|
||
| HOME | ||
Sunday 26th October 2003 Munster club Championship Quarter Final Semple Stadium, Thurles Kilmoyley 2-11 Toomevara 3-18 For so long during this game it seemed as if a shock was on the cards. Kilmoyley outhurled their more heralded opponents for the opening fifteen minutes of the game to lead by seven points to two. But unfortunately, Kilmoyley could not sustain the pressure and allowed the Tipperary champions back into the game with two goals before halftime. Even at half time Kilmoyley were still well in contention, but in what was a complete reversal of the first half, Kilmoyley just collapsed after the restart and had no answer to Toomevara's faster play. In the end the scoreline showed the big gulf between the teams on the day and Kilmoyley once again had failed to play for the full sixty minutes, or anywhere near it. It was a big disappointment for the Kerry supporters and team itself, after making the long journey to Thurles. Still it was fantastic to see a Kilmoyley Senior team giving its all at the highest level on the finest pitch in Ireland, and great credit must go to all involved with the club on the day. For so many Kerry club teams in the past have made such journeys and crumbled against lesser opposition. So it is a real sign of progress when Kilmoyley people are very disappointed to see their team lose by ten points after playing poorly for long periods of the game, in perfect weather conditions and on a perfect pitch against one of the best sides in Munster. Many Tipp followers said after the game that Kilmoyley were indeed unlucky to have met the Tipp champions in such form, as they had not played nearly as well in defeating Sarsfields in their county final. Thems the breaks. Toomevara lined out without Tommy Dunne who was injured, while Shane Brick started the game for Kilmoyley after a recent injury. Kilmoyley started at a great pace with James McCarthy blocking all before him at centre back and raced into a three points to nil lead after seven minutes thanks to frees from Shane Brick and a beauty from Maurice Murnane. But Toomevara replied with two themselves, before Kilmoyley hit its purple patch. Shane Brick was collecting all the loose ball around the Tipp half back line and scored three points from play with another from Christy Walsh to leave Kilmoyley five points to the good. Toomevara replaced their centreback after twenty minutes and moved Terry Dunne back from midfield, and this was to be the move that changed the game. Not only was Kilmoyley's number eleven more or less ineffective for the rest of the game, but Dunne was to be a commanding presence in a half back line that gave the Kilmoyley forwards few other chances. Toomevara scored three unanswered points as the pressure began to tell on the Kilmoyley backs, before scoring the first of their three goals from corner forward Willie Ryan. It was an unfortunate goal for Kilmoyley as a ground clearance from Padraig Regan came off another defender's back. A couple of minutes later it was another goal, this time from John O'Brien, and now they were four points to the good. It certainly shocked Kilmoyley, but thanks to some hard work from Christy Walsh who latched onto his own rebound to stick the ball into the back of the Toomevara net, Kilmoyley were certainly back in the game just before the halftime break. The goal gave heart to all the Kerry supporters who travelled and gave them great hope for the second half. Kilmoyley needed to steady the ship after the restart but unfortunately, the whole thing came apart at the seams, for over the next twenty minutes or so Kilmoyley were to be given a hurling lesson from their opponents. Not only did Toomevara score 1-10 unanswered, but Kilmoyley could not even get the ball inside the Toomevara half back line. Their scores came from all over the field and they had eight scorers in total throughout the game. The game was over with fifteen minutes to go, but still they piled on the pressure. It was only with ten minutes to play that Billy Brick got the first of the second half, but it was too late by then. Kilmoyley did outscore Toomevara by 1-4 to two points for the final ten minutes but it was only to put some respectability on the scoreboard at that stage. Who knows what the final outcome might have been if we had been able to continue our early hurling throughout the game. But it sums things up for Kilmoyley when over the hour our best player was our veteran Christy Walsh. After the game team Manager John Meyler said that the big difference between the team was the physical strength and speed of hurling by the Tipp boys. While Meyler can certainly be proud of his players performance and the huge strides they have made to breach the gap between them and the best teams in Munster, today showed that there is still a lot of work yet to be done. Still Kilmoyley won many admirers for the exhibition of early hurling, but winning admirers is a long way short of winning Munster championship games.
