Big two to clash in county hurling final

“TO lose by a point is heartbreaking really,” St Brendans boss John Mortell surmised post match.

He’s not wrong you know. St Brendans could have got a draw, they could have won it. They had the chances. Mortell’s men, however, seemed to overplay their hand at times, costing them dearly.

“Fair play to Kilmoyley they are the champions,” the Brendans boss continued.

“They came back great in the second half and they stuck at it. We maybe had chances to get the draw, we should have got the draw, but look that’s sport. We had chances, we just didn’t take them.

“In fairness we played excellently in the first half, went out of it in the second half, but we stormed back into it in the end. At the end of the day we fell short it was a bit disappointing, but that’s the way it works.”

For all that disappointment it would be wrong not to remember how well St Brendans did in this game, how close they came. They created just as many scoring opportunities as the victors, they converted more of them, what they didn’t do was score a goal.

“In the end we got fifteen points and we definitely should have got a few more, but look it was going to be hard to get through there for a goal. Maybe we had a half chance in the first half, we didn’t get but it was hard to get goals.

“Their subs made a difference, although Eric Leen when he came on for us made a difference too in fairness to him, but that’s hurling, that’s sport, it’s going to take more than fifteen to win a match.”

Kilmoyley manager Fergie O’Loughlin certainly knew his men were in a game from the off.

“We were like rabbits in headlights in the first thirty minutes,” he admitted.

“I have to give a little bit of credit to Ardfert too. They’d a good game plan, they pushed our half-forward line back up the field, they crowded our middle third area, both Paudie O’Connor and James Godley got onto no ball in the middle of the field.

“Tom Murnane was the same, just crowded they gave us no space. It was a good game plan, now I think they went back orthodox in the second half and it allowed us that little bit of space, allowed both of our midfielders come into it. The goal was vital.”

The changes wrought at halftime were the winning of this game for Kilmoyley surely?

“Of course they were. Sean Dowling went back corner-back, Robert Collins came on the wing, bringing Tom [Murnane] centre-back again. Adrian [Royle] full-forward and Royler is a massive player.

“When we rejgged it and I called out the team in the dressing room at half-time I just went through the few points that we’d done in training, that we needed to win the few puck-outs, we needed to start getting on the breaking ball which we weren’t in the first half and these things fell in place.

“If you ever need character and attitude in hurling, the second half performance needed all those credentials and I think we showed them in abundance. It’s probably a good way getting to a final Jekyll and Hyde.”