Impressive final ten minutes power Peter’s to shield victory
ST. PETER’S (WEXFORD) KILKENNY C.B.S.
A FEROCIOUS last ten minutes propelled St. Peter’s College to Top Oil Leinster Schools Junior ‘A’ hurling shield success in Power Park recently.
The hosts were looking a troubled side when mentor and teacher Brian Lonergan enquired about the score with ten minutes left.
He was shown three fingers by the referee but his side had only managed three points in the second-half to that stage and weren’t looking like winners.
And then they found another gear. Part of their sudden jolt to life was some strong showings from the bench, but the move of Rory Devereux from the half-back line into the forwards also got the Wexford school going and he was instrumental in the victory.
It started with a Joe Mernagh point with nine minutes left and went from there, as Devereux scored and immediately won a free that Mick Butler converted.
Now level, Kilkenny C.B.S. looked a spent force, and three more Butler frees followed before a contentious Luke Roche point made it 1-18 to 2-11.
A whipped goal by Luke Chris Murphy wrapped up the game, and Butler put a seal on victory with a point four minutes into injury time to secure a stunning victory.
St. Peter’s had started well and were 1-1 to 0-1 up after four minutes.
The goal was a thing of beauty, as Bertie Finn bamboozled the defence with a ball over his shoulder, Ollie Murphy took possession on the run and fed across to Jack Twomey, and the full-forward walloped past Niall Holland in the Kilkenny
goal.
St. Peter’s built a 1-6 to 0-2 advantage with a string of points but did not finish the first-half well and eventually went in on level terms.
Evan Buggy raced away on the right and thumped home the first C.B.S. goal, and the equally impressive Gearóid Dunne did the same from the opposite side of the pitch as the teams went in tied at the break (2-5 to 1-8).
It was still level at 2-8 to 1-11 when Kilkenny seemed to be pulling away early in the final quarter.
Buggy and Dunne registered as they scored three-in-a-row, but St. Peter’s had the big finish in them and cantered away to take the shield.
St. Peter’s College: Tiarnan Doyle; Cillian Twomey, Brian Codd, Ciarán Hearne; Aaron Kinsella, Jack Redmond, Rory Devereux (0-2); Mick Butler (0-10, 7 frees), Cathal Murphy; Josh Whitty, Ollie Murphy (capt.), Bertie Finn (0-1); Luke Roche (0-4), Jack Twomey (1-1), Brian Og Curran. Subs. - Joe Mernagh (0-1) for Whitty (35), Luke Chris Murphy (1-0) for Finn (37), Finn Ryan for C. Murphy (48).
Kilkenny C.B.S.: Niall Holland; Gearóid Kent, Cathal Beirne, Declan O’Farrell; Luca Luli, Timmy Clifford (capt.), Finn Hogan; Ciarán Phelan, Tadhg Gill; Bill Walton (0-1), Evan Buggy (1-4), Charlie Nolan; Cillian Hackett, Gearóid Dunne (1-6, 0-3 frees), Luke Owens. Subs. - Greg Kelly for Owens (17), Ivan Bolger for O’Farrell (31), Kevin Moore for Hackett (44), Adam Harding for Nolan (57).
Referee: Kevin Kehoe (Our Lady’s Island).