Kilkenny SHL- Ruthless O’Loughlin’s in scoring form against Ballycallan

O’Loughlin Gaels assured themselves of a place in the Senior Hurling League Final after producing a barnstorming display to see off Graigue Ballycallan in John Locke Park last weekend.

The county champions had 10 different players on the scoresheet in total and while Ballycallan put it up to them for a period, once Brian Hogan’s men got going there was no answer.

The game was very much a contest throughout the opening period but it was in the second half that O’Loughlin’s pulled away as they outscored their opponents 2-18 to 0-6 with Eoin O’Shea getting both goals off the bench as he produced a 15 minute cameo of 2-2 from play.

Jesse Roberts had cancelled out a Luke Hogan goal in the early minutes of the first half but as time went on, the defeated side relied too heavily on Aaron McEvoy for scores as O’Loughlins maintained their unbeaten run.

The result of this clash was always going to go a long way in deciding who finished top of the group table and after Roberts and Hogan shared those two early goals, a cracking contest was anticipated.

It never really materialised though and that was to be as good as it got for Declan Browne’s side as they were outrun all over the field with the city side knockingover points from all sorts of angles in a type of display that will have the entire county on notice.

After the early flurry of goal activity, O’Loughlin’s moved into their stride and they led 1-6 to 1-2 by the 11th minute through points from Paddy Deegan, Luke Hogan, Owen Wall and Mark Bergin.

Ballycallan remained in touch with scores from Aaron McEvoy and Sean O’Dwyer but they were soon on the backfoot once again when the winners scored five on the bounce to increase the advantage even further.

McEvoy and Ben Young managed to stall the momentum before the break as O’Loughlin’s went into the dressing room with a 1-11 to 1-6 lead.

Unfortunately for the neutrals in attendance, the second half proved to be a total non-event as O’Loughlins smothered their opposition into submission.

Luke Hogan, Conor Heary and impressive showings from Conor Kelly and Owen Wall quickly ensured that O’Loughlin’s had moved into an unassailable lead and what was probably most notable is that they didn’t let up either.

By the time Tom Dunphy and Ryan Corcoran shared successive Ballycallan points halfway through the second half, the deficit was at all of 11 points and it only got worse for the side in sky blue after Eoin O’Shea came off the bench to score two goals inside the final quarter.

Despite the heavy loss, Ballycallan are still in pole position to go directly into a championship quarter-final but that’s for another day as O’Loughlin’s proved why they are big favourites to collect further senior honours in the next few weeks.

Teams and Scorers

O’Loughlin Gaels: Eoin O’Shea (2-2); Mark Bergin (0-7, 4fs); Luke Hogan (1-1); Conor Heary, Owen Wall, Fionan Mackessy (0-4 each); Conor Kelly (0-4, 1f); Sammy Johnston, David Fogarty, Paddy Deegan (0-1 each)

Graigue Ballycallan: Aaron McEvoy (0-7, 6fs); Jesse Roberts (1-1); Ryan Corcoran, Tom Dunphy, Sean O’Dwyer, Ben Young (0-1 each)

O’Loughlin Gaels: Stephen Murphy; Tony Forristal, Huw Lawlor, Mikey Butler; David Fogarty, Paddy Deegan, Jordan Molloy; Jack Nolan, Conor Kelly; Mark Bergin, Fionan Mackessy, Conor Heary; Owen Wall, Luke Hogan, Sean Bolger.

Subs: Eoin O’Shea for Bolger, 47 mins; Paddy Butler for Bergin, 50 mins; Jamie Ryan for Nolan, 53 mins; Sammy Johnston for Wall, 55 mins.

Graigue Ballycallan: Jack Walton; Jeff Neary, Conor Flynn, Stephen Keoghan; Conor Walton, Tom Dunphy, Billy O’Neill; Sean O’Dwyer, Aaron Brennan; Billy Ryan, Ben Young, Ryan Corcoran; Killian Egan, Jesse Roberts, Aaron McEvoy.

Subs: Paidi Egan for K.Egan, 40 mins; Conor Murphy for C.Walton, 49 mins; Patrick Foley for Corcoran, 54 mins.

Referee: Maurice Flynn (Mooncoin)