ALL-IRELAND CLUB JHC SEMI-FINALS: John Lockes 3-12 Inniskeen 1-9:KILKENNY'S JOHN Lockes had three-goal hero Ger Shelly to thank as they advanced to the All-Ireland final, beating Monaghan's Inniskeen at St Loman's Park in Mullingar yesterday.
In a tight game, a physically tough Inniskeen posed all sorts of problems, but Callan weathered the storm. Callan’s full-back line of Michael Gordon, Mick Roche and James Power hurled well, while left-half forward Mark Murphy was the main threat for Inniskeen.
Callan were three points to the good at half-time, 1-6 to 0-6. Shelly’s second goal just 90 seconds into the second half set the tone for the winners. Racing on to a breaking ball, Shelly finished with a neat shot to make it 2-7 to 0-6.
Although the Monaghan men kept battling, they trailed by 2-11 to 0-9 going into the closing stages. However, their hopes evaporated when Shelly grabbed his third goal with nine minutes left on the clock. A 20-metre free six minutes from time found the Callan net, but it was too little too late for Inniskeen to reel in the long-time leaders.