Sunday 5th October 2003 County Championship Hurling Final Austin Stacks Kilmoyley 2-10 Lixnaw 1-05 It may have taken Kilmoyley thirty years to win its seventeenth title in 2001, but it seems there is no stopping our hurlers now. Undoubtedly, Kilmoyley had more than its fair share of luck in winning its nineteenth title, what with the number of withdrawals from the Lixnaw panel for the final. (We wish Paul Galvin a speedy recovery from his illness). But in the end, Kilmoyley's victory was emphatic thanks mainly to a brilliant second half display, and to Shane Brick who showed in a ten minute spell in this period, that he is one of the best forwards in the game, and not just in Kerry. But there were many others too on the day who played their part, notably James McCarthy, Colin Harris and Ollie Diggins in the second half. Veteran Christy Walsh who has turned forty, scored two points from play as did Micheal Regan in the corner (Christy says he will be pushing for a place in midfield next year). But all the players on the panel can feel proud of their contribution as can all the "backroom" people who carry out many important duties quietly to ensure that the one goal is achieved. This win mirrored the achievement of Kilmoyley's only other three in a row teams of 1962, '63 and '64. In his presentation speech County Board chairman Sean Walsh immediately spoke of the possibility of Kilmoyley achieving the four in a row, a feat that only the Causeway teams of '79 - '82 have achieved. But Kilmoyley can rewrite the history books long before this if victory can be achieved over the Tipperary club champions in the Munster club championship. While it is a mammoth task, especially when the game will be played in Tipperary, there is no doubt that this Kilmoyley team can become the first Kerry team to achieve victory in this competition. It would certainly round off a fantastic year for Kerry hurling. Despite the pouring rain (again), Kilmoyley supporters turned out in their hundreds to share in the parish's latest triumph. It is difficult to describe what these victories mean to the people of Kilmoyley, but money certainly can't buy it. Once again, the man at the helm John Meyler, has shown what a fantastic manager he is. He has transformed, not just the team but also the parish and club to what must certainly be the envy of others in the county. It would be a fitting tribute to Meyler if Kilmoyley could achieve that elusive Munster victory. Certainly without him, we would not even be dreaming of it, never mind being confident of achieving it. The wet and windy conditions on the day meant that the game was never going to be a classic encounter, and the atmosphere at the game too was somewhat dampened. Captain Maurice Murnane opted to play into the stiff wind in the first half, into the Mitchel's end. Lixnaw went in front after twenty seconds when Trevor McKenna pointed an eighty yard free. It was the start Lixnaw had hoped for. Early encounters indicated that Lixnaw were certainly up for this game, with defenders blocking and hooking and making life miserable for the Kilmoyley forwards. Even when the forwards had the time and space, little seemed to happen with the ball slipping away at the vital moment. But persistence paid off when Billy Brick fed Micheal Regan to open Kilmoyley's account. Shortly after, Billy drew a free which brother Shane pointed from 60 yards. At the other end Michael Conway equalised after poor Kilmoyley discipline. At this stage Lixnaw were well on top, with their forwards being supplied with lots of good possession. The pressure eventually told when a high ball was flicked from forty yards out to the Kilmoyley end line. Full forward Conway, turned and fired a low shot past Joe Walsh to put Lixnaw a goal ahead. At this stage it looked as though Kilmoyley could be in trouble. But Kilmoyley have learned to be patient and not to panic, and this certainly paid off for the remaining fifteen minutes of the half when Lixnaw only stretched its advantage by another point. Billy Brick drew another free off Mike Cronin, which Shane pointed. Conway scored a '65 and Eamon Fitzmaurice scored Lixnaw's only point from play to stretch the lead once more. But Christy Walsh, who was having a fierce battle with fullback Maurice McCarthy scored a sweet point from play to reduce the gap to four. Richard Gentleman sent a ground ball screaming across the face of the goal before the half time whistle blew. Kilmoyley must have been relieved to hear ref. Brendan Dunne's whistle, although an earful from John Meyler was surely to come. Whatever was said at the break didn't immediately seem to have the desired effect, with the Lixnaw defenders managing well to contain our forwards. After a few minutes though, Billy Brick received a bad injury and the resulting free was inevitably pointed