FENNELLY’S LATE RED CARD FAILS TO DAMPEN BALLYHALE CELEBRATIONS
BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS 1-21 ST MULLINS 0-15
ST MULLINS battled until the last whistle, but their hearts dropped in a pivotal sequence of play just after half-time, culminating in a Colin Fennelly goal.
Four points adrift, having competed well, the Carlow men came to within inches of scoring a wonderful goal of their own when James Doyle’s 32nd-minute run was topped with a low shot that grazed the outside of the Shamrocks post.
The crowd gasped and groaned, but in seconds Dean Mason had pucked the ball out, leaving TJ Reid to make a fine catch, gain some yards and release the goalscorer, who kept a calm head and finished well.
In the next play, Eoin Cody fired over a point, meaning St Mullins had gone from potentially just one point down to being eight behind.
Within two minutes the lead extended to nine, and while St Mullins had the next three scores and fought to the death, they were never realistically in contention again. The win earned Shamrocks a tenth Leinster Championship, only the second time they have managed to win consecutive provincial titles.
At the final whistle they were down to 14 men after captain Michael Fennelly was sent off on a second yellow card in injury-time, but he will be available for their All-Ireland semi-final against Slaughtneil on the first weekend of January. They are also hoping to have Richie Reid home from army duty.
Their manager Henry Shefflin paid tribute to the vanquished, appearing in their first ever Leinster final. “They added to the whole occasion there today and the build-up to it,” he stated. “They very much stand for everything we stand for – their community and the love of hurling and you see that in the crowd and you see that in the players. They give it absolutely everything.
“I think they should be very proud of their efforts this year and they will be trying to drive it on again and no doubt they will be back again and they will learn from this experience as well.”
Mullins captain Marty Kavanagh worked heroically and scored 12 points, including two huge efforts from play. But the scoring demands on him were excessive.
Chances
In the first half they managed just one point from play, heavily reliant on frees, and one of their scores came from a beautifully executed line ball by Jason O’Neill.
“We left scores behind us, I thought we created the better goal chances but it just didn’t happen for us today,” said Kavanagh. “I am just very proud to be here, to be standing here as a St Mullins and a Carlow man, fierce proud of the lads. It’s an absolute honour to captain them.”
A massive score from Kavanagh in the 12th minute, after a half block on TJ Reid by Michael Walsh, gave them a 0-5 to 0-3 lead, but Shamrocks were level by the quarter-hour mark and hit five scores without reply. TJ Reid scored just one point from play, while remaining influential, but the damage in the first half was done by the excellent Adrian Mullen and Brian Cody who finished the day with six points between them.
Inside, Colin Fennelly found himself frustrated by tenacious marking, the St Mullins full-back line doing an excellent job, and helping the side remain in touch by the interval, trailing 0-7 to 0-11. “If we could have got a lot more ball into Colin we’d obviously have been a lot better off but we struggled to get the ball in there,” said Shefflin. “Colin was very sharp inside,
any ball that went in he won or made something of it.”
Shefflin agreed that the goal left a telling gap. “I suppose Mullins were looking for that big score to lift them. I thought just before half-time we were starting to turn the screw a little bit. Mullins with their serious workrate were surrounding us, but after that I think once we started to stick on a few points and then obviously the goal was the turning point.”
The goalscorer Colin Fennelly admitted that maintaining his appetite after a long year for both club and county was challenging. “I am probably completely different to Joey (Holden) and TJ, them two boys, they just keep going, I don’t know how they do it. I am probably on the other side of that where I need a break to change things, I even play a bit of soccer during the week up in Dublin, just to get a break and take my mind off it.”
TJ Reid scored 0-9, 0-8 from frees, while Mullen gave Gerard Coady a testing first half, showing an encouraging recovery from the injury which had him replaced in the Leinster semi final. Much of the damage was inflicted from out the field, with Shamrocks unable to repeat the goal spree they enjoyed in defeating St Martin’s.
“I have never experienced this before,” Fennelly said of the short break to the next match. “Do you relax over Christmas? Henry I’m sure will tell us to go out and enjoy a few drinks but you realise you have an All-Ireland semi-final in a week or two. It’s unusual.”
SCORERS – Shamrocks: TJ Reid 0-9 (8f); C Fennelly 1-0; B Cody, A Mullen 0-3 each; E Cody 0-2; C Phelan, E Reid, E Shefflin, M Aylward 0-1 each. St Mullins: M Kavanagh 0-12 (9f, 1 ’65); J O’Neill 0-2 (1 sl), J Doyle 0-1.
BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS – D Mason; B Butler, J Holden, D Mullen; E Shefflin, M Fennelly, D Corcoran; R Corcoran, C Phelan; B Cody, TJ Reid, A Mullen; E Reid, C Fennelly, E Cody. Subs: J Cuddihy for E Reid (43 mins); C Walsh for Phelan (46); G Butler for D Corcoran (55); M Aylward for E Cody (57); J Devereux for B Cody (60).
ST MULLINS – K Kehoe; G Bennett, P Doyle, J Doran; G Coady, M Walsh, C Kavanagh; O Boland; J Kavanagh; J O’Neill, M Kavanagh, J Doyle; P O’Shea, P Boland, S Murphy.
Subs: P Walsh for J Kavanagh (50 mins); P Connor for P Boland (55); J Murphy for C Kavanagh & O Ryan for Bennett (57); P Kehoe for J O’Neill (60).
REF – S Stack (Dublin)