County star Byrne powers Kilmessan to another Meath title

 

Meath SHC final: Kilmessan 0-22 Kiltale 0-15

A second-half tour de force from county man Lorcan Byrne helped Kilmessan regain the Meath SHC title and to extend their lead at the head of the roll of honour.

Centre-forward Byrne sniped six points from play, with five of those arriving in the second half, as the men in blue turned the screw impressively.

In a grudge encounter between neighbouring clubs located just two miles apart, beaten 2025 finalists Kiltale led at half time and were two points clear with 20 minutes to go.

But eight Kilmessan points in a row between the 41st and 53rd minutes decided the contest and propelled 'Chucky' Keena's side to a landmark win, the club's 30th overall and first since 2013.

Free-taker Seán Doyle finished with 10 points and was named Man of the Match though Byrne was the beating heart of a much improved Kilmessan attack in the second half.

Captain Mark Horan and Darragh Horan were also among the scorers during that eight-in-a-row blitz between the 41st and 53rd minutes as Kilmessan turned the screw impressively.

The seventh of those scores came from the stick of Byrne and summed up the team's industry and artistry in the second half as the number 11 shipped a couple of hits, pirouetted and somehow got a shot away that split the posts, punching the air in celebration.

Coached by Paul Reilly, Kilmessan had powerful performers throughout the field and an excellent defensive performance was led by Lorcan O'Connor who scored an important point himself during a quieter first half for the men in blue.

Kiltale brought on experienced Meath footballers Cillian O'Sullivan and Ronan Ryan but Kilmessan got a greater kick from their bench overall with Joey Keena's half-time introduction significant.

Kiltale were 0-09 to 0-08 up at the break though had played with the breeze.

It was a tense and lacklustre opening 30 minutes with Kiltale registering eight wides while Kilmessan drilled five wides in that period and dropped another three score attempts short.

Jack Regan and Ross Ryan fired five points between them for Kiltale to give them a slight edge at the interval but it was anyone's game at that stage.

Kiltale twice took two-point leads in the third quarter but never got the goal they needed to put real daylight between the teams.

Late Kilmessan points from Mark Horan and the brilliant Byrne maintained the gap on the scoreboard.

Aside from the local bragging rights, Kilmessan have also secured an AIB Leinster club IHC quarter-final tie against Castletown of Laois on November 7 back in Trim.

Kilmessan scorers: S Doyle (0-10, 7 frees); L Byrne (0-6); M Horan, D Horan (0-2 each); L O'Connor, F Conroy (0-1 each).

Kiltale scorers: J Regan (0-6, 5 frees, 1 65); P Durnin, Ross Ryan, M O'Sullivan (0-2 each); C Gilsenan, J Kelly, C Ryan (0-1 each).

KILMESSAN: S Power; L O'Connor, S Brennan, A Smyth; K Gorman, K Donnelly, W Byrne; C Maguire, F Conroy; M Horan, L Byrne, D Horan; K Keena, J Cottrell, S Doyle.

Subs: J Keena for W Byrne & N Conroy for F Conroy (h/t); C Green for O'Connor & P Farrell for K Keena (55); P Lally for Cottrell (60).

KILTALE: S McGann; J Bannon, I Hughes, S Harrigan; B O'Reilly, P Garvey, F McCabe; J Kelly, C Ryan; A Murphy, J Regan, M O'Sullivan; P Durnin, Ross Ryan, C Gilsenan.

Subs: C O'Sullivan for C Ryan & Ronan Ryan for McCabe (43); A Forde for Kelly (48-52); Forde for Durnin (52); L Madden for O'Sullivan (58).

Ref: K Brady (Louth).