by Shane. The injury to Billy seemed to drive Shane on, and from the next puckout the game was to turn. Up to now Shane had been well marked out of the game, but he plucked the ball out of the sky and headed straight for goal. Poor Eoin Thornton must have been having nightmares at the sight of this man bearing down on goal, and despite getting his hurley to Shane's ferocious low shot, he couldn't save it. Match level, and in effect game over. For at this stage Shane was a man possessed, flicking the ball everywhere setting up other forwards and also injecting a bit of confidence into the Kilmoyley forwards. One forward who certainly responded was Ollie Diggins who made a significant contribution himself in the second half scoring 1-2. Ollies goal was scored five minutes after the first goal and just after his first point ( a beauty on the right wing), and was set up by Shane who initially sent a daisy cutter of a free into the square, picked up the rebound and flicked across to Ollie who blasted to the net from ten yards. It was great to see the raindrops leap into the air off the net. Before this Billy Brick had missed a goal opportunity when he swung at a ground ball but scuppered the chance. Lixnaw were certainly shocked at this stage for only five minutes earlier they were three points up and were now four down. They needed a score at this stage, but it was only Ollie Diggins who added another point for Kilmoyley, whose defenders were hunting the Lixnaw forwards in packs, limiting them to a handful of frees. certainly some of the frees should have been scored to keep Lixnaw ticking over but really, it would have only been delaying the inevitable. Micheal Regan stretched Kilmoyley's lead to six points with his second point seven minutes from time. Although Lixnaw were getting the ball into the Kilmoyley half, and a goal would really have spiced things up, Kilmoyley's defence was resolute and they were rewarded with the nice statistic that their opponents failed to score for the entire half. Shane added another '65 to take his final tally to 1-4 and Kilmoyley's final score came from Christy Walsh who also finished with two points. So in the end it was an eight point victory, but it certainly was no easier than the 2002 victory over the same opponents. There was a lot of pressure on Kilmoyley coming into the game and it possibly told in the first half, but once Shane Brick settled into the game it seemed to lift the weight off the other forwards shoulders. Kilmoyley's defence was excellent throughout, even if at times they got lucky breaks, but the statistics show that despite a lot of possession only two forwards Micheal Conway and Eamon Fitzmaurice scored 1-1 in total from play, and 1-5 overall. Goalkeeper Joe Walsh did well in the second half, batting one excellent high ball and clearing a few more. Brendan Harris kept Lixnaw's Ray Galvin scoreless and apart from a few incidents in the first half he had a solid game. Padraig Regan only let Conway away once for the goal but he was his usual solid and sticky self, throwing in a couple of clearances for good measure. Ian Brick had a great first half making a number of clearances and making one vital hook on Thornton for what looked a certain goal. Last year's man of the match Sean Fitzgerald hurled with gusto in the second half and made a big contribution to the defence. James McCarthy after a shaky enough start was outstanding in the second half making a couple of big "hits" on Lixnaw forwards, and driving on his other defenders. Colin Harris too was excellent in the first half marking Enda Galvin completely out of it. Our midfield partnership of Darren Young and Richard Gentleman never hit their usual high standard, but they more than held their own. Up front Billy Brick on the right won a lot of possession and won a number of frees for his troubles, but he was a really sore boy at the final whistle. Shane, despite a quiet first half (in which he still scored two points from frees) transformed the game in ten minutes of magic in the second half and certainly deserved the Man of the Match award. Maurice Murnane played well when he moved to midfield in the second half and kept going to the end. Ollie Diggins must have been worried when he saw Kilmoyley subs warming up, but he responded in emphatic style scoring 1-2. What can you say about Christy Walsh apart from the fact that the man is a legend. He hardly played all year but still scored two points off no less a fullback than Maurice McCarthy. Micheal Regan was well marked throughout and didn't get a huge amount of ball into his corner but he still ended up with two points from play. Tom Murnane was introduced at half forward and despite a couple of bursts he just couldn't score despite his best efforts. Sean Griffin and Joe Murnane were introduced as late subs also.
