O’Hare ends Kilcoo reign in Burren revenge mission

DONAL O’HARE scored 2-5 to deny Kilcoo a record seventh straight title as Burren avenged county final defeats in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Burren were also indebted to goalkeeper Cathal Murdock, who landed four long-range frees in the first half when his side were being outplayed and struggling to stay in touch.

Kilcoo initially made light of an long injury list – they were without Darragh O’Hanlon, Ryan Johnston, Stevie Kane, Dylan Ward, Paul Greenan, Aaron Morgan and Aaron Branagan – as they dominated the opening exchanges.

They looked firmly on track for the seven-in-a-row when Ceilum Doherty and Jerome Johnston found the net.

However, the absence of so many front-liners took its toll towards the end of the half as they were reeled in by four unanswered scores from Murdock and O’Hare (three).

The half-time scoreline of 2-3 to 0-9 certainly did not reflect Kilcoo’s superiority and they would go on the pay for their wastefulness.

Burren manager Paddy O’Rourke, ably assisted by Steven McDonnell, changed the direction of his side’s attack after the break, and his decision soon paid dividends.

Eamonn Toner got on the end of a long ball and was fouled for a penalty that O’Hare emphatically dispatched.

The goal stunned the Magpies but they showed the resolve of champions to regain their composure and level through a brace Paul Devlin frees and a booming James McClean effort.

However, that fightback took a lot out of their energy reserves, and once O’Hare crafted a delicate finish to the bottom corner of the net on the 51st minute, Burren had a big lead they weren’t going to release a second time.

Kilcoo introduced Ryan Johnston and he raised a white flag with his first touch but later saw red as the pressure intensified in the closing minutes.

Liam Kerr and Ronan McGrath finally dethroned the champions with scores on the break to give the men in white and green their first title since 2011.