The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Biggest test yet for Kilmoyley
IT really doesn’t get much bigger than this.
Kilmoyley stand on the cusp of a truly historic achievement. A first ever Munster club championship title would be a huge deal not only for the club itself, but for Kerry hurling more generally.
After a year of success for the small ball game in the Kingdom a win for Kilmoyley over Lismore this Saturday afternoon would represent something akin to a crowning achievement.
That, of course, doesn’t change the fact that Lismore are the overwhelming favourites for this game. By all accounts they were incredibly unlucky to be relegated to the intermediate grade this time last year.
A combination of factors led them to face off against De La Salle. Neither club would have been considered likely to find themselves in a relegation playoff at the beginning of the 2015 campaign.
However, that’s the way it played out and following their relegation Lismore have taken to the task of restoring pride with great gusto. After a relatively slow start to their domestic campaign, they came on strong to secure their promotion and a place in this Munster final.
Looking at their team it’s easy to see why. Lismore have a hell of a lot of quality on view. Two names stand out most of all, the two Shanahan brothers, Dan and Maurice. Those two names alone should be enough to frighten any Kilmoyley supporter.
There’s more to Lismore than just that deadly duo. In the half-forward line they’ve got two players capable of doing real damage – former inter-county player Brendan Landers and up and coming star Jack Prendergast. Ray Barry players as a third midfielder / sweeper.
“They are [a serious outfit],” Kilmoyley boss Fergie O’Loughlin admitted last week.
“When you weigh it up I suppose they’re really a good senior outfit in Waterford and a bit unlucky to be relegated. It is what it is and I think they have a few big guns as we have, our hands will be full, but I think it’s not out of reach for us either.
“I’m just looking at their scores from both Bandon [Munster quarter-final] and Newport [semi-final] and most of them have come through Maurice and Dan Shanahan, a lot of them from frees as well. They seem to be the two big target men, Maurice and Dan playing nearly a two man full-forward line inside and getting it direct into them. That seems to be their key.
“Now they have a wing-forward [Jack Prendergast] as well who looks lively and good. They’re a good outfit, they put up good scores. Newport were a big test of them and put them to the pin of their collar and you know they got off to a great start against both Bandon and Newport.
“They were up 1-3 after ten minutes, they seem to be a team that’s coming out of the blocks very fast, but I think if we can curb Dan and more so Maurice and be disciplined, which is going to be a vital factor, I think we’re in with a great shout.”
For all the justifiable fear of what Lismore can bring to the table, we should not forget just how good this Kilmoyley team has been and can be. O’Loughlin’s men won a Munster championship semi-final by eleven points playing a fantastic brand of hurling.
“I think we have [moved on to another level],” O’Loughlin suggested.
“It’s something I’ve been talking about since the Monaleen game to a few people. I just think that in every championship in every county there’s certain pockets in games where you know so much about every team in Kerry, everybody knows a good bit about each other and at times that holds you back maybe in expressing yourself and you’re waiting for the inevitable to happen.
“It doesn’t allow teams at times to express themselves. Now the boys, and we’ve always known, that these lads are at a different level a little bit this year I feel that we’ve shown great glimpses in games where they can get to that new level as well as showing the poor side of it too at times.
“I just think the lads are playing a little bit more off the cuff, they’re playing and not knowing too much about either team and not holding back, it’s a factor for these guys. They’re young, they’re fresh.
“What they showed against Monaleen the last day I just think they played with a little bit of freedom, nothing fazed them and nothing got on top of them and I think they’ll bring that into the Lismore game as well.”
As O’Loughlin indicated Kilmoyley will need to curb the two Shanahans. How they do that we’re not quite sure. Will they leave Colman Savage at full-back – as he was for the semi-final – to tackle Dan, or perhaps move Tom Murnane back to counter the threat?
Or do you need Murnane on the half-back line directing matters as he has been doing? These are questions that will be swirling around the Kilmoyley management team’s mind this week.
Part of them will think it unwise not to make specific plans to deal with what Lismore bring to the table, another part of them will fear that focussing too much on Lismore could prove their downfall by taking away from Kilmoyley what made them so compelling in the semi-final.
Either way it would have been easier to plan for this game with Shane Brick in the fold, but Brick simply cannot play any more, injuries and time have finally caught up with him.
“I just spoke to him this morning again,” O’Loughlin said.
“I just threw it out there [last week] and I spoke to him again this morning and where he’d love to commit, he’s actually saying that he’s yelping at the fact that he’d like to have a right cut off this, but look his body is just not giving him the chance to do it and we’ve got to respect it.”
On the plus side Luke Fitzell will be fit and rearing to go for Saturday’s game. Seánie Nolan remains out injured. Still despite a set-back such as that and the challenges that lie ahead, this is something to relish.
“It’s absolutely brilliant,” O’Louglin enthused.
“We had training now again last night there was great buzz, we trained in Austin Stack Park on Tuesday night. It’s a great buzz and the boys are really enjoying it and that’s what it’s all about at this stage of the competition.
“We’ve a long year done, but we’re enjoying it. We’re having good craic in training, getting a good bit of work done and there’s a buzz about it. We’re going to have one serious crack at it and see where it takes us.”
Can Kilmoyley win? For sure they can. Lismore are the favourites and rightly so. History just doesn’t favour a Kerry hurling team in a Munster final. History didn’t favour Kilmoyley either in the semi-final and remember how that turned out...
Verdict: Lismore