Sunday 7th September 2003 County Championship Hurling SF Austin Stacks It was unfortunate that the best game of the year ended in the disgraceful manner that it did for the hurling game itself will, in time be forgotten, but the aftermath brawl will be talked about for years to come. After a great year for Kerry hurling, it was a shame that the National focus is now on the disgraceful state of the hurling rather than the fantastic improvement made by the County this year. While many experts have said that outside refs. should be brought in to referee games in the county championship, it is very unlikely that this will now happen following Sunday's game. Unless the County Board come down hard on those involved in Sunday's brawl, not only will it be impossible to get outside refs., but those within the County will not be interested in continuing either. Where will we be then? Since the Darragh Ó Sé "sending off" incident with his club, Kerry footballers have taken on an untouchable like status in club games where they are well protected by referees as regards fouling against them. (The refs are probably also a bit nervous following this incident). But in hurling it seems to be quite the opposite. Last Sunday it was quite obvious that one of Kerry's best hurlers Shane Brick of Kilmoyley, was in for some "special" treatment from the opposition. On numerous occasions, Shane received nasty blows to his hands from different players with only frees being given as punishment. Surely , if Kerry hurling is to progress and improve, players like Shane should not be subject to this kind of punishment. The Kilmoyley dressing room after the game looked worse than a casualty ward because of the number of injuries. The funny thing is, if Ballyduff had played hurling throughout the game instead of trying to crucify some of the Kilmoyley players they would almost certainly have won the game! To the game itself. A large crowd was in attendance as An Gaeltacht and East Kerry played a championship quarter final as a curtain raiser and a number of the football supporters stayed on to see the game. From many of their comments, Kerry hurling's band of followers had certainly grown (until the post match brawl). Two ladies from An Gaeltacht couldn't wait to see the County hurling final ! Kilmoyley played with a slight breeze in the first half playing into the "Horan's end" goals. Ballyduff opened the scoring with a free before Shane Brick equalised with a free also. A few minutes later Shane scored an excellent goal when he cut through the heart of the Ballyduff defence (he wasn't allowed do this again) and sent an unstoppable shot past Ballyduff 'keeper Joe Bunyan into the corner of the net. Richard Gentleman added another point for Kilmoyley with an excellent effort. Ballyduff scored from play through Tomas O Rourke before Kilmoyley added points through Shane Brick ('65 and free), Colin Harris and Richard Gentleman. A few minutes later Shane tried his luck from a free forty yards out, but drove the ball narrowly wide. Micheal Regan had a close-in effort saved on the line. Ballyduff scored through Barry O Grady but "the Gent" scored his third point of the half to leave Kilmoyley leading at half-time by 1-8 to 0-4. To all watching, it looked as if Kilmoyley would breeze past their opponents in the second half, but the loss of midfielder Darren Young (broken finger) and the injury sustained by Shane Brick (hand) were to prove crucial. Kilmoyley scored immediately on the resumption when Maurice Murnane pointed a long range free. But from the puck out, Maurice lost possession and fouled to allow Ballyduff point themselves. For the next 25 minutes Kilmoyley were to score only two points (one from play), as Ballyduff came back powerfully into the game. The ball rarely travelled past the Kilmoyley half forward line as puck out after puck out repeatedly came back towards the Kilmoyley defence. Tomas o Rourke scored a goal for Ballyduff on three minutes after he did well to control a high ball, and leave four points between the teams. They added three more points to leave the bare minimum between the teams with a quarter of the game to go and the wind at Ballyduff's back. But Kilmoyley were given some reprieve when Pa O'Rourke was red carded a few minutes later after retaliating on Billy Brick. From the resulting free Kilmoyley pointed, but Ballyduff continued to hurl better as they got stuck in and refused to give in and pointed two minutes later to reduce the deficit again. An Ollie Diggins point was called back for a foul and Shane Brick's attempted shot was stopped and cleared. Colin Harris, who was the best player on show, scored his second point from wing back with an excellent effort from play seventy yards out. But two more frees saw Ballyduff draw level with only to five minutes to play. It looked at this stage that Ballyduff's momentum would carry them through to victory. But this Kilmoyley team has learned not to be beaten easily, and maybe one time they would have thrown in the towel, but not anymore. Thankfully those days are over and it was time to turn the tables on an old foe who for so many years on many occasions would have stolen it from Kilmoyley. Christy Walsh and Tom Murnane made an immediate impact for Kilmoyley when they were introduced as subs. With only two minutes remaining Ballyduff were reduced to thirteen players following the dismissal of Colm Boyle for a second yellow card and another foul on Shane Brick. Despite disgraceful jeering and booing from the crowd, Shane put the resulting free over the bar for a brilliant score. A minute later Ballyduff were furious when they felt a free should have been awarded to them twenty metres from Kilmoyley's goal when Bobby O'Sullivan fell to the ground. But instead a Ballyduff player picked the ball off the ground and a free was given to Kilmoyley. Kilmoyley finished with one of the best scores of the game when Micheal Regan (now free from the shackles of his marker) put over a point from a seemingly impossible angle near the corner flag and under pressure. The final whistle was blown after the puckout, and everybody knows the rest. For Kilmoyley, it certainly was a lucky escape because many of the players were very poor, especially in the second half when the pressure was on. The fact that Kilmoyley did not have a competitive game in four weeks did not help either, whereas all Ballyduff's games certainly stood to them. But in the end it was a Kilmoyley victory and one from which they can learn a lot, because if they don't they will not achieve the three-in-a-row. The Lixnaw players must have been pleased with what they saw! They await the 5th of October.
