Clinical Kilshannig canter away from Ardmore
Ryan Crowley with possession for Kilshannig, under pressure from Declan Prendergast and Padraig Foley, Ardmore in the AIB Munster GAA Junior Club Hurling Championship. Photo: Larry Cummins
Any faint Ardmore dreams of repeating their 2018 Munster and All-Ireland heroics were quickly extinguished by Kilshanning on Saturday afternoon as the Cork side comfortably cruised to victory.
Tom Cunningham, Ryan Crowley and Paddy Walsh all found the net for the hosts, as they outscored Ardmore by 2-9 to 0-3 in the final quarter, just when a comeback had become considerably more conceivable.
Ardmore, who were knocked out of the West Waterford Junior Hurling Championship at the semi-final stage, were playing their first game in exactly ten weeks - against a Kilshannig side who only last week claimed their first Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship title.
Seamus Keating opened the scoring for Ardmore from a placed ball, but Diarmuid O’Sullivan immediately responded from the restart to get the home side up and running.
Jack Twomey edged Kilshannig ahead after five minutes, before Keating doubled his tally from another free to restore parity at 0-2 apiece.
A quickly-taken free from Darragh O’Sullivan caught Ardmore napping as Colin Ruby capitalised to grab Kilshannig’s third, before Cunningham added another from the restart as the hosts began to take control of proceedings.
Kilshannig were firmly on top approaching the twenty-minute mark, and they almost made their dominance count in spectacular fashion when Ruby released Twomey through on goal, only for Ardmore goalkeeper Jack Walsh to produce a fine save to deny him.
The reprieve proved short-lived however, as just two minutes later Kilshannig finally made the breakthrough. Paddy Walsh struck a free against the upright, and Cunningham was quickest to react to the breaking ball as he rifled home to open up a commanding 1-7 to 0-4 advantage.
There was little respite for Ardmore as Kieran Twomey converted a 65, before Walsh added another to stretch the gap to eight points as Kilshannig continued to dictate the tempo.
John O’Brien eventually provided a much-needed response for Ardmore, but Twomey had the final say of the opening period as Kilshannig deservedly headed for the dressing rooms with a sizeable 1-10 to 0-5 advantage.
Walsh picked up where his side had left off with the opening score of the second half, although Keating quickly responded at the opposite end.
Andy Hourigan added another for Kilshannig, but Ardmore were beginning to show signs of life as they reeled off five unanswered points to breathe fresh life into the contest.
Seamus Keating led the charge with three of those efforts, while Ciaran Keating chipped in with the other two as the visitors threatened to make a game of it.
Any hopes of an Ardmore comeback were dealt a hammer blow on 45 minutes however, as Cunningham turned provider to tee up Ryan Crowley, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net for Kilshannig’s second major.
That goal effectively extinguished Ardmore’s momentum, and Kilshannig made their superiority count as Kieran Twomey pointed from both a free and a 65, while Bill Curtin, Crowley and David Guiney all got in on the act to push the scoreline out to 2-17 to 0-12.
Things went from bad to worse for Ardmore on 52 minutes, as a Walsh free slipped through the hands of goalkeeper Jack Walsh and into the net for Kilshannig’s third goal of the afternoon.
With the result now beyond any reasonable doubt, Ardmore’s frustrations were compounded late on as former Waterford hurler Declan Prendergast received his marching orders following a second yellow-card offence.
Kilshannig showed no signs of easing off as Walsh added three late points to further embellish the scoreline, putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive victory built on their attacking quality and clinical finishing.
Cunningham’s first-half goal had given Kilshannig a commanding platform, and although Ardmore briefly threatened a revival after the restart, two further majors ensured there would be no late drama as the home side ran out convincing winners.
Paddy Walsh (1-5; 1-1f); Ryan Crowley and Tom Cunningham (1-2 each); Kieran Twomey (0-3; 0-1f; 0-1 ‘65); Jack Twomey (0-3); Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Colin Ruby, Andy Hourigan, Shane Lyons, Bill Curtin and David Guiney (0-1 each)
Seamus Keating (0-7; 0-2f); Ciaran Keating (0-3); John O’Brien (0-2); Oisin O’Dwyer and Seamus Prendergast (0-1 each)
David Kearney; Conor Murphy, Colm O’Shea, Eoghan Burke; Kieran Twomey, Bill Curtin, Darragh O’Sullivan; Andy Hourigan, David Guiney; Ryan Crowley, Jack Twomey, Tom Cunningham; Colm Ruby, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Paddy Walsh.
Éanna O’Hanlon for Colm Ruby (39); Shane Lyons for Diarmuid O’Sullivan (55); Michael Twomey for Jack Twomey (56); Darragh Kenny for Tom Cunningham (59)
Jack Walsh; Luke Murray, Conor O’Shea, Padraig Foley; Eoghan O’Shea, Declan Prendergast, Kenny Murphy; John O’Brien, Jack Keane; Michael Cronin, Oisin O’Dwyer, Seamus Prendergast; James Flavin, Ciaran Keating, Seamus Keating.
Luke Veale for Michael Cronin (HT); Liam Lynch for Eoghan O’Shea (53); Michael Coakley for Luke Murray (53)
Cian Ryan (Tipperary)
