Kilmoyley draw level with Ballyduff

TWENTY four was the operative number when all’s said and done.

Victory in the County Senior Hurling Championship final replay over Ballyduff brought Kilmoyley level with the green and white at the top of the roll of honour with twenty four titles apiece.

And that, to Kilmoyley, was one of the most important outcomes. Victory in and of itself for 2016 was obviously the most important thing, but the chance to draw level in a head-to-head challenge with Ballyduff couldn’t be ignored as a prime motivating factor.

For the two most successful clubs in Kerry hurling it really is quite remarkable they haven’t met more often in the county final. Before 2016, 1988 was the last time the famous duo came face-to-face in a county final.

And then, like buses, two came along all at once as a result of a thrilling draw at the beginning of September. Kilmoyley had been the better team in the game, the more even team, but they hadn’t done nearly enough to put Ballyduff away and a Ballyduff team with half a chance is a very dangerous animal indeed.

With three minutes remaining in the drawn game Ballyduff were three points behind and then a little bit of Liam Boyle magic threw everything back up in the air all over again.

Boyle snapped up a loose ball on the railway side of the ground and made his way towards the Horan’s End goal. Before you knew it he’d broken free of his man, showing a burst of pace and acceleration that belied his veteran status, and struck brilliantly for an equalising goal – it ended Ballyduff 2-14 Kilmoyley 1-17.

The build-up to that game had been dominated by talk of Shane Brick’s return to the Kilmoyley fold. Would he or won’t he start the game? He did start and, while he did do well, he by no means the game’s dominant performer.

For that we’d have to wait until the end of the month, a game which he lit up with a stunning performance. The level of improvement from one game to the next was quite remarkable. He was central to so much of what was good about Kilmoyley.

Ballyduff again held a greater goalscoring threat – Padraig Boyle scored a remarkable 2-7 – but Kilmoyley retained their edge throughout the pitch to run out deserving winners 1-18 to 2-13.