Kilruane MacDonaghs 2-20 Kiladangan 1-16
When it had all ended and the initial flush of success had settled, Kilruane MacDonaghs made their way to the goalposts at the Town End. Players and manager Liam O’Kelly went down on one knee in a circle.
As a team and a club, the new county champions have carried a sense of the significance of having been the opponents on the night Dillon Quirke died last August.
“I just spoke about where we had come from on the night we had won – but it was important to remember where we had come from,” said O’Kelly. “We were all here the night that poor Dillon passed away. So I thought after the final that we would kneel down there and we had a red helmet to signify Dillon. In fairness to the players, they all bought into it – all year.
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“The first man to come over to me – the game wasn’t over two minutes – was Dan, Dillon’s father. He came over to the sideline and shook my hand. The bond between Kilruane and Clonoulty is absolutely phenomenal.”
The replayed final had done nothing to challenge that sense of destiny. As outsiders and with a comparatively threadbare panel – their best-known player Craig Morgan (the manager paid tribute afterwards to his contribution on the sideline) had been lost to injury in the early weeks of the championship – they were expected to lose out to the 2020 champions, who were seen to have major room for improvement, a useful thing going into a replay.
For the first half, that’s how it played. Kiladangan had more bite, more appetite for the fray. They scored more freely and defended with a bit of snap. Probably they should have been further ahead.
An early penalty was saved by Páidí Williams after Bryan McLoughney, taking up where he had left off in the second half of the drawn match – converting frees flawlessly and creating panic with his movement in play – was hauled down by Jack Peters in the eighth minute.
Kiladangan goalkeeper Barry Hogan made the long trip up but his shot was saved by his opposite number at the expense of a 65. McLoughney, unfazed, duly pointed for a 0-5 to 0-1 lead.
“A massive turning point in the game,” said O’Kelly. “They could have been gone four or five up (six, it would have been). Páidí Williams is an outstanding ‘keeper, an under-20 ‘keeper. He’s set for big things.”
In another inversion of the drawn match, it was Kiladangan who probably felt they should have had more in hand at half-time when they led by five, 1-9 to 0-7 – their goal having come midway through the first half after Dan O’Meara had picked out his brother Tom breaking from centrefield and he shot to the net.
Willie Cleary, the hugely dependable dispatcher of frees the first day had caused unease when missing one in the early stages but he wouldn’t err again from the placed ball for the rest of the match.
It was Kiladangan’s revival after half-time a week previously that got them back into contention and enabled them nearly to win a match in which they had been struggling. This time it all happened the other way around.
McLoughney began to experience difficulties shooting into the wind and after his first free of the half – the only score in answer to a seven-point barrage from Kilruane, which put them ahead within 12 minutes of the restart – he missed three and replacement Billy Seymour replaced him on the dead balls for the final quarter.
The story of the half though was the energy surge from Kilruane. <NO1>They tightened their play.<NO>Again, as in the replay, Niall O’Meara was prominent, driving them forward and would end up man of the match, whereas Willie Cleary converted all his frees and Seán McAdams pointed a couple, including a sideline whipped over.
Now that they had reeled in the favourites they needed to find what they couldn’t locate in the drawn match, the wherewithal to kill off Kiladangan.
Jerome Cahill, an inspirational captain, hadn’t been as visible this time but his intervention in the 48th minute was crucial – battling through defenders before releasing the ball across to Cian Darcy, whose shot opened up a 1-15 to 1-11 lead.
For the rest of the match, Kiladangan couldn’t reduce the margin lower than three. Five times they cut a four-point lead but Kilruane responded immediately to restore the four-point buffer.
In injury time they struck for home. In the 62nd minute when it looked like a point opportunity had gone a begging, Darcy - who racked up 2-2 in the second half - took the ball to the right and fired in the goal that meant 37 years of waiting would end.
If ever the cliched question of what had been said at half-time was valid, this was it.
“There wasn’t a whole pile said,” according to O’Kelly. “I wanted to keep a calm changing room. There’s no point lads losing the run of themselves when we were five points down. I knew we hadn’t hurled badly – just a few mistakes had cost us. If you make a mistake against a quality side like Kiladangan, they’ll punish you.”<NO1>
“I can’t say enough about these guys. I’ve been driving the bus but they’re just phenomenal.”
KILRUANE MACDONAGHS: P Williams; A Morgan (0-1), J Peters, E Hogan; N O’Meara, J Cleary (0-1), K Cahill; C Austin (0-1), M O’Neill (0-1); W Cleary (0-11, ten frees), S McAdams (0-2), K O’Kelly (0-1); T Cleary, J Cahill (capt.), C Darcy (2-2).
Subs: S Hennessy for Peters (48 mins).
KILADANGAN: B Hogan; D Butler, J Quigley, D Sweeney; D Moran, A Flynn, D McGrath; T Gallagher (0-1), T O’Meara (1-1); S Hayes, J Gallagher, P Flynn (0-3); B McLoughney (0-8, five frees, one 65), D O’Meara (0-1), W Connors.
Subs: D Flannery for Moran (30+ mins), B Seymour (0-2, two frees) for Connors (44), J Loughnane for T O’Meara (47 mins), R Gleeson for Hayes (56 mins), M Cleary for D O’Meara (60 mins).
Referee: C Doyle (Silvermines).
