Bravery not enough as St Kieran's end Offaly Schools' reign as champions

OFFALY Schools' reign as Leinster Colleges senior hurling champions was ended by Kilkenny powerhouse St Kieran's in a fiercely fought semi-final at Rathdowney on Tuesday afternoon last.

Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship semi-final

St Kieran's,Kilkenny 0-14

Offaly Schools 0-10

A star studded Offaly side had beaten St Kieran's in last year's Leinster final but history never truly looked like repeating itself here as the famed Kilkenny nursery had a winning air about them almost the whole way.

It would not have taken a lot for Offaly Schools' to have won this and they certainly could have been snapping at the winners' ankles at the finish but they missed a handful of second half frees that would have asked more serious questions. Instead St Kieran's were able to hold on without real anxiety and the result was a fair won, the scoreline an accurate reflection of the match.

Played at a windswept venue, both sides deserve credit for serving up a compelling hour plus. St Kieran's were the better team, even though they missed more than their share while Offaly Schools did not play well enough to win. They battled with terrific heart, they were very competitive and there was absolutely no shame in defeat. They went down with their boots on but they can't complain at losing.

Offaly Schools could badly have done with the presence of the injured Dan Ravenhill while their fate was sealed when Niall Furlong was sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes left. With the wind in their favour and getting stronger, Offaly were desperately chasing the game. They had moved the very hard working Furlong into full forward to provide a different focus and to ensure that St Kieran's did not walk out with the ball as easily as they had been. Furlong has a fantastic work rate but unfortunately he picked up two yellow cards in there and both of them were correct – the first was for a late hit while the second was for a careless slap with the hurl.

Even with Furlong on, Offaly would probably have lost and the forwards struggled to create and take chances all afternoon against an excellent St Kieran's defence. Liam Hoare was wide with four long range frees in the second half while Liam O'Riordan was off target with two closer in ones in the closing ten minutes and on a day when they had to work so hard for every point, they just could not afford these misses.

And so a great run by the Offaly Schools' team has come to an end. We knew this team wasn't as good as last year's. With Adam Screeney et-al gone out of secondary school and Colaiste Naomh Cormac, Kilcormac students not available in any event as they competed in A grade this year, it could not be any other way.

Yet they performed exceptionally well to reach this stage, improving and standing up to be counted in every game. They did as well as they could and while they will retain regrets about this defeat, wonder what might have been, St Kieran's win was not a surprise to any observers.

St Kieran's had first use of a strong, swirling wind and stormed into a 0-5 to no score lead before Cathal Robinson got Offaly's first point in the 12th minute. It was 0-8 to 0-2 after 19 minutes and Offaly were in danger of being blown away. A six point lead can very easily become a ten point one and that would have ended it but Offaly knuckled down all over the field. They put in physical, bone rattling challenges, turned over good ball and hung in there.

At half time, the deficit had narrowed to five points, 0-10 to 0-5 and with the wind to come, that was far from a disaster. It was a five point breeze but there was enough evidence from the first half to suggest that it may be beyond Offaly's grasp.

This is the way it went as their forward line never really ignited. Shane Rigney had excellent moments in the first half but couldn't get on the ball in the second as they struggled to escape a tenacious defence. Two frees from O'Riordan brought the gap back to three and it was there to be won but St Kieran's showed great character to keep them at bay.

There was still three points in it, 0-12 to 0-9 after 45 minutes but two inspirational points from Ed McDermott in the space of a minute put the Kilkenny side five ahead. That was basically that even though they didn't score again. The last ten minutes was very stop start with no fluency as the conditions worsened. Offaly could only manage one point, a super score from O'Riordan but missed frees kept them, from getting it down to a score while they never looked like scoring a goal.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ed McDermott (St Kieran's): You could select a few of the St Kieran's defence but my choice is Ed McDermott. Offaly knew his threat and marked him tightly but he still had a big influence. His two second half points were match clinchers, he won a lot of ball and had a few scoring assists. Sean Hunt had a super first half for the winners while Ruari Kelly, Caelum Larkin and Conor Grennan put in great shifts for a very honest Offaly side.

THE SCORERS

St Kieran's: Sean Hunt 0-4, Aaron McEvoy (2f) and Ed McDermott 0-3, James Hughes (1f) 0-2, Ed Lauhoff and Tomas Roche 0-1 each.

Offaly Schools: Liam O'Riordan 0-4 (3f), Shane Rigney 0-2, Liam Hoare (f), Niall Furlong, Cathal Robinson and James Liffey 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY SCHOOLS: Liam Hoare (Carrig-Riverstown); Caelum Larkion (Carrig-Riverstown), Ruari Kelly (Lusmagh), Daire Daly (St Rynagh's); Conor Grennan (Belmont), Marc Ryan (Coolderry), AJ Cleary (Lusmagh); Niall Furlong (Tullamore), Cillian Bourke (Tullamore); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Cathal Robinson (Kinnitty), Liam O'Riordan (Ballyskenach-Killavilla); James Liffey (Shinrone), Eoin Bailey-O'Brien (Shinrone), Darragh Scully (St Rynagh's). Subs – Liam Flynn (Clara) for Scully (48m).

ST KIERAN'S, KILKENNY: Stephen Manogue; Sean Bergin, Evan Murphy, Timmy Kelly; Tom Brennan, Jeff Neary, Cathal Hickey; Tom Phillips, Ed Lauhoff; James Hughes, Aaron McEvoy, Tomas Roche; Rory Glynn, Ed McDermott, Sean Hunt. Subs – Rory Connellan for Brennan (44m), James O'Neill for McEvoy (44m), Oisin Bateman for Hughes (53m).

Referee – Jimmy Heavey (Wexford).

REFEREE WATCH

Jimmy Heavey had an excellent game. It was a tough, physical game in testing conditions but he allowed for those and didn't show cards softly. He was clear in explaining to players what he gave decisions for, he displayed a sense of humour at one stage, joking that he was going as fast as he could as he ran into consult umpires for Niall Furlong's first yellow card. He only allowed two minutes injury time at the end and that did not seem enough as there had been very little hurling played in the last 10 minutes and a lot of minor hold ups.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The two points Ed McDermott got just after half way through the second half ensured that St Kieran's would not be caught and they were both quality scores.

VENUE WATCH

Rathdowney have a nice venue and the pitch was as good as you could expect in such inclement weather. However, it was very exposed with no covered accommodation. There is loads of clubs who have provided stand and spectator comfort really should be considered by fixtures makers at this time of year when rainfall is so likely. In fairness, the priority is getting games played and a dry pitch that stands a chance of being playable in all types of conditions will be the first priority. There was plenty of stewards here and the game was hosted professionally with programmes available and a scoreboard in operation.

WHAT'S NEXT

St Kieran's go into the Leinster final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly Schools - 9 (4 in first half); St Kieran's, Kilkenny - 15 (10 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly Schools – 3 (Niall Furlong 2 and Cillian Bourke); St Kieran's – 3 (Aaron McEvoy, Ed McDermott and Sean Hunt.

Red cards: Offaly Schools – 1 (Niall Furlong, 2 yellows); St Kieran's- 0.