Kilmoyley 3-22 South Kerry 2-6 There was no disputing the winners in the end in this quarter final clash in glorious sunshine but for long periods of the first half Kilmoyley were under pressure from their opponents. Kilmoyley started most impressively, going five points to nil up after ten minutes and looked to be cruising. But South Kerry were awarded a '21 metre free from which Mick Foley goaled with a thunderous shot. He added another from a sideline cut and another from a free. After twenty minutes Kilmoyley found themselves one point in arrears. But then full-forward Eoin Sheehy scored a goal for Kilmoyley and another was added by Billy Brick to give Kilmoyley a comfortable cushion of 2-9 to 1-3 at half time after playing into the breeze. The Kilmoyley team showed no changes for the second half and they once again started the better with Shane Brick scoring a free to stretch Kilmoyley's lead. But South Kerry scored a second goal after some hesitation in the Kilmoyley defence. But two minutes later Billy Brick was to score his second and Kilmoyley's third goal in impressive style. From here on in the result was never in doubt as Kilmoyley did enough to keep their opponents at bay. Mike Foley added another point from a sideline cut for South Kerry and two more from frees but that was to be their lot. Maurice Murnane scored some wonderful long range points for Kilmoyley late in the game to round off a comprehensive Kilmoyley win. There is still however plenty of room for improvement in this Kilmoyley team and there will surely be more difficult opponents than South Kerry who, on the day did not play as well as they had hoped but that is to be expected of a team that hasn't properly trained in three weeks. Some notable Kilmoyley supporters at the game included Sheila Brick home from Australia, Eileen Brick who is home from London and Bricks from Dublin. Leitrim, Westmeath and Galway.
|
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy (0-1), Colin Harris, Darren Young, Richard Gentleman, Billy Brick (0-1), Shane Brick ( 0-5), Maurice Murnane (capt.)(0-1), Ollie Diggins, Christy Walsh (1-3), Micheal Regan. subs: Sean Young, Sean Griffin, Tom Murnane, Padraig O'Sullivan (1-0), Pat Deenihan
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy, Colin Harris, Darren Young, Richard Gentleman, Billy Brick, Shane Brick (1-4, 0-4 frees), Maurice Murnane (capt.), Ollie Diggins (1-2), Christy Walsh (0-2), Micheal Regan (0-2). subs: Tom Murnane, Sean Griffin, Joe Murnane
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Paul McCarthy, Padraig Regan, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy, Colin Harris, Darren Young, Richard Gentleman, Shane Brick, Maurice Murnane (capt.), Billy Brick, Ollie Diggins, Eoin Sheehy, Micheal Regan. subs: Sean Griffin, Christy Walsh, Tom Murnane.
Kilmoyley Team Joe Walsh, Brendan Harris, Paul McCarthy, Ian Brick, Sean Fitzgerald, James McCarthy, Colin Harris, Darren Young, Richard Gentleman, Shane Brick, Maurice Murnane (capt.), Billy Brick, Ollie Diggins, Eoin Sheehy, Micheal Regan.
|
|
