1 each).

DOON: D. Stapleton; M. O’Brien, T. Hayes, C. O’Donovan; C. Thomas, B. Murphy, A. O’Connell; J. Ryan, D. O’Donovan (c); E. Stokes, A. English, P. Ryan; D. Coughlan, K. Maher, D. Coleman.

Subs: G. Thomas for P. Ryan (56); C. Ryan for A. O’Connell (56); E. Fitzgibbon for C. Thomas (58).

BALLYBROWN: C. Hederman; N. Quinn, D. Hartnett, K. Punch; M. Gavin, C. Coughlan, K. Gavin; J. Coughlan, L. Doolan; R. Kenny, A. O’Connor (c), R. Griffin; M. Kiely, B. Griffin, B. Adams.

Subs: L. O’Connor for M. Kiely (inj, h-t); J. Adams for R. Griffin (44); B. Smyth for R. Kenny (57).

Referee: J. O’Halloran (Bruree)